Utah State defensive players who’ve left the Aggies recently — i.e. since the end of the 2022 season — in search of greener pastures have done pretty well for themselves this offseason, be it Byron Vaughns (Baylor), Ajani Carter (Baylor), Daniel Grzesiak (Cincinnati), Patrick Joyner Jr. (Kansas) or AJ Vongphachanh (BYU), all of whom have transferred to the Big 12.
Still other former Aggies have made the jump to the Power Five ranks this offseason as well (offensive lineman Weylin Lapuaho to BYU and cornerback Dom Tatum to Washington State for instance), and the list keeps growing.
Former USU defensive tackle Phillip Paea announced Saturday on social media that he is transferring to Oklahoma, making him the sixth former Aggie defender to transfer to the Big 12.
Paea isn’t a stranger to Power Five football. He started his career at Michigan, before transferring to Utah State in 2021.
In his first season in Logan, Paea was a solid reserve and finished the 2021 season with 14 tackles, including two tackles for loss.
Prior to suffering a season-ending injury against Weber State last season, Paea had become a key starter along the Aggies’ defensive front, fulfilling some of the potential that sent him to Michigan in the first place.
Now he is the sixth defensive lineman to transfer to Oklahoma this offseason, joining Rondell Bothroyd, Davon Sears, Trace Ford, Jacob Lacey and Da’Jon Terry. Paea is also the ninth defensive transfer brought in by the Sooners in an attempt to remake the Oklahoma defense.
The Aggies have done well of late to respond to the losses in the transfer portal, adding nine transfers this spring including:
- Logan Pili, LB (BYU).
- Gabriel Bryan, DB (Navarro College).
- Sir Mells, DL (Oregon).
- Al Ashford III, CB (Wisconsin).
- Blaine Spires, LB (Bowling Green).
- Simeon Harris, CB (Colorado).
- Ralph Frias III, OT (Arizona State).
- Isaiah Hackett, DB (Independence Community College).
- Rahsul Faison, RB (Snow College).
Additionally, Aggie additions like former JUCO All-American Cian Slone have drawn no shortage of praise of late.
Based on the number of outgoing transfers this offseason, Utah State doesn’t have an issue attracting and/or developing talent. Whether or not the Aggies can keep said talent in Logan going forward remains to be seen, but multiple NIL collectives have recently been established in attempt to aid Utah State in that endeavor, including the Gary Andersen-backed Blue A Collective.
“While some may be concerned about the evolution of college athletics, I choose to see this as an opportunity to be on the cutting-edge and provide new and unique opportunities for student-athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness,” Andersen said. “Our goal with the Blue A Collective is to benefit young people on and off the field who choose to come here, choose to stay, and represent Utah State the right way.”