UTAH STATE OFFENSE

POS. NO. PLAYER HT. WT. CL.

X 1 Ron’quavion Tarver 6-3 215 Sr.

SB 16 Jordan Nathan 5-8 180 So.

LT 76 Roman Andrus 6-4 310 Sr.

LG 68 Moroni Iniguez 6-2 320 Jr.

C 51 Quin Ficklin 6-2 300 Sr.

RG 70 Rob Castaneda 6-4 305 Sr.

RT 52 Sean Taylor 6-5 300 Sr.

TE 87 Dax Raymond 6-5 250 Jr.

Z 21 Jalen Greene 6-2 205 Sr.

QB 10 Jordan Love 6-4 225 So.

RB 8 Gerold Bright 5-9 195 Jr.

While Jordan Love often draws comparisons to former USU quarterback Chuckie Keeton, right guard Rob Castaneda disagrees, insisting Love reminds him of the Kansas City Chiefs’ starting passer. “The last time I’ve seen a guy like that was when I played with Patrick Mahomes,” said Castaneda, who was Mahomes’ Texas Tech teammate for two years. “That’s whom I would compare (Love) to. They both have the arm strength. The way they move in the pocket and run, they’re the same person to me. The dude (Love) is just a stud. I love blocking for Jordan Love. I wouldn’t want to block for anyone else.” Love has completed 64.5 percent of his passes with 18 touchdowns against four interceptions. Nine of his 13 red-zone completions resulted in touchdowns. The Aggies can play at a rat-a-tat pace. They averaged 72 plays a game, and a snap every 22 seconds. The Aggies have scored on 55.6 percent of their drives. Of their 117 full possessions, only 18 — 15.4 percent — were three-and-outs. The Aggies often align with three receivers on one side of the formation to 1) flood an area, or 2) bait an over-shifting defense to vacate the weak side, opening the way for counter runs. Dax Raymond is a multiple threat as an in-line tight end, an off-set blocker or a fourth receiver. Of Raymond’s 17 catches, 13 have moved the chains. Blind-side blocker Roman Andrus, son of former UH basketball player Alan Andrus, leads a line that has yielded eight sacks in 285 pass plays.

UTAH STATE DEFENSE

DE 55 Adewale Adeoye 6-3 275 Sr.

NG 96 Christopher Unga 6-0 295 Jr.

DE 44 Fua Leilua 6-2 285 Jr.

OLB 10 Tipa Galeai 6-5 230 Jr.

ILB 9 David Woodward 6-2 235 So.

ILB 48 Chase Christiansen 6-1 230 Sr.

OLB 3 Jontrell Rocquemore 6-1 210 Sr.

CB 7 D.J. Williams 5-9 180 Jr.

S 25 Shaq Bond 5-10 185 So.

S 23 Gaje Ferguson 6-0 210 Sr.

CB 2 Ja’Marcus Ingram 6-1 195 So.

In recent years, the Aggies have been noted for developing NFL-destined linebackers Nick Vigil, Kyler Fackrell and Bobby Wagner. In January, they hired Keith Patterson, who worked with Arizona State’s linebackers for four years, to be the defensive coordinator and coach USU’s … safeties? But the arrangement has worked, with one safety bringing in-the-box pop (Gaje Ferguson) and another emerging as a shut-down defender (Shaq Bond). The Aggies align symmetrically, with three down linemen bracketed by flex linebackers Tipa Galeai and Jontrell Rocquemore. Galeai, who can play on either edge, has eight tackles for loss, including 5.5 sacks. Inside linebacker David Woodward averages 11.3 tackles per game, and leads the Aggies with 26 solo stops. The defensive scheme radiates from the point, where Christopher Unga is an attacking nose. “Our D-line coach says you either can be the hammer or the nail,” Unga said. “I want to be the hammer.” Four of Unga’s brothers played college football, including former Warriors tight end Tui Unga. The brothers used to play rugby in the family’s front yard. “I’m the youngest,” Unga said. “Being able to get coached by all my brothers is something that really helped me a lot with my journey.”

UTAH STATE SPECIALISTS

PK 62 Dominik Eberle 6-2 195 Jr.

LS 57 Brandon Pada 5-10 205 So.

H 12 DJ Nelson 5-9 200 Sr.

P 63 Taylor Hintze 6-1 200 Jr.

KR 81 Savon Scarver 5-11 185 So.

PR 16 Jordan Nathan 5-8 180 So.

Dominik Eberle repaid an IOU in full when he kicked six field goals, including three from 51 yards, in a rout of New Mexico State in September. In the process, he tied an NCAA record with 24 points by a kicker. Ten months earlier, Eberle missed four of six kicks in an overtime bowl loss to NMSU. Eberle also is the kickoff specialist. Forty-eight of his 68 kickoffs have been touchbacks.

HAWAII OFFENSE

LWO 85 Marcus Armstrong-Brown 6-3 210 Sr.

SB 5 John Ursua 5-10 175 Jr.

LT 75 Ilm Manning 6-4 280 Fr.

LG 57 J.R. Hensley 6-5 310 Jr.

C 63 Taaga Tuulima 6-2 290 So.

RG 60 Solo Vaipulu 6-2 310 Fr.

RT 72 Kohl Levao 6-6 340 Jr.

SB 6 Cedric Byrd 5-9 170 Jr.

RWO 19 JoJo Ward 5-9 175 Jr.

QB 13 Cole McDonald 6-4 210 So.

RB 7 Dayton Furuta 5-11 150 Jr.

Lost in this three-game slump is the development of one of the nation’s most inexperienced offensive lines. Left tackle Ilm Manning and right guard Solo Vaipulu are two of the six true freshmen starting on FBS offensive lines this season. Right tackle Kohl Levao arrived in town in June after transferring from City College of San Francisco. Center Taaga Tuulima is a former walk-on defensive lineman who started one game last year and did not win this year’s job until a week before the opener. But the line has committed only nine pre-snap penalties in 715 offensive plays. The starters have been called for holding three times. “Everybody is learning together,” line coach Mark Weber said of the seven blockers in their first semester at UH. “We continue to get ’em reps at the things they need to get better at.” The new receivers also quickly picked up the offense, which is a cocktail of run-and-shoot and run-pass option concepts. Wideout JoJo Ward, who committed to UH in June and arrived in town on July 18, leads with 16.3 yards per catch. “After a spring (of training), it’ll be night and day from what you’ve seen this year,” receivers coach Andre Allen said of Ward. “That’s how talented he is.” It appears quarterback Cole McDonald, who is fully healthy, is again viewed as a threat on scrambles and keepers. But McDonald also has matured as a passer who is comfortable in the pocket, on half rolls or on street-ball improvisations. Against Fresno State, McDonald looped out of the pocket and, off a hop-skip approach, connected with Byrd on a 50-yard scoring play.

HAWAII DEFENSE

DE 99 Zeno Choi 6-3 280 Sr.

NT 54 Blessman Taala 6-1 310 Fr.

DT 91 Samiuela Akoteu 6-2 280 Jr.

DE 96 Kaimana Padello 6-0 227 Jr.

LB 27 Solomon Matautia 6-1 230 Jr.

LB 49 Manly Williams 6-2 245 Jr.

CB 4 Roe Farris 6-1 180 Jr.

S 16 Kalen Hicks 6-3 200 Jr.

NB 14 Manu Hudson-Rasmussen 6-0 180 Sr.

S 22 Ikem Okeke 6-0 200 Jr.

CB 8 Eugene Ford 6-2 195 So.

At Saint Louis School in the 1980s, Corey Batoon and Manly Williams, an All-State linebacker who went on to play at UH, were defensive teammates. “He was a great football player,” said Batoon, noting Williams’ physical style extended to the basketball court. “He would use his five fouls.” Now Batoon, who is UH’s defensive coordinator, is coaching his former teammate’s namesake nephew, Manly “Pumba” Williams. Last week, Batoon went with the committee approach to replace injured Jahlani Tavai, a multi-purpose linebacker. One of the moves was to use Williams at rush end, where Tavai often aligned to attack the backfield or seal the perimeter. “Pumba has done a nice job in that role,” Batoon said. “That’s where he feels most comfortable. It goes back to his DB background, I guess, playing in space and playing on edges.” Williams was recruited as a safety. Khoury Bethley also has been a pleasant surprise as a true freshman. At Don Lugo High (Chino Hills, Calif.), Bethley played running back, safety, corner and nickel. He was recruited as a “defensive athlete,” then assigned to nickelback in training camp. As Bethley slipped on the depth chart, he ascended on special teams. “He’s a really good tackler,” Batoon said. Bethley had an expanded role against Army’s triple-option. Last week, he played most of the game at free safety against Fresno State, amassing a team-high nine tackles. “I think he has a bright future for us,” Batoon said.

HAWAII SPECIALISTS

PK/KO 94 Ryan Meskell 6-0 185 Jr.

LS 1 Noah Borden 6-1 220 Sr.

P/H 99 Stan Gaudion 6-3 210 So.

KR 28 Elijah Dale 5-10 200 Sr.

PR 19 JoJo Ward 5-9 175 Jr.

After 2017, during which he was pulled as a point-scoring kicker and used exclusively on kickoffs, Ryan Meskell is enjoying the third-most accurate UH season in the past 15 years. Meskell’s accuracy of 78.6 percent (11-for-14) trails Rigo Sanchez’s 100 percent (13-for-13) in 2016 and Scott Enos’ 80.1 percent (17-for-21) in 2010.