There’s no way around it. Last year’s Utah State defense wasn’t good enough.
The Aggies finished ninth in the Mountain West in points allowed per game as the defense allowed an average of 28.7 points.
Two early performances showed some weaknesses of the defense, and both occurred early on in conference play.
The first of the two was a road game against Hawaii. The Rainbow Warriors simply torched Utah State on the pass and threw for 413 yards in the 44-26 win.
The defense again looked poor two weeks later against New Mexico. In Bronco Mendenhall’s return to Albuquerque, the Aggies gave up 224 rushing yards in a convincing 33-14 loss.
Still, it wasn’t all bad, and the defense improved as the season went on, especially against Fresno State and UNLV. The defense played well enough to beat UNLV by holding the best offense in the conference to a then-season low total points, but special teams blunders kept the Aggies from the win.
Then, the defense also shut out Fresno State in the second half to get its first road win and become bowl eligible.
While Utah State lost top contributors like John Miller, Ike Larsen and Noah Avinger, it returns a defensive coordinator in Nick Howell.
“What kind of happened last year is we solidified our identity and played really well the back half of the season,” Howell said. “We’ve got a lot of guys returning, and we’ve brought in guys that can help us.”
Howell is excited to build upon last year, especially since he says the start to last season had a learning curve for the new coaching staff.
“A year ago, I break the season into a half where we were really just trying to figure out what to do with certain guys and guys learning new things, and then some critical stops and good play happened down the back half,” Howell said. “I think that was due to guys knowing what to do and continuity on the field. I think we can build on that by just getting the right guys out there doing the right stuff.”
Key returnees
Utah State returns some of its key defenders, including linebacker Bronson Olevao Jr. Despite entering his fifth year in the program, this year will be the first time he retains a defensive coordinator.
“I haven’t had the same defensive coordinator for the past four years except for this year,” Olevao said. “This year, the excitement for all of us, but specifically for me, is to build upon what I know and what I’ve been able to experience in my gameplay.”
Defensive tackle Carson Tujague had a strong year as a redshirt freshman in 2025. After redshirting the 2024 season at BYU, Tujague had 12 starts for the Aggies and recorded 72 total tackles (19 solo). Tyree Morris also returns to the defensive line after totaling 48 tackles and four sacks.
“I think we could be the best in the conference,” Tujague said. “We have a lot of new transfer defensive linemen who are going to come in and play and not only play, but dominate. I think it’s going to be really exciting to see what we accomplish.
“I think we’re just going to be able to stop the run, like (we got better at) last season. We’re run stoppers, and we take pride in being able to stop the run. ... I think that’ll be our strength up front.”
Other returners include linebacker Chris Joe and safety Brevin Hamblin. Hamblin earned all-Mountain West honorable mention honors after tallying 114 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery.
That’s all the returning starters for the defense, but the Aggies brought in some defensive talent that they have good reason to feel excited about.
Newcomers
First is California transfer Harrison Taggart. Taggart prepped locally at Corner Canyon High and played two years at BYU before transferring to California last season.
Taggart’s high-energy personality has allowed him to mesh well already with the Aggies’ defense, and immediately he noticed how hungry this year’s group is.
“A lot of the guys have chips on their shoulders,” Taggart said. “I think we’ve got a bunch of great pieces on our defense, and going through spring ball, like everybody was just getting after it and it’s awesome.
“This defense has a different edge to them than I’ve ever been a part of. They’re — angry isn’t the right word, but edge is. Everybody plays a little bit angry, but it’s good on defense. It’s really good for a defense.”
Other newcomers are FCS transfer linebackers Brycen Edwards, Jordan Pendleton and Asher Cunningham. Edwards is a Lehigh transfer, Pendleton from St. Thomas and Cunningham from Elon. All three were named to their respective all-conference teams.
Utah State has another FCS transfer in cornerback Antonio Bluiett. Bluiett is a transfer from North Dakota and was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team last year.
Lastly, one of Utah State’s most interesting defensive transfers is safety Chapman Lewis. Lewis previously became a starter for Texas Tech his sophomore season in 2024. However, an injury in the 2024 Liberty Bowl caused him to redshirt the 2025 season.
In his 2024 season, Lewis totaled 43 tackles and three interceptions for the Red Raiders.
Head coach Bronco Mendenhall said Lewis was continuing to return to 100% in the spring, but expected him to be fully healthy and ready to start in Utah State’s home opener against Idaho State on Sept. 5.
