While most people’s attention in Cache Valley was turned toward college basketball and March Madness, the Utah State football team quietly began its spring practice. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall, now leading the team for a second season, is looking to build off a 6-7 season in his debut season with the Aggies.
Mendenhall brought in 29 newcomers to the 2026 roster, consisting of 29 college transfers and 10 high school recruits. Not all of either will be part of spring ball but most are, giving the coaching staff a full month of practices and scrimmages to get the process of implimenting schemes and systems with the 2026 vertion of the Aggies.
There are returning role players, starters and stars from last year’s team, but here we’ll focus on which of those newcomers could end up becoming starters or even stars on this year’s team.
McCae Hillstead (QB)
The return of McCae Hillstead will very clearly be at or near the top of many Aggies fans’ list of storylines to keep an eye on. The now-junior quarterback threw for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns for Utah State as a true freshman in 2023 before departing for the supposedly greener field of Provo. Two years later and circumstance brought the former Aggie back into the fold in Logan.
Expectation dictates that Hillstead will claim the starting job, which is the thing he desperately wants. Hillstead wants to be QB1 and everything he’s done the last few years has aligned with that goal, including leaving Utah State and later reversing course and ditching BYU in favor of the Aggies again.
Whether Hillstead’s end goal is fulfilled has yet to be determined. He will face competition from another transfer quarterback, Grady Brosterhous, along with talented freshmen Kaleb Maryland and Brady Goodman (though Goodman will not be participating in spring practices as he finishes up his high school degree). On paper, Hillstead is the better quarterback. Even on film he’s shown he’s the best QB of the bunch. But now he has to prove that in front of his new coaches.
Javon Robinson (WR)
The Aggies brought in numerous receivers, but none were more productive last year than Javon Robinson, who caught 58 passes for 595 yards and four touchdowns for Georgia State in 2025. Robinson stands 5-foot-7 and tips the scales at just 155 pounds, facts that scream “slot receiver.” And he played that role well for the Panthers. He wasn’t the number one option (that went to a teammate who surpassed 70 catches and 1,000 yards), but was pretty much a lock to reel in 3-5 passes for between 30-70 yards.
Robinson’s statistical production could take a dip at Utah State, depending on scheme and the level of talent around him in the WR room. Georgia State threw the ball almost 40 times per game in 2025 (going 1-11 will put a team in a lot of pass-heavy second halves) so Robinson probably won’t get the target volume he had a year ago. But that’s not to say he won’t have an impact. Quarterbacks love a security blanked slot receiver and Robinson could become a top target in key situations, such as third downs. He’s not going to stretch the field very often, but seven-yard catches on 3rd & 5 win games just as much as 40-yard catches on 1st & 10.
Eli Wood (WR)
Eli Wood spent three-and-a-half seasons at Virginia as a special teams player and occasional wide receiver, having as many tackles as he did receptions. But, over the final six games of his fourth and final season with the Cavaliers, he found a few more chances to be a pass-catcher and not kickoff coverage guy. He caught a pass in all six of those games, tallying 12 total for 162 yards and a touchdown. Most of that production was concentrated in the final two games of the season, Virginia’s appearance in the ACC Championship game and the Gator Bowl. Wood caught seven passes for 101 yards in just those two games, highlighted by a 18-yard TD catch in the conference title game.
Wood is not the only receiving coming to Utah State looking to go from overlooked P4 guy to star G6 athlete (Rex Haynes from Arizona is another on the list) but his at least some experience playing in critical moments in a power conference speak to a level of development that maybe his teammates haven’t achieved.
Jordan Pendleton (EDGE)
In all honesty, the entire edge rusher group for Utah State is one to keep an eye on and you can pick your favorite among the list of newcomers to determine which you think could lead the Aggies this season.
Here’s a quick-hit on some of the newcomers to the group.
- Jordan Pendleton (6’4″ / 235 lbs), transfer from St. Thomas
- Jeremiah Holmes (6’2″ / 235 lbs), transfer from The Citadel
- Adonis Jackson (6’3″ / 265 lbs), transfer from Mississippi Valley State
- James Jennette (6’5″ / 225 lbs), transfer from Virginia Tech
Jordan Pendleton ends up standing out, not just because he shares a name with a former BYU linebacker that played under Mendenhall back in the early 2010s, but for his work as the most disruptive player on a dominant defense last year. Pendleton led St. Thomas in TFLs (12) and sacks (7.5), ranking 35th nationally in the latter. He also forced three fumbles, which led the way for a unit that ranked 14th in the nation in causing fumbles.
Great defenses need disruptive forces and Pendleton could be just what the Aggies need after a year where they struggled to create chaos in opposing backfield outside of players where they sent heavy blitzes.
Asher Cunningham (LB)
Utah State lost a highly productive linebacker this offseason with the graduation of John Miller. The Aggies may very well have picked up his successor in Asher Cunningham. Last season at Elon, Cunningham wasn’t able to break the triple-digit tackle mark like Miller was in 2025, but Cunningham was still all over the place. He had 84 tackles, 7.5 TFLs and 5.0 sacks, plus two interceptions and a forced fumble.
Miller functioned as a do-it-all linebacker at Utah State as he was Utah State’s leading sack artist along with its tackle leader (a fairly rare combination at the college and NFL levels). Cunningham could serve a similar role this year with the Aggies.
Antonio Bluiett (CB)
A transfer from North Dakota, Antonio Bluiett looks like the kind of player that coulde a shoe-in for one of the starting corner spots in the Aggies’ secondary. He has great length, standing 6-foot-1, and played a big role for his team last year, logging 520 snaps and recording 29 tackles, 2.0 TFLs, a sack and three interceptions.
There are no guarantees, but the size and versatility Bluiett can bring by playing either the corner position or perhaps the Nickel position (not necessarily the nickel, or slot cornerback, but the hybrid linebacker/defensive back in a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 base package) is something that will bring value and probably playing time for the young man.
Markie Grant (CB)
It’s possible that Markie Grant could be one of the most underrated newcomers to the team. But as a redshirt freshman last year, he put together a solid season as a cover corner in a consistent role. In 313 defensive snaps played, he allowed the fifth-lowest catch rate among Mountain West cornerbacks last season per PFF (minimum 120 coverage snaps).
With solid length (5-foot-11), though, ideally a bit more bulk by fall (currently 175 pounds), Grant has good potential in what will only be his sophomore season. There are some more experienced players stepping in, such as Antonio Bluiett, D’Angelo Mayes and Marcus McKenzie, but don’t be surprised to see Grant playing regular snaps in the defensive backfield. Probably even some starts.
Chapman Lewis (S)
In a transfer class that features a decent number of players that have experience playing at the power conference level (like, actually playing and not just being on the roster) Chapman Lewis stands out among the crowd. Lew Lewis had his breakout season with Texas Tech in 2024 as a sophomore. when he started in all 11 games he played in and finished fifth on the team in tackles with 43. He also recorded three pass breakups, three interceptions (second on the team) and had one fumble recovery.
Unfortunately, his season ended with a knee injury during the Liberty Bowl. As a result, Lewis played sparingly in the 2025 season and ended up using his redshirt. He appeared in only four regular season games with two more appearances in the postseason that do not count toward redshirt status.
With this level of experience and solid production for a Big 12 team, there’s every bit of confidence that he should be able to shine and potential be an All-Pac-12 safety.
HONORABLE MENTION
These players are ones to watch, but I wanted to limit this list to something reasonable. Otherwise this might just be a list of every newcomer.
- Collin Remenoswky (FB/TE)
- Rex Haynes (WR)
- John Randle Jr. (OL)
- Chewy Wade (OL)
- Ta’avili Tuitama (DT)
- Harrison Taggart (LB)
- David Kabongo (S)
- Kian Afrookhteh (K)
