Utah State Football: How quickly can Blake Anderson turn Aggies around?

Aggies look to improve on defense under new coordinator

Utah State has never really been known for its defense, but it will have to better than it was last season. Blake Anderson hired former Miami safeties coach Ephraim Banda away to be the Aggies’ defensive coordinator and I think that was a solid move that has a lot of upside, as he was an underrated coach and recruiter while with the Hurricanes.

Banda has some work to do with this defense, but it will be good to have a good pair of bookends on the defensive line to start with.

Former UCLA transfer Marcus Moore was the top edge player for the Aggies last season and should be even better this season. Former linebacker Nick Heninger is moving to end and I think that could be a solid transition for the defense. At nose tackle, look for James Hansen to be the main guy in the middle for the Utah State defense.

AJ Vongphachanh will be the leader of the linebackers heading into the year and as the leading tackler of the Aggies last season, Vongphachanh will need to step up his game to improve one of the worst defenses in the country, but he should have some help alongside him. Arkansas State transfer Justin Rice is going to make a major impact on this defense. Rice was an All-Sun Belt selection last season and he should be able to step in right away to help this defense improve.

The secondary returns four starters and are going to be led by safety Shaq Bond who’s a solid tackler who needs improvement in coverage, but he is a solid player for this defense. Zahodri Jackson, Cam Lampkin, and Andre Grayson also return in the Aggies secondary and they will hope to turn around a porous pass defense that also struggled to create any turnovers.

The cupboard is not bare for the Aggies on defense, but don’t expect a top-tier unit out of this group.