It’s been a little different not having (Zach) around. We lived together the last couple of years, and we’ve been around each other our whole lives. And not having him around him has been different. – Nick VIgil
LOGAN — There’s been a somewhat lonely Vigil out on the practice field for the Aggies during fall camp.
After playing and practicing alongside his older brother, Zach, the past three years, junior linebacker Nick Vigil has had to adjust to not having a sibling with him on the field and at home. Last year’s Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, Zach Vigil is currently trying to make the Miami Dolphins’ roster as an undrafted rookie linebacker.
“It’s been a little different not having (Zach) around,” Vigil admitted after Saturday’s practice at Maverik Stadium. “We lived together the last couple of years, and we’ve been around each other our whole lives. And not having him around him has been different.
“But it’s probably good in some ways. Maybe grow up a little more, more independent. But things haven’t really changed as much as I thought they’d change.”
While Nick Vigil, an All-Mountain West First Team selection himself last year, steps in more of a leadership role this season with the Aggies, Zach has been turning heads in South Florida has a newcomer to the NFL. Considered a long shot to make the team at the beginning of camp, injuries to Dolphins defenders have provided an opportunity for playing time, and Zach responded with standout performances in Miami’s first two preseason games.
“I’ve tried to leave him alone while he’s been in camp because I know he just goes hard with football all day, and then goes home and sleeps,” Nick Vigil said. “I usually talk to him once or twice a week, and send him a text message on game day to wish him luck and tell him I love him.”
Same goes from the other side of the country.
While speaking to Dolphins.com on Aug. 17, Zach said of playing with Nick at Utah State: “Man, that was awesome. That was something that not a lot of brothers get to experience together. You know, I miss playing with my brother. I was able to play with him for two years. We started together last year and that was special. And that’s something, whether I play for 15 more years or if I never play again, that I’ll always hold real close to my heart because I love my little brother and I wish him the best this coming year.”
KICKING AROUND SOME IDEAS: Due to the graduation of placekicker Nick Diaz and punter Jaron Bentrude, the Aggies had some big holes on special teams to fill during fall camp.
The winner of the battle for place-kicking duties is still apparently undecided between juniors Jake Thompson and Brock Warren. Wells said the kickers were one of the “bright spots” of USU’s third and final scrimmage (both Thompson and Warren connected on 50-yarders), and he added that “it's really probably going to go down to the wire.”
Thompson has the benefit of more experience — the Logan High School product has been USU’s primary kickoff specialist the past two seasons — but he’s just 1 for 7 in field-goal attempts.
Warren, meanwhile, had a strong spring but has not seen action since his freshman year in 2012. The graduate of Sky View High School missed on his one field-goal attempt but was 5 for 5 on PATs before suffering a season-ending injury.
“There’s really not a lot of separation before them,” Wells said on Tuesday. “At one point, one of them was pulling away, but now it’s a little closer to evened up. We’re going to have to make a decision at the end of the week and let everybody know next Thursday.”
As for punting duties, everything seemed to be going the way of redshirt freshman Aaron Dalton after a monster performance during USU’s spring game: 13 punts for an average of 49.3 yards, including a 62-yarder and eight punts of 50 yards or more.
But Dalton was held out of USU’s final scrimmage of the fall, possibly leaving the door open a bit for freshman Zach Lee.
“He’s got a little bit of a minor injury. He's really just kind of healing up a little bit right now,” Wells said of Dalton. “He's been punting periodically a little bit, and we just didn't need him to go full blown tonight. He punted a million times in the spring game anyway. We'll see, but hopefully he'll pick up where he left off this spring.”
MYERS MIGHT BE IT: As of Saturday, the Aggies had yet to officially name a backup quarterback to senior Chuckie Keeton.
It seems likely that sophomore Kent Myers, who was thrust into the starting role last season due to a slew of injuries, would be the starter if something happened to Keeton again. But since Myers still has a redshirt year left, ideally Keeton would stay healthy and Myers wouldn’t have to be pressed into service this season.
But after all that happened last year, Myers said he’s going to be ready to go whenever he’s called upon, and that he’s already very comfortable with the Aggies’ new offensive coordinator.
“(Josh) Heupel, has been bringing in some good stuff,” Myers said. “I really like it. It’s kind of similar to what I ran in high school, so I’ve been picking it up pretty fast.
“We’re passing more. It’s more spread out than last year. Last year, it was more run-first, downhill-type of things. Now we’re spreading it out, plus we have a lot of read options and stuff, so it’s really my game. The quarterback has a lot of options that he can do, so we’re really in control of the offense a lot more than we were last year.”