Bronco Mendenhall eager to lead ‘deeper football team’ into a new season — and a new league

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Football season is nearly here, as Utah State’s season opener against Idaho State sits just nine days away.

One of the Aggies’ biggest strengths this season, according to second-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, is their depth.

“I think it’s just the natural evolution of a football program,” Mendenhall said. “I would say through fall camp … that we are a deeper football team really at every position.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Utah State’s 2026 roster.

Offense

Quarterbacks

By far the most significant recruiting move Mendenhall made this year was landing BYU backup and previous Aggie quarterback McCae Hillstead.

Hillstead started in four games as a true freshman for Utah State in 2023, then transferred to BYU for two seasons of minor action.

Both Hillstead’s teammates and Mendenhall have praised him for his leadership and accuracy with the ball. He impressed coaches in the spring and was named QB1 in April.

“I would say leadership, players’ belief in him, confidence and an experience level all cumulatively made it a clear choice for us,” Mendenhall said of Hillstead.

“He’s a fantastic organizer. He’s very detailed in his planning. The plan that he put together for our offense without coaches being around would rival any offensive coordinator that I’ve seen would have put together.”

Mendenhall and offensive coordinator Robert Anae have raved all year about how deep this year’s quarterback room is. Grady Brosterhous, a transfer from Virginia who appeared in 13 games across four seasons with the Cavaliers, is likely to back up Hillstead.

Texas prep recruit Kaleb Maryland is a name that kept coming up among coaches when talking about the depth, and Anae especially is high on him.

Wide receivers

The player with the most tenure in the program at wide receiver is Anthony Garcia. Garcia was a quarterback in high school and was used as a “Swiss Army knife” contributor for the Aggies last year when they went deep in the playbook.

In four starts and 13 appearances, Garcia had 20 receptions with two touchdowns and threw for four passing scores in just seven attempts.

Utah State will finally have Demick Starling back after redshirting 2025 due to injury. He came to Logan last season after spending four seasons with Virginia and one at Western Kentucky.

With the lack of returners for the Aggies, they looked to the transfer portal for experience.

Senior Georgia State transfer Javon Robinson will be a rotation piece for Utah State. He had six starts in 2025 and tallied 595 yards and four touchdowns on 58 receptions.

Virginia transfer Eli Wood also comes in after four years with the Cavaliers. He appeared in 35 games during his time with Virginia.

Running backs

Utah State will have one of its top running backs from a year ago in Javen Jacobs, who finished the year with 1,058 all-purpose yards and scored eight total touchdowns.

Cache Valley local Noah White will be back after a true freshman season with two starts and 12 appearances. White tallied 271 all-purpose yards a year ago.

The Aggies also brought in Oklahoma State transfer Sesi Vailahi, who spent three years with Oklahoma State and had 26 appearances with three starts.

Tight ends

After losing Broc Lane and Josh Sterzer, Utah State is looking light at tight end.

Kache Kaio will very likely be the starter. Kaio played in all 13 games and had one start last year. He previously played at Snow College before transferring to Utah State last season. He caught just two passes for 10 yards.

The Aggies added only two transfers, both from Division II schools — Tyler Masdea from Shippensburg and Collin Remenowsky from Ashland.

Offensive line

A year ago, Utah State’s offensive line was arguably its biggest weakness and struggled with depth. Here’s who it’s relying on to improve on last year.

Three of the four total returning offensive starters are offensive linemen in Jimmy Liston, George Maile and Tavo Motu’Apuaka.

Maile is entering his senior year after starting all 13 games at left guard for Utah State. He’s played in 46 total games and 1,181 snaps.

After two years with Purdue, Liston transferred to Utah State and started in all 13 games at center.

Motu’Apuaka started seven games as a true freshman in 2023, but didn’t play in 2024 due to injury. He came back in 2025 and started all 12 games at right guard.

Transfers include Kadin Lynch from William & Mary, John Randle Jr. from Purdue, Evan Nesmith from Cornell, Seth Wilfred from Auburn and Chewy Wade from Oklahoma State.

The offensive line struggled with injuries during the spring, so the coaching staff didn’t get a solid opportunity to see how the new group looks. However, they are finally getting a chance now in fall camp.

“It was limiting in the spring because of the injuries to be able to practice,” said Mendenhall. “We had to limit repetitions, limit team repetitions, and limit the amount that we actually had contact because of just the sheer lack of numbers that we had.

“We’re deeper, we’re certainly more talented, and we’re executing at a higher level. A lot of that’s because we have competition, but also we’ve been able to have repetitions and a format of practice that allows that group to develop at a higher level.”

Defense

Inside linebackers

The big headliner here for Utah State is Bronson Olevao Jr., who is entering his fifth year with the program. He started in all 13 games for the Aggies last season and was named All-Mountain West Honorable Mention.

Olevao is coming off a campaign of 90 tackles, four sacks, 7.5 TFLs and two interceptions.

Mataira Brown returns after playing in 12 games with one start. He finished the year with 35 tackles and one interception.

The Aggies brought in a handful of seasoned transfers, including one local player in Harrison Taggart. Taggart is a California transfer, but prepped locally at Corner Canyon and played two years at BYU.

Taggart played in all 13 games for California last year and tallied 38 tackles.

Three FCS transfers also join the Aggies: Brycen Edwards from Lehigh, Jordan Pendleton from St. Thomas and Asher Cunningham from Elon. All three earned some all-conference recognition.

Outside linebackers

Tevita Tuha, Chris Joe and Blake Barnes all return for the Aggies. Tuha played in 11 games last year and had eight tackles and one TFL. Barnes was a redshirt freshman last year and missed the season due to injury.

Meanwhile, as a true freshman, Joe played in all 13 games and started in 10. He finished with 41 tackles, four sacks and six TFLs.

Utah State welcomes four transfers in BJ Diakite from North Alabama, James Jennette from Virginia Tech, Jeremiah Holmes from The Citadel and Adonis Jackson from Mississippi Valley State.

Diakite missed most of the 2025 season due to injury, but before that at Vanderbilt, he played in 26 games through three seasons.

Cornerbacks

Utah State lost its starting cornerbacks, including first-team all-Mountain West member Noah Avinger. However, it returns two contributors in Bobby Arnold and D’Angelo Mayes. Arnold played in 11 games with three starts and 21 tackles, while Mayes played in all 13 with four starts, 40 tackles and two interceptions.

Three transfers moved to Logan, including Antonio Bluiett from North Dakota. Bluiett earned first-team All-Missouri Valley and FCS honorable mention All-American.

The two other transfers are Kye Stokes from Cincinnati and Markie Grant from Wyoming.

Stokes played two seasons at Ohio State, appearing in 11 games, and two seasons at Cincinnati, appearing in 24 games.

Safeties

The Aggies have plenty of returning safeties, and one of their most significant returners is senior Brevin Hamblin. Hamblin received honorable mention All-Mountain West honors last season.

This will be Hamblin’s second year with the program after transferring from Utah Tech. He started in 12 games last season and finished with 114 tackles, eight pass breakups, an interception and a fumble recovery.

Hamblin isn’t the only returning senior, as Bryson Taylor will also suit up again for Utah State. Taylor is coming off a season of five starts, 32 tackles and five pass breakups.

Both D’Andre Barnes, Charger Doty and Chika Ebunoha all return for the Aggies. Ebunoha transferred to Utah State last year after two years at BYU. However, an injury after the season opener caused him to miss the season.

The safety room also has one of the most intriguing transfers on the Aggies’ roster: Chapman Lewis.

Lewis previously became a starter for Texas Tech in his sophomore season in 2024. However, an injury in the 2024 Liberty Bowl caused him to redshirt during 2025.

In 2024, Lewis totaled 43 tackles and three interceptions for the Red Raiders.

Defensive line

The message from sophomore standout Carson Tujague was clear: He thinks this year’s defensive line could be the best in the Pac-12.

Tujague started in 12 games last year as a true freshman and shined with 72 tackles and four TFLs.

“We have a lot of new transfer defensive linemen who are going to come in and play and not only play, but dominate,” said Tujague. “I think it’s going to be really exciting to see what we accomplish.”

Tyree Morris is another returning starter on the defensive line after recording 48 tackles and four sacks last season.

Utah State also brought in four transfers to the defensive line.

Ta’avili Tuitama is coming in after two years at New Mexico State. He started in seven games last season and tallied 20 tackles and two sacks.

Arkansas State transfer Quincy Wright played in just one game last year. Previously, Wright started four games for Sam Houston State.

Baylor transfer Ronnie Mageo and Texas Tech transfer Kasen Long round out the four-year transfers.

Special teams

Long snapper Hyrum Hatch and punter Landon Rehkow will both suit up again for Utah State.

However, kicker Kian Afrookhteh is certainly the most important special teams transfer. A California native, Afrookhteh played two years in junior college at Saddleback College, spent a year kicking at Nevada and then another at Coastal Carolina last season.

Afrookhteh went 15-of-19 on field goals last year, including 4-of-5 from 40-plus yards out. He was also perfect on extra points, converting on all 32 attempts.

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