Gary Andersen came to the sidelines after finishing up a series of "gassers" — sprints that get longer as they progress.
"One (huff!) of these is for the team," said USU's 26th head football coach, "and four (gasp!) are for my wife."
It was a cloudless day in the Cache Valley this week, and it seemed a long time since the sky looked so blue. The sun was late-morning high, bleaching away even the deepest shadows. The long night of Aggie football seemed to be dwindling. With fall camp done, the Big Blue is down to its final preparations for the Sept. 3 season-opener against Utah.
"It's going to be really different (playing Utah), no question," said Andersen, who spent 11 years as an assistant coach and two years as a player at Utah. "The place you played, the place you coached, the place where you grew as a coach and had the opportunity to become a (defensive) coordinator for so many years, it's definitely going to have a different feel when we walk into that game. But we'll treat it exactly like any other game. Our biggest enemy right now is ourselves."
True enough; they have no other enemies. In fact, they're everybody's favorite opponent. They haven't had back-to-back winning seasons since 1979-80. Andersen was hired to turn around Brent Guy's 9-38 record, the low point in a football history that began 115 seasons ago.
With that in mind, there is more optimism surrounding Aggie football than there has been for a long time. Andersen's introductory press conference last winter drew a standing-room-only crowd. There's always a bump in awareness when a coach is hired, but this was different. A Salt Lake native, he has spent virtually all his career coaching in his home state, including stops at Southern Utah and Park City High, as well as nearby Idaho State.
Nobody knows Utah recruiting like Andersen. He can name the height, weight, 40-yard time and Social Security number of any college football prospect in the state. He can tell you the operating hours of Lagoon, where to get a great cheeseburger at 1 a.m., and how to avoid the 4 o'clock rush by taking the back roads.
He knows the high school programs and coaches of Utah like his own back yard – which it is. And he thinks he can go head-to-head against instate giants BYU and Utah for some of the state's best players.
Boosters believe they have found a coach with the personality, talent and local ties to turn the Aggies around. While that was also the selling point when USU hired Dave Arslanian (1998-99), Andersen has the advantage of coming from a nationally ranked program.
In any case, Andersen even has people believing outside the Cache Valley. The Aggies are picked by Sports Illustrated to play in the New Mexico Bowl this year — their first bowl appearance since 1997. It's enough to make a person wonder if there's actually too much enthusiasm for a program that has had just two winning seasons in the last 28.
"I don't think you can ever have too much enthusiasm for a program," he said.
Consequently, he has brought a certain big-plans attitude to Logan.
"First thing I tell them is we're going to treat you like Division I athletes, give you everything Division I athletes get. But we also expect you to do what Division I athletes do," he said.
Like, you know, winning.
Looking objectively, USU fans have reason to despair or rejoice, depending on perspective. The Aggies start almost every year with five or six automatic losses. They play one or two "money games" such as Texas A&M this year, and sometimes play a team from the Mountain West, like UNLV or Wyoming.
On years they play both Utah and BYU, there are two more almost-certain losses.
Additionally, there are probable losses to Boise State, Hawaii, Fresno State and Nevada.
Total that up and you have a serious deficit.
At the same time, the WAC has potential for four bowl teams. If USU could progress to where it could beat New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech and San Jose State annually — as is should — and pull an upset or two over Nevada, Hawaii or Fresno State — which has happened — that would give the Aggies a shot at qualifying for a bowl game.
USU also plays Southern Utah this year, which should provide a win.
But for now Andersen isn't making predictions, except to say it will take work. Really hard work.
As he has it figured, the best way to win is make sure everyone — including himself — leaves the field completely gassed.
e-mail: rock@desnews.com