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LOGAN — It's shaping up to be a pivotal offseason for the Utah State football program.
Not only are the Aggies coming off their first losing season since 2010, but in addition to the usual graduation-related losses, head coach Matt Wells has also been kept busy trying to replace both coordinators, as well as a few other assistant coaches and one of the best linebackers in school history.
"Where do we start? Where do we end?" Wells said when asked about how things are coming together for 2016.
Even though the Aggies went 6-7 in 2015, Wells still has 25 victories to his name — more than any other head coach in Utah State history through his first three seasons — and with 41 wins, Utah State ranks third in the West in victories over the past five seasons, trailing only Oregon (51) and Boise State (45).
The Aggies also tied for second in the Mountain Division of the Mountain West, going 5-3 in league play. But Wells admitted it's hard not to think about what might have been if his team hadn't lost two straight games at New Mexico and Air Force in November, as well as suffering a 23-21 defeat at the hands of Akron in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
"I think there were some good bright spots and some obvious struggles down the stretch last season," Wells said. "We had some really good wins during the middle of the season against conference schools — beating Boise State was a big win for this program, and we won at Fresno for the first time in a long, long time — but then we lost back-to-back Mountain West games, which we hadn't done before. And both of them went down to the wire, just like the bowl game.
"And when everything played out, if we win one of those two games, we would have been in the Mountain West Championship game. So, we have to learn from that going forward."
Going forward, the Aggies will be without offensive coordinator Josh Heupel and defensive coordinator Kevin Clune. Heupel was hired for the same position at Missouri after just one season in Logan, while Clune, the former USU linebackers coach who spent one season as the DC at Hawaii before returning last year, is now Gary Andersen's defensive coordinator at Oregon State — the same position previously held by new BYU head coach Kalani Sitake.
In addition, USU associated head coach/offensive line coach Mark Weber (Fresno State), linebackers coach Joe Lorig (Memphis) and defensive line coach Ikaika Malloe (Washington) have moved on since the end of the 2015 season.
"It's tough to replace them because they're good coaches and good men who cared about Utah State football and the young men in our program," Wells said. "But that's the landscape of college football these days. When you're able to put a good product out there on the field and your group or side of the football plays well, coaches are going to move on for personal, professional and financial reasons."
Wells announced on Thursday that he has filled Clune's vacancy with the hiring of co-defensive coordinators, Frank Maile and Kendrick Shaver. A former Alta High standout and Aggie defensive lineman, Maile coached at USU for five years before spending the past two seasons as the defensive line coach at Vanderbilt, while Shaver has coached the Aggies' cornerbacks the last five seasons.
On Saturday, Wells announced the return of David Kotulski as linebackers coach. He served as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach in 2003 and 2004 under Mick Dennehy.
Wells said on Friday that he didn't have a timetable as far as hiring an offensive coordinator, but that he's excited about bringing in new coaches "because it gives you a chance to bring in some fresh ideas and keep moving forward."
Of course, turnover on the coaching staff also presents some challenges as far as recruiting, but Wells said things are still going well as he focuses on his team's two most obvious needs this offseason: "Trying to replace linebackers and wide receivers is what has most of our focus and attention right now."
Although he missed the first two games of 2015 due to a team suspension, senior wide receiver Hunter Sharp still lead the team in touchdowns (nine), receptions (71), receiving yards (835) and all-purpose yards (1,167) by a wide margin. The Aggies will also be without wideouts Brandon Swindall and Devonte Robinson in 2016, leaving wide receiver Andrew Rodriguez (27 catches for 281 yards and one TD) and tight end Wyatt Houston (25 receptions for 307 yards and three TDs) as the top returning receivers.
However, Utah State's starting offensive line will all be back in ’16 with the exception of right guard Taani Fisilau. And while injury-plagued quarterback Chuckie Keeton has finally moved on after five record-setting years, his backup, Kent Myers, has actually been the USU's leading passer the past two years (121 for 199 for 1,593 yards, 16 TDs and three interceptions in ’15) and will only be a junior in 2016.
That also leaves Utah State with its three leading rushers from last year with Myers (356 yards and three TDs on 85 carries) finishing right between running backs Devante Mays (165 carries for 966 yards and nine TDs) and LaJuan Hunt (106 carries for 338 yards and five TDs).
Defensively, the Aggies already knew that they'd be losing standouts like nose guard David Moala, defensive end Jordan Nielsen and strong safety Marwin Evans, but the linebacking corps, which has been deep the strength of USU's defense in recent years, is going to undergo a huge overhaul this offseason.
Kyler Fackrell, who could have petitioned for another year of eligibility after losing almost all of his junior season to a torn ACL, is almost sure to be selected in the NFL draft after a huge senior season (82 tackles, 15.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks and an NCAA-best five recovered fumbles). In addition, LT Filiaga (78) and Torrey Green (48 tackles) are also moving on.
But this year, Aggie fans will have to adjust to life without a Vigil brother on the field for the first time since the 2010 season.
Nick Vigil announced last week that is forgoing his senior year and making himself eligible for the NFL draft in April. The younger brother of Zach Vigil, who worked his way onto the Miami Dolphins roster as free agent last fall, Nick totaled 144 tackles last season — the most in the Mountain West and the sixth-highest total in the country in 2015.
"We totally support Nick moving forward," Wells declared. "I think it was a really tough decision for him because he loves this school and he loves his teammates. But we support him all the way, and hopefully he'll have a great pro career."