LOGAN — There weren't any eye-popping plays on offense. Nor were there any bone-jarring hits on the defensive side of the ball, either.
After all, there's no sense in risking an injury before the 2009 collegiate football campaign actually begins.
Utah State wrapped up its fall camp by staging a controlled, situational scrimmage on Saturday afternoon in front of a few hundred die-hard fans at sun-drenched Romney Stadium.
The Aggies' short passing game looked solid, although they never got the ball in the end zone until the final play of the scrimmage — a 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback T.J. Canales to fellow freshman Cameron Sanders. Their kicking game is strong, too — junior Peter Caldwell connected on field goals of 48, 45, 39 and 32 yards and missed only once, from 42 yards — and sophomore tight end Tarren Lloyd looked like their best receiver.
Other than that, though, it's hard to say just what kind of team Utah State might have when the Gary Andersen Era kicks off on Sept. 3 against Utah.
"We've got to clean up some things, but that will come along as we practice," said junior quarterback Diondre Borel, who completed 5-of-10 passes for 51 yards and rushed twice for 17 more.
"Last year, I feel like we had a lot of injuries before the season, and we didn't get as much rest. This fall camp was pretty good for us, and there are a lot of guys who are healthy for us that can make an impact on the team.
"We've just got to make a statement in that first game. ... We've got a lot to prove," Borel said.
Of course, the Aggies' program has been trying to make a statement for the past couple of decades. Unfortunately, most of the time, that statement has been, "Yes, folks, we're lousy again," but they're hoping to change that mentality in Cache Valley.
"We're trying to put the best players on the field all at the same time," said junior linebacker Maxim Dinka-Mba. "We have a lot of talented athletes, and we're trying to put the best 11 on the field right now and we're trying to find that chemistry between everybody."
Andersen, who served as the no-nonsense defensive coordinator for Utah's unbeaten, BCS-busting ballclub last season, likes what he has seen thus far. But he knows this program still has a long, long way to go.
"I think we've come a long ways. I think our overall grasp of the schemes on offense, defense and special teams is better," he said. "We've definitely progressed as a football team.
"We'll see when we get out there and play a game exactly how far we've come, and our first opponent is, obviously, at least based on last year, maybe the best team in the country, so we'll see how we match up against a great football team.
"The most pleasant surprise, on the defensive side, has been the way we continue to cover and our man-coverage skills. Hopefully that holds up," Andersen said. "The other thing is, on the offensive side of the ball, we have three or four quality running backs that also can catch the football, which allows us to be a lot more versatile on offense."
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