Spring transfer portal a disappointing surprise for Utah State

Optimistic. Pleased. Maybe even a little excited.

That is how best to describe Utah State football coach Blake Anderson when the Aggies closed out spring camp last weekend.

“Spring was a success,” Anderson said on the field of Maverik Stadium. “We’ve gotten better at every position. From this time last year to now, it is a better football team.”

Anderson then added: “We are not done by any means.”

By that he meant that the Aggies have continued room to improve, through the summer and then fall camp. And some of that improvement will also come through additions via the NCAA transfer portal.

“We aren’t going to go crazy (in the portal),” he said. “We like our roster. We will try to add some help in a few key positions but really like the locker room that we have.”

That locker room has taken a bit of a hit, though, both before those comments and after.

Since the spring transfer portal opened on April 16, Utah State had lost more than a dozen players as of April 25.

That includes multiple players who were projected starters and/or who started last season for the Aggies, including quarterbacks Cooper Legas and McCae Hillstead, running backs Davon Booth and Rahsul Faison (although multiple outlets reported Sunday that Faison will be returning to Utah State after all), linebacker Anthony Switzer and defensive end Paul Fitzgerald.

Legas’ departure wasn’t unexpected after Anderson named Iowa transfer Spencer Petras the starting quarterback a week before the end of camp, and Anderson noted that the Aggies were going to do whatever they could to facilitate Legas finding a team where he could find playing time during his final season of eligibility.

But Hillstead, Booth, Fitzgerald and Switzer leaving were all something of a surprise.

“We did not expect to see McCae leave. That is the nature of quarterbacks. He wanted to be the starter and when we named Spence the starter last week we knew that that was gonna bring about some conversations,” Anderson said. “... I didn’t expect McCae to leave but I understand.

“We didn’t expect Paul Fitzgerald to leave and end up at Utah, and obviously nobody expected Davon Booth to leave, but under the circumstances that he was enticed to leave, there was very little we could do.”

Where Hillstead, Fitzgerald and Booth all entered the portal prior to the end of spring ball, Switzer entered the portal after camp concluded. Before he entered Anderson had tabbed Switzer as one of the leaders of the defense, making his departure another surprise, at least nominally.

All of it left Anderson bemoaning the current state of college football while simultaneously trying to make the best of it.

“It is what it is,” Anderson said. “It is a messed up system that is broken and you have to try and handle it the best you can.”

There is still reason for optimism in Logan, though.

Most of the portal entrants were players that probably weren’t going to play significant minutes for the Aggies, barring injuries — not all, but most.

“Those are guys who are trying to get on the field,” Anderson said. “They are buried in the depth chart. Our roster is better than it was a year ago and those are guys who don’t want to be 3s or 4s. Every one of those guys we are going to actively try and find homes where they can play.”

And even with the loss of some high end talent, Anderson believes his team is better this year than it was at this time last year.

“I feel like we’ve added value in every room through recruiting,” he said. “Guys have developed and are playing better ball than last year. Puts us in a good position going into the summer. The focus is to go into fall camp as competitively as we can.”

Anderson isn’t alone in that belief.

Following Switzer’s departure, defensive tackle Gabriel Iniguez wrote on X, “Don’t worry we gone be the best D in the MW. I love keeping receipts.”

The Aggies know they’ve lost talent, but belief remains.

Wrote Ike Larsen on X, “Everyone wants to focus on those leaving. I’ll always love them as brothers, but they are no longer a part of this team and we have to deal with it. Let’s be grateful to who chose this logo!”