Let's start with the good news:
USU Leads WAC In Academic All-Conference Honorees
Aggies lead the league for the seventh time in the last eight years


Aug. 2, 2006

LOGAN, Utah - For the seventh time in the last eight years, Utah State has led its conference in number of academic all-league honorees as the Aggies landed 120 of its student-athletes on the academic all-WAC teams in 2005-06.

USU's 120 selections bettered Fresno State (117) and Idaho (104), while no other school in the league had more than 85 picks. To qualify for the academic teams, student-athletes must post a 3.0 grade-point average and participate in at least 50 percent of the team's games.

USU teams that led the league in their respective sports include soccer with 19 picks, women's basketball (eight), gymnastics (10), softball (eight), and men's tennis (six).

The Aggie football team tied for second with Fresno State with 15 picks behind only Boise State, which placed 19 athletes on the list.

USU led the Big West Conference in academic selections in 2000 as well as 2002-05. In 2001, the Aggies ranked second in the league in honorees.

USU student-athletes presently boast a combined cumulative 3.08 grade-point average with 54 percent owning at least a 3.00 GPA.

Downs Dismissed From Football Team
Redshirt freshman was expected to be a top backup at linebacker


Aug. 2, 2006

LOGAN, Utah - Redshirt freshman Steven Downs has been dismissed from the Utah State football team for repeated violations of team rules it was announced by Aggie head coach Brent Guy on Wednesday.

Downs, who is from Anaheim, Calif., redshirted his first season at USU in 2005 and was slated to be a top backup at middle linebacker heading into fall camp.

The 6-1, 223-pound Downs was an all-league selection while playing tight end and defensive end at Esperanza High School. He also played basketball and was named a scholar-athlete at the school.

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The positive spin to the last story is that Downs wasn't going to be a big part of Utah St's team, IMO.

notice Fresno State is nipping at your ass.


;-)

Congrats USU though.

BarkBoard Wrote:notice Fresno State is nipping at your ass.


;-)

Congrats USU though.

Thanks, Barkboard. Your programs get a bad rap from fans and media. This is evidence of that, IMO. Steve Cleveland has your BB team on the right track. And Pat Hill is my favorite coaching personality in the WAC. Other than Brent Guy, I'd rather listen to one of Pat Hill's interviews over any other any day.

I guess that we didn't do all that badly. We have had several off field problems this off season, but in all reality the only notable player that has been lost was Brian Soi. And he was for academic reasons. The other players that have been kicked off are the backup QB, a backup WR, and a redshirt freshman LB. They really didn't account for much production and we have more skilled players at their positions. As for Soi. Too bad, I hope he can play well in Arena football.