UTAH STATE AGGIES

Utah State Head Coach Blake Anderson Breaks Down Aggies Quarterback Battle

Oct 17, 2023, 2:47 PM

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Utah State head coach Blake Anderson roams the sidelines during the Aggies game against UConn at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, August 27, 2022.

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah State football head coach Blake Anderson joined the KSL Sports Zone and talked about the loss to Fresno State, the quarterback battle, and what’s next for the Aggies.

USU currently sits at 8th in the Mountain West with a record of 3-4.

The Aggies’ last game was a hard-fought 5-point loss to the Fresno State Bulldogs. Anderson said that Utah State may have played their best game but ultimately came up short.

“Try to put things in perspective,” Anderson said. “Look at the things we did well against a really good team. It was the most complete game we played. We did a lot of really good things. Left some opportunities out there which is the frustrating part.”

The Aggies have played multiple teams with great records and older locker rooms. Anderson said that he hopes that the younger locker room in Logan understands that the season is a marathon.

“We could play great ball and still come up short,” Anderson said. “I didn’t want our guys losing hope in the process. That’s hard to do when you’re not getting the exact results you want. We were open, transparent, and didn’t give our guys excuses. (We’ve) got to be focused on just how much better we’ve gotten every week.”

USU QB Cooper Legas was seen as the obvious starter going into the season. After a rough start, Legas was benched for McCae Hillstead.

“(Cooper Legas) has done nothing but grow up,” Anderson said. “His attitude and work ethic has been phenomenal. The ball placement has been much better. He learned from a couple of mistakes he made earlier and didn’t make those same ones again.”

One question remains. Who will the Aggies start at quarterback against the San Jose State Spartans? Anderson said that it’s still up in the air.

“I think it’s going to be brutally tough,” Anderson said. “You love the fact that you’ve got two guys playing at a high level. We’ll evaluate it every day and we’ve got some time before we have to make final decisions. Neither one of them is making it easy on me that’s for sure.”

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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.

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Utah State Head Coach Blake Anderson Breaks Down Aggies Quarterback Battle