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LOGAN — Utah State football backed out of its annual spring game on Saturday, and instead hosted a "spring showcase."
It was a glorified practice at Maverik Stadium that lasted a little over an hour and included a handful of live-action plays. The reasoning? There was a lack of manpower necessary to play a full spring game due to "injuries and attrition."
The number of injuries were notable as key players, such as running back Robert Briggs and defensive lineman Seni Tuiaki, watched from the sidelines. Even more noticeable was the amount of familiar faces not on the sidelines whatsoever — an indication of the number of key players who have transferred out of the program in recent weeks and months.
Whether or not their absence played a role in the alteration of the annual spring event, the departure of over a dozen players who played meaningful snaps last fall remained the prevailing storyline as the Aggies wrapped up spring ball. When asked after the practice why a portion of his team had transferred, head coach Blake Anderson spoke his mind.
"I can give you some insight: I don't think anybody's gonna really like the answer," Anderson said on Saturday afternoon. "I mean, this is the new world of college football, and this is what legislators have created. It's not a Logan problem, this is a NCAA football problem, and it's not going to go back."
Anderson said there were several players on his team from last year that felt they were "marketable" and had "leverage" to put their name into the transfer portal. He said those players will go "where they're gonna get paid to play."
"And whether they're a starter, role player, or just on the roster, there are people that can go out and get $3,000, $5,000 or $10,000 a month out of collective money all across the country and still play the same game they've been playing here," he added. "And that's the nature of what college football has created."
Anderson's blame lies with the new world of name, image and likeness legislation and the growing culture around collectives that make up a de facto pay-for-play model that's taken over college football.
His concern isn't unfounded. In recent months, some transfers and current Aggies players alike have both publicly and privately expressed frustration with the lack of NIL opportunities and other amenities afforded at Utah State. It's no secret some have left to chase better opportunities.
Of such, Byron Vaughns (Baylor), Daniel Grzesiak (Cincinnati), Patrick Joyner, Phil Paea, Tavion Coleman, Sione Moa, Weylin Lapauho (BYU) and Aj Vongphachanh (BYU) all started games for the Aggies last season, and all transferred out of the program during the winter. While each individual had their personal reasons for leaving, many of them will receive greater benefits while playing important roles for their respective Power Five program.
Coaching changes haven't helped the continuity issue, as defensive coordinator Ephraim Banda accepted a job as safeties coach for the Cleveland Browns two weeks prior to the start of spring ball, and a number of other position coaches took jobs at Power Five schools during the offseason.
With Anderson hiring his long-time colleague Joe Cauthen to lead the defense, though, the hope was stability on the staff would lead to stability of the roster. But since the spring transfer window opened on April 15, the hits keep coming.
This past week, defensive starters Kaleo Neves, Dominic Tatum and AJ Carter, and backup quarterback Bishop Davenport, who started one game last season, all entered the transfer portal.
As it stands, of the 27 players who appeared in August's defensive depth chart, 12 returned to the program, four exhausted their eligibility, and 11 have transferred out of the program. The losses on offense haven't been as impactful, but with eight offensive starters graduating last season, the personnel on that side of the ball remains in question.
"We do not have a culture problem," Anderson said. "This is a college football problem, and we're doing the best we can to figure out what the new college football is going to look like and keep a competitive football team; that's exactly what our staff is doing. But I love our culture, I love our locker room; it's a great group, and we're gonna find a way to win with a group we've got."
"The transfer thing, I accidentally got on Twitter and saw some stuff," starting quarterback Cooper Legas added. "But every school in the country has people leaving. We have guys leaving, (there are) people we can pick up. So, I mean, no one within our own system is worried about everyone that's gone and stuff. We're gonna be fine with that."
Anderson said other players on the roster — he specifically mentioned defensive tackle Hale Motu'apuaka, safety Ike Larson, cornerback Mike Anyanwu and wide receiver Terrell Vaughn — have had chances to leave for a bigger program or gain greater financial opportunities.
The loyalty from those individuals, he said, is something the program can build around. He added that playmakers such as running back Davon Booth, Stanford transfer receiver Colby Bowman and Washington State transfer linebacker Gavin Barthiel — all of which showed out well at Saturday's practice — will be relied upon to supplement the roster losses.
"Who we got in Aggie Nation is who we got," Motu'apuaka said. "We're gonna ride it to the end."
In the long term, however, to keep the best players on its team committed to the university year in and year out will require direct financial support from the alumni base and Cache Valley community to its athletes. Utah State unveiled the "Light it Blue" collective in spring, with the hope to kickstart the process. But it hasn't changed anything yet.
"At Utah State, what is it going to take to stay competitive in the new college football setting? And I'd love to say that, hey, we've got tons of money in a collective where we can bargain and negotiate with some of these other programs," Anderson said. "But the fact is, we've got a collective, but it's not funded, and it may not ever be — I don't know. Right now we've got what we got."
