At least one of Bronco Mendenhall’s foes in the Mountain West Conference thinks Utah State football couldn’t have made a better hire.
In Athlon Sports’ annual college football season preview, an anonymous MW assistant coach was fairly effusive with his praise of the Mendenhall-Aggies pairing.
“Bronco (Mendenhall) to Logan makes more sense than just about any coaching hire I’ve seen in this league in a long time,” the coach said.
There were reasons for that belief.
Among them, “(Utah) State offers a much, much better chance to succeed and more resources than a place like New Mexico,” the coach said. “With the league transition coming up (from the MW to the new-look Pac-12), I think they’re in an excellent place long-term with Bronco.”
The MW assistant was upfront about where Utah State struggles, namely on defense. But he expects that Mendenhall and his staff will be able to pull off a quick turnaround, even with a dearth of talent on that side of the ball.
“They need a lot of work on defense,” the coach said. “That’s been the biggest problem during these last few seasons. They’re not talented and they were poorly coached. With Bronco and his guys coming in on that side, they could see a pretty significant jump in the first season if they can manage the portal.”
To that point, Utah State has added 10 transfers on the defensive side of the ball this offseason, per 247 Sports, many (in the secondary especially) following Mendenhall to USU from New Mexico.
That Mendenhall has landed a few proven players — former BYU running back Miles Davis was singled out — was proof of concept for the anonymous MW assistant. It was evidence that Mendenhall at Utah State works.
“The BYU running back coming over is a great example why this was a really good hire,” the coach said.
Athlon Sports tried to predict the Aggies’ two-deep depth chart for the upcoming season, an endeavor made especially difficult by the spring NCAA transfer portal window.
Nonetheless, this is who Athlon Sports believes will lead the way for Utah State football in 2025:
Offense
QB — Bryson Barnes (1), Jacob Conover (2)
RB — Miles Davis (1), Javen Jacobs (2)
WR — Corey Thompson Jr. (1), Brady Boyd (2)
WR — Demick Starling (1), Braden Pegan (2)
WR — Kahuna Davis (1), Robert Freeman IV (has entered transfer portal)
TE — Broc Lane (1), Josh Sterzer (2)
LT — Trey Andersen (1), Camden Jury (2)
LG — George Maile (1), Caysen Whittaker (2)
C — Jake Eichorn (1), Kamuta Levasa (2)
RG — Tavo Motu’apuaka (1), Elia Migao (2)
RT — Jared Pele (1), Jr Sia (2)
Defense
DE — Enoka Migao (1), Bo Maile (2)
EDGE — Carl Nesmith (1), William Holmes (2)
NT — Gabriel Iniguez Jr. (1), Kone Aumua-Uiagalelei (2)
DT — Tyree Morris (1), Tanner Jolley (2)
MLB — John Miller (1), Tymere Burton (2)
BUCK — Bronson Olevao Jr. (1), Craig McDonald (2)
CB — Noah Avinger (1), Noah Flores (2)
CB — Bryson Taylor (1), Courage Ugo (2)
NB — Bobby Arnold (1), EJ Fisk (2)
SS — Omari Okeke (1), Titan Saxton (2)
FS — Ike Larsen (1), Gio Kafentzis (2)
Special Teams
K — Carter Brown
P — Dylan Sprague
KR — Robert Freeman IV (has entered transfer portal)
PR — Kahuna Davis