Traditionally, July is the calm before the storm for Utah State football. Sure, in most years July is host to Mountain West Conference media days, but outside of that multi-day event in Las Vegas, the Aggies are usually left alone in their preparations for fall camp ahead of the college football season.
This July was anything but normal.
First, on July 2, Utah State announced it intended to fire former head coach Blake Anderson for cause and went ahead and fired director of player development Austin Albrecht and deputy athletic director Jerry Bovee, with associate athletic director Amy Crosbie later added to the termination list.
Defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling, all of 33 years old and new to the program, was named interim head coach.
Those personnel decisions left many of the Aggies shocked and reeling, though they tried their best to put on a brave face. As safety Ike Larsen said at MW media days, “Nobody wants to hear that news. It was unexpected, but when adversity hits, you are either going to let it affect you the right way or the wrong way.”
USU then went through with the termination of Anderson on July 18. What followed was the public unveiling of investigation results, legal responses and more, all of which kept the firing of Anderson in the forefront — for the players as much as anyone.
If it was just the termination of the head coach and other notable athletics personnel that would be one thing, but then on July 20, Andre Seldon Jr. — a transfer from New Mexico State — drowned in a cliff-diving accident at Porcupine Reservoir while with members of both the Aggie football team and women’s gymnastics team.
Throw in the hire of two new football coaches less than a week before the start of fall camp — Troy Morrell and Dave Wiemers were brought on board to serve as offensive and defensive analysts — and it seems pretty fair to say that USU football is in a state of turmoil. At the very least, this July has been a month unlike any before it.
Friday afternoon in downtown Salt Lake City, in a interview with the Deseret News, USU athletic director Diana Sabau didn’t shy away from acknowledging the reality of the month USU football has had.
“Yes, we’ve had some difficult weeks recently,” she said. “And the passing of Andre Seldon was so tragic.”
But Sabau’s thoughts were pointed toward the future, and she is a staunch believer that the Aggies are going to surprise this season.
“It has actually brought us together and made us stronger,” she said. “In adversity, some people shine the brightest.”
On the state of the USU football team
As Sabau tells it, the Aggies are motivated to achieve this season, even as many expect little to nothing from them.
“This football team has come together and they want to prove something,” she said. “They are really excited. They believe, and say things like, ‘Why not us?’ ‘Why not USU?’ And I hope everyone can believe in that.”
Most of that belief, Sabau contends, comes from the players themselves. Time and again Friday she called the Aggies’ “player-led.”
“That group has challenged each other and are pushing each other, completing every task that they can,” she said. “This year, we’ve started to have a lot of leadership in that locker room, and when I say they believe, I am not kidding you.”
Sabau is a firm believer in the value of a player-led locker room, stating pretty unequivocally, “A player-led locker room is so successful. I really see that happening this year.”
That doesn’t mean she doesn’t believe in the Aggies’ coaching staff though. Confidence oozes out of Sabau when she talks about Dreiling, whom USU is surely hoping will be something of a wunderkind as the youngest head coach in the FBS.
“We are blessed to have Nate Dreiling,” Sabau said. “Nate is a head coach. He has all the tools and he is ready to go. When he came to use from New Mexico State in January he was embraced quickly by our team.”
Sabau noted also that the staff that remains is getting something of a fresh start this season, a chance to prove itself in new roles and with new leadership. In her eyes, they all have something to prove and are excited by the prospect.
“We had some really strong individuals already on the staff and now its about how we can amplify their skills and make them even more successful,” she said.
“I know some of the current staff members are excited because now they have some new responsibilities and things they can accomplish personally as members of this coaching staff. They are really excited for that. There is a new bit of energy because of it, a new bit of coming together and proving what you’ve got.”
On the passing on Andre Seldon Jr.
The loss of Seldon, one of a few “marquee players,” who followed Dreiling to USU from NMSU, quickly has become the most pressing thing with USU athletics, USU football especially.
And for good reason.
“It is a tragedy that you never wish for,” Sabau said. “It really causes pause, and for a lot of our young people it is the first time they’ve encountered death.”
Utah State has done its best to help the Aggie athletics community grieve, through counseling services and meetings (with the football team and women’s gymnastics team specifically).
“Everyone grieves differently,” Sabau said, “and you can’t take a one size fits all approach. There is no cookie cutter approach that works for everybody.”
Utah State held a memorial for Seldon Thursday night in Maverik Stadium, and it made in impact.
“Sseeing the turnout last night at the memorial service, I don’t think there was a dry eye in Maverik Stadium,” Sabau said. “All of our student-athletes that are on campus, even the ones who aren’t practicing yet, came. So did many of our coaches, those who were in town.
“Andre’s dad was there and his grandpa. It was a beautiful night that honored (Seldon). I said to his family after, ‘This isn’t the end, this is the beginning of a new relationship, and you’ll always be Aggies.’
“I hope that they can come back to Maverik Stadium when it is full and hear the crowd and envision Andre being a part of that.”
On the hires of Troy Morrell and Dave Wiemers
Hiring two new coaches a week before the start of fall camp is definitely unusual, but Sabau said she felt she needed to add the veteran coaches to the Aggies’ staff to help Dreilling in his first season as head coach.
“Nate is young,” she said, emphasis on young. “He is a really new head coach, and it was important to me, from a leadership perspective, that we give him the tools and the personnel that will make him most successful.”
As Sabau tells it, she didn’t foist Morrell and Wiemers on Dreiling. Rather, it was a conversation that started from the moment she called him while he was on a family vacation in Ireland to inform him that he was USU’s new head football coach.
“He and I have talked a lot. A lot of calls, a lot of face-to-face sit downs. When I called him (to tell him he was the interim head coach) he was on a family vacation in Ireland and he came back early.
“He is committed. We met and had several conversations and met on July 5 and started talking about what else do we need to complete this staff? Who else do we want to bring in? I’m really happy with where we ended up.”
There is a lot to like about Morrell and Wiemers — Morrell was part of five national championships at Butler Community College while Wiemers was Dreiling’s defensive coordinator when he was a standout linebacker at Pittsburg State — but nothing is more important to Sabau than their excitement and energy.
“We are bringing in two coaches that are going to add a lot but are really excited to be a part of Utah State,” she said, “and that is what I want.
“I want people to sit up and say, ‘Yeah! We are Utah State.’ Not just, ‘Yeah, we are Utah State.’ There is an innate pride that you feel (as an Aggie), and already — I met Troy yesterday, he came to campus the day before, and he is so excited and ready to go. He has new energy and that is contagious. I think it will really help our team.”