When the Utah State Aggies take the field at Maverik Stadium on August 30, many of them will be experiencing Utah State football for the first time.
A select group of Aggies will not be experiencing it for first time ever, exactly, but no longer will they be the opposition. Included in that group are six transfers — Bobby Arnold, Noah Avinger, Hyrum Hatch, Javen Jacobs, D’Angelo Mayes and Bryson Taylor — from New Mexico, players who followed Bronco Mendenhall and his staff to Utah State this past winter.
It isn’t abnormal for players to follow their coaches, particularly in the current NIL and transfer portal era of college football. A year ago multiple former New Mexico State players followed then-USU defensive coordinator Nate Dreiling to Utah State, and when Blake Anderson took over the job in 2020, a good chunk of former Arkansas State players followed him westward.
Even before that, when Gary Andersen took the head coaching job for a second time, leaving behind a role at the University of Utah, a chunk of Utes made the trip up 1-15 and through Sardine Canyon on a permanent basis.
Mendenhall has a unique reputation among college football coaches, though. He is demanding, has extremely high expectations and his NIL system requires players to earn everything they get, so for half a dozen players to follow him — more when you consider the former New Mexico commits who switched to Utah State ahead of the early signing period last winter — is notable.
Why follow Mendenhall to Utah State? What is it about him that appealed so much?
For Avinger, who had previously transferred from San Diego State to New Mexico, the allure was simple.
Washington State’s quarterback John Mateer, right, stiff arms New Mexico’s Noah Avinger as he runs down the sidelines for a gain during an NCAA college football game Saturday Nov….
Source link : https://www.deseret.com/sports/2025/08/08/why-noah-avinger-transferred-utah-state-new-mexico-bronco-mendenhall/
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Publish date : 2025-08-09 00:42:00
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