LOGAN — Utah State’s football team turned the intensity up a notch by suiting up in full pads for the first time during fall camp on Wednesday morning. The Aggies practiced for just over two hours on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium.

“It was very competitive,” third-year head coach Matt Wells said. “The offense did a great job in the backed-up drill, but we’ve got to be a little bit better on defense, keeping the offense down there, so we can force a punt and flip the field.”

Wednesday’s practice included a little bit of everything, from positional drills to a controlled scrimmage. Jalen Davis shined on the defensive side of the ball for the second straight day, as the sophomore cornerback recorded a pair of interceptions.

Davis’ first interception of the day occurred in the back of the end zone during a 7-on-7 passing drill. His second pick came as the Aggies were working on their two-minute drill. On a second-and-15 play from the defense’s 29-yard line, the native of La Mesa, California, made a diving interception to thwart the scoring chance.

“There was give-and-take in the mini-scrimmage where there was some good stuff by the ones when they took it down and scored,” Wells said. “We have some stuff on defense we’ve got to clean up from a communication standpoint, things that are non-forced errors in my opinion. It was a competitive situation there at the very end in the two-minute drill where the defense responded very well, too.”

Other defensive highlights from Wednesday included junior Nick Vigil recording two tackles, including a sack and quarterback hurry. Redshirt freshman linebacker Chasen Andersen, senior linebacker Torrey Green and sophomore defensive end Clark Jeppesen each had a tackle for loss, as well.

Offensively, redshirt senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Hunter Sharp on a fade pattern during an 11-on-11 drill. Keeton also threw a pair of 5-yard touchdown passes to sophomore running back LaJuan Hunt and freshman tight end Dax Raymond during a 7-on-7 passing drill. Raymond also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback DJ Nelson during the same drill.

Sharp caught five passes for 79 yards, including a long of 45, while junior placekickers Jake Thompson and Brock Warren each connected on 46-yard field goal attempts.

Wednesday was the fifth of 24 practices for the Aggies leading up to their season- and home-opening game against Southern Utah on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. Utah State, which held its first three practices of camp on the practice fields, will begin Mountain West play by hosting Colorado State on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Following a short practice on Thursday afternoon, Utah State’s first two-a-day is scheduled for Friday, while the first scrimmage of camp will take place on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Fans can follow the Aggie football program at twitter.com/USUFootball or on Facebook at Utah State Football, as well as on Instagram at instagram.com/USUFootball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

Offensive Player of the Day

Redshirt senior quarterback Chuckie Keeton completed all four of his pass attempts for 43 yards, including a 5-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Hunter Sharp, during an 11-on-11 drill on the fifth day of fall camp. Keeton threw two more touchdown passes during a 7-on-7 passing drill.

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Defensive Player of the Day

For the second consecutive day, Jalen Davis made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball as the sophomore cornerback intercepted two passes, including one in the end zone. Davis now has three interceptions in the last two practices during fall camp.

Newcomer of the Day

Sophomore junior college transfer wide receiver Jaren Colston-Green caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback DJ Nelson during a 7-on-7 passing drill on the fifth day of fall camp. Colston-Green, who transferred to USU from Arizona Western College, made sure he stayed in bounds by toe-touching the back of the end zone.

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