Justin McGriff, Utah State Football News: Draft Scout Player News

08/21/22 - WR Justin McGriff, Sr/2023, Utah State

A lot of wide receiver coaches would surely be a bit nervous about having to replace three athletes who accounted for an impressive 3,329 yards and 31 touchdowns on 206 receptions from a record-setting team, but Kyle Cefalo doesn't seem to be fazed one bit. Gone are All-American Deven Thompkins, Derek Wright and Brandon Bowling, who all caught double-digit scoring passes a year ago, but the cupboard is not bare at Utah State. Justin McGriff, who has started all 20 games he has played in for the Aggies, returns, as does slot target Kyle Van Leeuwen. The defending Mountain West championships also brought in a trio of talented transfers that are expected to make immediate impacts.

Also back for the Aggies is offensive coordinator Anthony Tucker and quarterback Logan Bonner, who broke the single-season program records in passing yards (3,628) and touchdowns (36). Indeed, it's easy to see why Cefalo, who is also the team's passing game coordinator, is optimistic heading into the 2022 campaign. "Honestly, I have all the confidence in the world in this group right now because we've got so much healthy competition out there and we've got some good leadership with Justin, Brian (Cobbs) and Kyle," said Cefalo, who has coached first-team all-conference wideouts in four straight seasons - the first three at Arkansas State. "And then we have a bunch of talent that's just kind of lurking around, and every other day someone else is showing up. And they're competing. It's in a friendly way because they're teammates, but at the same time they're wideouts and they want to play and they want the football, so every day I see them pushing one another and getting better and improving. "So, with where the group is at right now, I honestly couldn't be happier because we've pilled up a lot of good work days together and I'm already seeing the improvement." - Herald Journal Tribune

Sr/2023