If you attended the signing event, please post a summary.

Yes, please... This is one of those events I don't miss. Until my daughter's school plans a dad/daughter activity night for tonight at least.

There was two guys that came in last summer that they showed highlights for. A saftey and WR, I knew about the saftey but i have not seen the WR. He was big and this bio said he was an all amercan. He came in late so im sure it was grades, but his video was very impressive

HeadHunter wrote:There was two guys that came in last summer that they showed highlights for. A saftey and WR, I knew about the saftey but i have not seen the WR. He was big and this bio said he was an all amercan. He came in late so im sure it was grades, but his video impressed me the most

Was the safey oknokwo and the WR Swindall?

Yup that's it. Nicely done Geo

HeadHunter wrote:Yup that's it. Nicely done Geo

Got anymore info from the event?

Nothing that has not been said to the media or around here. GA said they will bring a D-lineman late and a big RB if they can find one. But at least four more guys and maybe six depending on how things go

A couple of things I remeber

Anderson said that there were some real battles going on last night. He said he
lost on one (Palepoi) but he won on two that signed that were being offered by some
big time schools.
Said Fanaika was trying to figure his life out and maybe was thinking about the mission
thing again. But he already had his chances at USU and wont be given a third try
He said that he wasn't planning on any the freshman with the possible exception of Bernston
to play immediately
Said they have four spots open they would like to find a big 220 lb running back and a late qualifying
defensive end and a quarterback The other one would be held for the best available player that can
contribute and not just fill a roster spot.
Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.
Matt Wells said they would run the same offense but would make changes to suit the talent on the field
Arlanda said our skill players on Defense are as good as any team he been associated with, He needs players
on the line to develop and contribute.

Just some food for thought on potential late signees...

Some of our past late guys are:
Kerwynn Williams
Matt Austin
Chuck Jacobs
Travis Reynolds (showed some improvement late last year)

Thanks for the info, i do find it strange that dickerson is on campus already but wouldnt play. Was there any talk on a kicker, that has got to be one of our biggest priorities now.

AGGIEFIGHT wrote:A couple of things I remeber

Anderson said that there were some real battles going on last night. He said he
lost on one (Palepoi) but he won on two that signed that were being offered by some
big time schools.
Said Fanaika was trying to figure his life out and maybe was thinking about the mission
thing again. But he already had his chances at USU and wont be given a third try
He said that he wasn't planning on any the freshman with the possible exception of Bernston
to play immediately
Said they have four spots open they would like to find a big 220 lb running back and a late qualifying
defensive end and a quarterback The other one would be held for the best available player that can
contribute and not just fill a roster spot.
Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.
Matt Wells said they would run the same offense but would make changes to suit the talent on the field
Arlanda said our skill players on Defense are as good as any team he been associated with, He needs players
on the line to develop and contribute.

I had to bold this because I was blown away by it. Our secondary is as talented as any team he has been associated with??? We must have better safeties in the system than what I was aware of.

BigPermAg wrote:

AGGIEFIGHT wrote:A couple of things I remeber

Anderson said that there were some real battles going on last night. He said he
lost on one (Palepoi) but he won on two that signed that were being offered by some
big time schools.
Said Fanaika was trying to figure his life out and maybe was thinking about the mission
thing again. But he already had his chances at USU and wont be given a third try
He said that he wasn't planning on any the freshman with the possible exception of Bernston
to play immediately
Said they have four spots open they would like to find a big 220 lb running back and a late qualifying
defensive end and a quarterback The other one would be held for the best available player that can
contribute and not just fill a roster spot.
Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.
Matt Wells said they would run the same offense but would make changes to suit the talent on the field
Arlanda said our skill players on Defense are as good as any team he been associated with, He needs players
on the line to develop and contribute.

I had to bold this because I was blown away by it. Our secondary is as talented as any team he has been associated with??? We must have better safeties in the system than what I was aware of.

I was actually really pleased with our secondary play last year. Could it have been better? Of course, but with the lack of pressure we were able to get on the quarterback last year I would say our secondary was phenomenal. We also played against some very talented receivers. There were a number of times where passes were caught and the coverage couldn't have been any better. Also I love McKade Brady at safety! The man deserves the scholarship he earned this year.

I still believe cornerback is the most difficult position to play on the field. They're like receivers that don't know the route they're about to run and having the speed and intuition to make a play is an amazing skill to me (just so no one thinks I'm a homer I played DE in high school). All in all I think if we can improve the pressure we get on the quarterback our secondary won't be left on an island so long. Just my .02.

A couple of other things I can remember. GA said we are going to hit Florida even harder next year in recruiting and also recruit the Atlanta, Georgia area. He reviewed the different #'s on the team, like # from Utah, # of returned missionaries and #'s of Poly's. We are only signing two Poly kids so far so that will need to pick up to keep that number as high as GA wants it. He talked like they were still looking at Robert Wagner, but I think I read he signed with nmsu. Said the kickers we have are improving, but they are always looking at kickers but ususally don't burn a scholarship on a kicker. Said they signed 90% of the kids that triped with their parents. They had two kids make trips that the players came to the coaches afterward and said that they wouldn't be a good fit and so the recruiting dropped on those kids. Said that they parked and waited for Patrick Ward to return from his trip to Arizona St. for about an hour until the neighbors became suspicious and they had to waive to them to let them know they weren't casing out the place.

AGGIEFIGHT wrote:Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.

There is so much awesome in that statement.

A couple of things I remeber

Anderson said that there were some real battles going on last night. He said he
lost on one (Palepoi) but he won on two that signed that were being offered by some
big time schools.
Said Fanaika was trying to figure his life out and maybe was thinking about the mission
thing again. But he already had his chances at USU and wont be given a third try
He said that he wasn't planning on any the freshman with the possible exception of Bernston
to play immediately
Said they have four spots open they would like to find a big 220 lb running back and a late qualifying
defensive end and a quarterback The other one would be held for the best available player that can
contribute and not just fill a roster spot.
Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.
Matt Wells said they would run the same offense but would make changes to suit the talent on the field
Arlanda said our skill players on Defense are as good as any team he been associated with, He needs players
on the line to develop and contribute.



I had to bold this because I was blown away by it. Our secondary is as talented as any team he has been associated with??? We must have better safeties in the system than what I was aware of.


Either that, or these coaches know a lot more about football than we do? I think our safeties did a good job. I agree they could have had more picks, but they must be doing something right to get praise like that from a coach who has been around some pretty good defenses. And the fact that GA didn't go out and sign a couple new ones.

Don't forget Brian Suite at safety.

I think Suite will be very good if his shoulder is 100%. Moving Alexander to SS makes me wonder if Suite will back to 100% when the season starts? Spring ball can't get here soon enough.

BigPermAg wrote: I had to bold this because I was blown away by it. Our secondary is as talented as any team he has been associated with??? We must have better safeties in the system than what I was aware of.

We had a CB and and S on the sidelines of the team last year that will probably be starting this year.

smfdaggie wrote:A couple of things I remeber

Anderson said that there were some real battles going on last night. He said he
lost on one (Palepoi) but he won on two that signed that were being offered by some
big time schools.
Said Fanaika was trying to figure his life out and maybe was thinking about the mission
thing again. But he already had his chances at USU and wont be given a third try
He said that he wasn't planning on any the freshman with the possible exception of Bernston
to play immediately
Said they have four spots open they would like to find a big 220 lb running back and a late qualifying
defensive end and a quarterback The other one would be held for the best available player that can
contribute and not just fill a roster spot.
Said DJ nelson made a blood oath that he would not do a Riley Nelson.
Matt Wells said they would run the same offense but would make changes to suit the talent on the field
Arlanda said our skill players on Defense are as good as any team he been associated with, He needs players
on the line to develop and contribute.



I had to bold this because I was blown away by it. Our secondary is as talented as any team he has been associated with??? We must have better safeties in the system than what I was aware of.


Either that, or these coaches know a lot more about football than we do? I think our safeties did a good job. I agree they could have had more picks, but they must be doing something right to get praise like that from a coach who has been around some pretty good defenses. And the fact that GA didn't go out and sign a couple new ones.

Our safeties did not do a good job last year and had exactly 0 picks. GA mentioned that they were tempted to use Suite at the end of last year but held off and were glad they did. I believe that their "something right" is a couple of freshmen that really developed over their redshirt year and a JC transfer that also really developed over his redshirt year. Also, I love the obvious comments about the coaches knowing more about football than we do. Thank you for that.

The other funny thing about the blood oath was that KJ Nelson was there and GA looked strait at him when he talked about it.

A lot of this has already been posted by others, but since I have already written it, here it is again.

There are 15 new signees, plus the three missionaries, plus two mid-season recruits who count again this years class. You know who the 15 + 3 are. The mid-season kids were Brandon Swindall, the 6-3 185 WR and Parade All-American out of Oklahoma City, and Michael Oknokwo, a 6-1 195 Safety out of Chandler, AZ. Both redshirted last year, and Andersen said they will play big roles on the field this year. Additionally, of the five walk-on players who got scholarships, only one-- Jefferson Court, the LB transfer from BYU, counts against our scholarship count. So that brings us to a total of 21.

That leaves four remaining. Coach Andersen said they have a defensive line candidate that they are in on right now that they will know about in the next day or so, that will take one. They are also looking at several quarterbacks, looking for exactly the right guy they need to fit a particular role. If they can't find "that guy," they will use their last three scholarships on three athletes anywhere across the board, particularly if they look like they can be difference makers. The would like to find a JC running back in the 230 pound range if they could. They have a couple they are considering. He said there are lots of players who fall through the cracks this time of year. They are not worried about using those four scholarships, plus maybe a couple of others who would be pushed forward into next years class.

As for the new players recruited, I would say that with the exception of the linemen, the key word would be this: SPEED. All of the defensive recruits at CB and Safety have been offensive players, playing wide receiver, QB or running back in HS. One, like "Dontay" Glover Wright, is blinding fast. Gary was saying that there are some instances where Wright, who was a QB, could do some things in the Wildcat for us, ala Stanley Morrison. The other CB, Marquan Ellison, is pretty quick, too, but will redshirt.

The WR's are big and fast. All, with the exception of Jo Jo Natson (5-7 145), were over 5-11 and 200 lbs. He said the WR corps is the best of any time since he's been here, and Jenkins, Lorick, and Wheat will be expected to compete and contribute right away. They not only have the size to be able to fight their way off the line and downfield, but when they get in jump ball situations, our guys will be about four inches taller than most DB's they will go up against. He said "I really like our chances in those situations."

At RB, Tavarreon Dickerson is just plane fast. He's so smooth making his first cuts, and then he just accelerated away from players. As good as he is, Andersen said it is very likely they will redshirt him this year. They'd like to see him get a little bigger.

Gary didn't seem to see why there was this big furor over not signing any defensive linemen. He said this is his fourth recruting class and he has plenty of people within the program to fill the vacancies they have, so he didn't understand why people were so concerned about it. He said Travis Seefeldt, a RS Freshman from last years recruiting class, looks very promising as an impactful defensive lineman this year, as do Elvis Kamana-Matagi (6-2 285), and Tevita Vaifoou (6-1 270). He says Dave Aranda viewed video of Seefeldt was is very excited about him and a particular "mean streak" he exhibits. After injuries last year, Matagi should step forward this year and fulfill the role they have in mind for him, as well, which will be DT. He said there are plenty of linemen in the program and its just not the problem the fans percieve it to be. They're going to move Al Lapuaho to defensive end and Bojay to linebacker.

Three of the five offensive linemen are being brought in to compete for starting jobs. They would like Bill Vavau to take over one of the guard spots, and they want Patrick Ward to start at one of the tackle spots. Jake Simonich and Logan Malohifo'ou will redshirt, and Andrew Chen will not report to school until January 2013.

He's loves Delroy Hamilton, the linebacker from Florida. He said they had to stay right in on him until late the other night because several other schools had come in on him at the last minute. The same with Patrick Ward. Andersen said they were parked at his house until the last possible minute, trying to fend of a last minute effort by Arizona State to get Ward.

Regarding the two local all-stars, DJ Nelson is headed to the mission field. When he gets back, he'll be a quarterback. Andersen didn't say starting quarterback. Personally, I just think he's being politically correct. He said, as mentioned, they have an "oath in blood" with the Nelson family that DJ will not be going to BYU. Big laugh from everybody. Nick Vigil, the all-world running back/defensive back/chief cook and bottle washer for Fremont will be a safety, and Andersen says he will be a very, very good one. But he will redshirt next year in order to gain weight and strength. Andersen said between Brian Suite, La'Bradford Harold, McKade Brady and Gavin Jones (returning from injury), they've got the safety positions well covered.

As for Jason Fanaika, Gary said he is a "confused young man who is simply trying to figure out who he is." But he was quick to add that he will not be doing that as a USU Aggie. He said, "You know the saying, burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me." Andersen said there is still a chance he'll decide to go on his mission. That will probably help him grow up a little.

He said we have a number of people coming back from injuries who couldn't help us last year, but will be big for us this year. Kellen Bartlett is one who comes to mind. There are others.

Matt Wells spoke before things got going and said offense this year will be dictated by "our personality," personnel and situation, but that he expected the Aggies to spread the field and thrown the ball downfield more. He said part of that is scheme, but part of it "is just personality-- mine." So look for the Aggies to open it up more. Dave Aranda said he's very excited to coach this defense and wants to see what can be done to ratchet up a pass rush that got progressively worse as the season wore on. He said the defensive skill players are very talented and should blossom in their second year at the D-1 level. He's a very intense man.

The bottom line bigperm, is Suite or Alexander will start at SS with Brady at FS and we will be just fine. I am glad that you admitted someone knows more than you.

AggiesForever wrote:A lot of this has already been posted by others, but since I have already written it, here it is again.

There are 15 new signees, plus the three missionaries, plus two mid-season recruits who count again this years class. You know who the 15 + 3 are. The mid-season kids were Brandon Swindall, the 6-3 185 WR and Parade All-American out of Oklahoma City, and Michael Oknokwo, a 6-1 195 Safety out of Chandler, AZ. Both redshirted last year, and Andersen said they will play big roles on the field this year. Additionally, of the five walk-on players who got scholarships, only one-- Jefferson Court, the LB transfer from BYU, counts against our scholarship count. So that brings us to a total of 21.

That leaves four remaining. Coach Andersen said they have a defensive line candidate that they are in on right now that they will know about in the next day or so, that will take one. They are also looking at several quarterbacks, looking for exactly the right guy they need to fit a particular role. If they can't find "that guy," they will use their last three scholarships on three athletes anywhere across the board, particularly if they look like they can be difference makers. The would like to find a JC running back in the 230 pound range if they could. They have a couple they are considering. He said there are lots of players who fall through the cracks this time of year. They are not worried about using those four scholarships, plus maybe a couple of others who would be pushed forward into next years class.

As for the new players recruited, I would say that with the exception of the linemen, the key word would be this: SPEED. All of the defensive recruits at CB and Safety have been offensive players, playing wide receiver, QB or running back in HS. One, like "Dontay" Glover Wright, is blinding fast. Gary was saying that there are some instances where Wright, who was a QB, could do some things in the Wildcat for us, ala Stanley Morrison. The other CB, Marquan Ellison, is pretty quick, too, but will redshirt.

The WR's are big and fast. All, with the exception of Jo Jo Natson (5-7 145), were over 5-11 and 200 lbs. He said the WR corps is the best of any time since he's been here, and Jenkins, Lorick, and Wheat will be expected to compete and contribute right away. They not only have the size to be able to fight their way off the line and downfield, but when they get in jump ball situations, our guys will be about four inches taller than most DB's they will go up against. He said "I really like our chances in those situations."

At RB, Tavarreon Dickerson is just plane fast. He's so smooth making his first cuts, and then he just accelerated away from players. As good as he is, Andersen said it is very likely they will redshirt him this year. They'd like to see him get a little bigger.

Gary didn't seem to see why there was this big furor over not signing any defensive linemen. He said this is his fourth recruting class and he has plenty of people within the program to fill the vacancies they have, so he didn't understand why people were so concerned about it. He said Travis Seefeldt, a RS Freshman from last years recruiting class, looks very promising as an impactful defensive lineman this year, as do Elvis Kamana-Matagi (6-2 285), and Tevita Vaifoou (6-1 270). He says Dave Aranda viewed video of Seefeldt was is very excited about him and a particular "mean streak" he exhibits. After injuries last year, Matagi should step forward this year and fulfill the role they have in mind for him, as well, which will be DT. He said there are plenty of linemen in the program and its just not the problem the fans percieve it to be. They're going to move Al Lapuaho to defensive end and Bojay to linebacker.

Three of the five offensive linemen are being brought in to compete for starting jobs. They would like Bill Vavau to take over one of the guard spots, and they want Patrick Ward to start at one of the tackle spots. Jake Simonich and Logan Malohifo'ou will redshirt, and Andrew Chen will not report to school until January 2013.

He's loves Delroy Hamilton, the linebacker from Florida. He said they had to stay right in on him until late the other night because several other schools had come in on him at the last minute. The same with Patrick Ward. Andersen said they were parked at his house until the last possible minute, trying to fend of a last minute effort by Arizona State to get Ward.

Regarding the two local all-stars, DJ Nelson is headed to the mission field. When he gets back, he'll be a quarterback. Andersen didn't say starting quarterback. Personally, I just think he's being politically correct. He said, as mentioned, they have an "oath in blood" with the Nelson family that DJ will not be going to BYU. Big laugh from everybody. Nick Vigil, the all-world running back/defensive back/chief cook and bottle washer for Fremont will be a safety, and Andersen says he will be a very, very good one. But he will redshirt next year in order to gain weight and strength. Andersen said between Brian Suite, La'Bradford Harold, McKade Brady and Gavin Jones (returning from injury), they've got the safety positions well covered.

As for Jason Fanaika, Gary said he is a "confused young man who is simply trying to figure out who he is." But he was quick to add that he will not be doing that as a USU Aggie. He said, "You know the saying, burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me." Andersen said there is still a chance he'll decide to go on his mission. That will probably help him grow up a little.

He said we have a number of people coming back from injuries who couldn't help us last year, but will be big for us this year. Kellen Bartlett is one who comes to mind. There are others.

Matt Wells spoke before things got going and said offense this year will be dictated by "our personality," personnel and situation, but that he expected the Aggies to spread the field and thrown the ball downfield more. He said part of that is scheme, but part of it "is just personality-- mine." So look for the Aggies to open it up more. Dave Aranda said he's very excited to coach this defense and wants to see what can be done to ratchet up a pass rush that got progressively worse as the season wore on. He said the defensive skill players are very talented and should blossom in their second year at the D-1 level. He's a very intense man.

Awesome write up AF! Thanks to you and all Aggie posters on this forum for providing insight for those of us who could not be there. I believe our talent level as a program continues to improve, and considering where we were last year (I was ecstatic with the season's result), I am VERY excited for next year.

smfdaggie wrote:The bottom line bigperm, is Suite or Alexander will start at SS with Brady at FS and we will be just fine. I am glad that you admitted someone knows more than you.

I'm super stoked you found the emoticons as it is a big step for ya. I think that LaBradford Harold will play a huge role. Thanks for the contribution on the board of pointing out how stellar our safeties were last year. I am far from a football expert, but I appreciate you standing next to me so that I can at least appear like one.

No problem at all bigperm. I knew using the little cartoons would make it easier for you to understand. Good luck.....

Haha, and I appreciate it. In the meantime leave the football assessments to the adults, otay?

I actually leave them to those who know, such as GA or Aranda. My opinion seems to be in line with theirs, so maybe you should take the "Football Wives" class and see if you can figure out what this sport is about? I know your basketball IQ is no better, but at least you are trying. There you go.....more cartoons.

Okay, can a mod put an end to this pissing match?

*sigh*

Okay, what seemed to be good-natured ribbing is probably getting a little chippy. Big perm, smf, stop.

Thanks.

and here's a cartoon to inspire harmony between you:

[smurf with a big perm]

I was just giving BP some crap, far less than Trout gets on here and not the least bit serious. So whatever you say BBD, I will not tease anyone.

Thanks for the write up by everyone. Thanks for giving a lot of details, AggiesForever. While we may have lost out on Tenny, at least we were in the running. When could we ever say that before? I think a lot of us, myself included, have forgotten what we already have in the program. I am glad Ward didn't choose Arizona State. I am also glad knowing that once again, we beat out some BCS schools for recruits. I am excited for spring ball.

Relax, relax. smurfdaggie and I are just getting to know each other a little better. We have talked a little smack before too. Nothin new.

AggiesForever wrote:He said, "You know the saying, burn me once shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me."

He completely botched that aphorism. It doesn't go like that at all:

[youtube][/youtube]

[/quote]Our safeties did not do a good job last year and had exactly 0 picks. GA mentioned that they were tempted to use Suite at the end of last year but held off and were glad they did. I believe that their "something right" is a couple of freshmen that really developed over their redshirt year and a JC transfer that also really developed over his redshirt year. Also, I love the obvious comments about the coaches knowing more about football than we do. Thank you for that. [/quote]

It depends on what you mean by good job. If you mean picks then no, our secondary did not have a good year. If you mean played good defense with close coverage I would say they did have a good year. I care more about them defending passes, breaking up passes, and just scaring the QB away from throwing it, than I do picks. Hopefully, though we can improve on that area and really have a great secondary, rather than a good one.

EDIT Just saw you were talking about the safeties not the secondary in general my bad. Still think Brady was a beast this year though.

smfdaggie wrote:The bottom line bigperm, is Suite or Alexander will start at SS with Brady at FS and we will be just fine. I am glad that you admitted someone knows more than you.

And the ref who ejected Brady last year will be gone, as he retired after this season.