What the Aggies took away from their final scrimmage of fall camp

Saturday marked the final scrimmage of fall camp for Utah State football.
Outside of a couple more practices, general preparation for the season — figuring out the depth chart, most position battles, younger player development, etc — is pretty much over.
In short order all eyes will turn to Robert Morris, Utah State’s opponent in its season opener on August 31. After that is a trip to No 23 USC, then the renewal of the rivalry with No. 12 Utah.
So how do the Aggies feel their last scrimmage went? What about fall camp in general?
Saturday’s scrimmage was a light one for the players who are expected to be key contributors for USU this year. Out of the 75 minutes of practice, that group played or two series, after which the second and third string players saw the majority of action.
“It was really a scrimmage to build depth and look for second and third-string guys,” interim head coach Nate Dreiling said.
When it came to the starters, the goal was largely to escape without any serious injuries, and that goal was a success.
“We wanted to make sure we got out of this thing healthy because it’s the last day of fall camp,” Dreiling said in a release. “We just made them thud tackle and have two minutes in there to know that they had a handle. After that, it was let everyone else prove themselves, prove their worth and go out and play some good football.”
So how did the backups and depth behind them do?
Dreiling was, overall, pleased with what he saw.
“I was proud of some of the twos and threes on defense and how they stepped up and went above the line, and now we know we can trust those guys to play,” he said. “I’m excited to see what the season looks like.”
USU’s defense had a substantially better showing this weekend as compared to the first scrimmage of fall camp last weekend.
“The defense probably won today overall, as they forced some big turnovers,” Dreiling said. “The offense knows that we feel like we can move the ball pretty much at will, but if we get in our own way, it’s going to be hard to win football games.”
Added defensive tackle Gabriel Iniguez Jr.: ”That first scrimmage kind of hurt, because we came out here and had a slow start. We went back to the drawing board and got better at our communication and overall, just knowing our playbook.
“We just had to trust the teammate next to you. Today was 10 times better than the first scrimmage, and I really appreciate the defense coming together and responding to the first bad scrimmage.”
Overall, the Aggies came away from fall camp pleased with how they look, particularly the starters who will see the most time this season.
“Offensively, I feel like if we can protect the football, which we have with our first-string guys, we will be very challenging to stop,” Dreiling said. “They are so talented. They move so fast and there is really not a weakness.
“Defensively, I think we have finally caught up to the offense. We took a couple punches early on in fall camp, but we have made our way and kept progressing. Now I feel like we have a pretty balanced football team that will help us.”
Projected starting quarterback Spencer Petras had similar thoughts, though he noted that Utah State is very much still a new team with new faces littered across the roster, far from a finished product.
“I think it’s been a good fall camp,” Petras said. “We have had a lot of competitive days. It’s been a ton of fun, and every year of fall camp it’s a new year with a new team. Obviously we have had spring ball, but we have a lot of new faces since then.
” Just seeing how our team is coming together is fun and exciting. It’s great now because we are at that transitionary period where we still have a couple more real camp practices, but our focus is going to shift soon. It’s just a fun time of year.”
Iniguez echoed the “fun” sentiments, which is fairly notable given all the of off-the-field distractions Utah State was beset with this summer, including the accidental death of defensive back Andre Seldon Jr. and the firing of former head coach Blake Anderson.
“Fall camp has been real fun,” Iniguez said. “We have just been getting after it every day, putting in that work. We are treating it like a business, where we come in making deposits every day and having fun.
“We have been growing as a group, and we have been getting better at our communication. We have been flying around together as a group and trusting one another. It’s been real fun.”
As Dreiling noted, protecting the football is a significant area of note for the Aggies.
The last few years, Utah State has struggled immensely in the turnover battle — losing too many and forcing too few. It is on the mind of the players, and with many giveaways coming as a the result of miscommunication, Petras noted that is a big area of emphasis entering the season.
“The biggest thing is once we get into an actual game plan mode, just making sure that there are no more miscommunications,” he said. “That’s always the challenge in fall camp, because during fall camp you have a million different plays you can run and there’s a lot of thinking involved.
“Once you get into an actual game plan, the list of plays you’re going to run is a lot tighter and you’re practicing them all week. That will be the biggest thing, learning how to transition there and making sure we are all on the same page. If we can do that, which I know we can, I think we will have a great year.”
Communication has been a theme on defense, too. With a number of new faces, particularly on the defensive line, learning to play together has been the big challenge.
“The main thing is communication,” Iniguez said. “The biggest thing for us is getting our feet and eyes set, so that would be the biggest stride. During spring ball, we were having a tough time with the offense, but as long as we get our feet and eyes set, we will be good.”
For Dreiling, the focus before the season opener is twofold:
“We have to learn how to finish games,” Dreiling said. “There should be no scenario that is a first-time scenario on game day. We are going to make sure we hit all of those for our players. Ultimately, we are going to stay healthy, get our legs back and get ready to make our run at the Mountain West.”