Utah State football: Will Aggies make bowl without Jordan Love?
How will Aggies replace top quarterback and running back?
The Utah State offense will have several new faces this season, including at offensive coordinator where Bodie Reeder takes over play calling after Mike Sanford left for Minnesota.
Despite having a future first-round pick at quarterback, Utah State’s 2019 offense could not find a rhythm all season and the big question is how the Aggies will replace Jordan Love because despite all of his inconsistent play and mistakes last year, he had the arm talent and ability to make a lot of big plays happen.
The guy that will get the crack at replacing Love is Henry Colombi and he does have some experience, as he has served as the primary backup the past two seasons. He does not possess Love’s ability to make plays on the run but he is a smart and concise quarterback and I think he will be fine by some point in the season.
Another task for the Aggies will be replacing leading rusher Gerold Bright, who approached 1,000 yards last season and averaged over five yards per carry and had nine touchdowns.
Last year’s primary backup, Jaylen Warren, will get the first crack at replacing Bright and he did well in his time last season, rushing for 569 yards with five touchdowns. Warren will be relied upon because teams always like to have a consistent rushing attack they can lean on when breaking in a new quarterback.
The Aggies will have some familiar faces in their receiving corps, despite losing top wide out Siaosi Mariner. Jordan Nathan, Savon Scarver and Derek Wright all return and all are solid options for the new quarterback. The big question will be if any of these guys can be a true No. 1 wide receiver for the offense and be a reliable option.
They will be getting some help via the JUCO route as 6-foot-6 receiver Justin McGriff will try to give the offense a big-time playmaker. Tight end Carson Terrell will also enter his first season as the full-time starter.
The offensive line struggled a bit last year due to some youth of front, but this maybe the strength of the entire offense, as four of five starters from last year’s team return and that experience that they gained last season will be huge for the group in 2020 with all of the new starters at the other levels of the offense.
With a new coordinator, quarterback, running back and receiver group, Utah State’s offense may struggle early on because of the tough schedule. How quickly they can adapt will be huge for the Aggies hopes for a bowl game in 2020.