Lavalle to transfer

Elkaggie · Post by **Elkaggie** » December 11th, 2019, 10:32 pm

Per twitter.

Elkaggie · Post by **Elkaggie** » December 11th, 2019, 10:33 pm

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » December 11th, 2019, 10:37 pm

That sucks i dont blame him though. He was recruited as a lb and they were trying to have be a dlineman.

Roy McAvoy · Post by **Roy McAvoy** » December 11th, 2019, 10:39 pm

As he should based off fit. I feel bad this kid committed to Usu and then the staff was trying to turn him into a DT.

dyedblue · Post by **dyedblue** » December 11th, 2019, 11:25 pm

I am not surprised. I am prepared for more to come.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post by **Aglicious** » December 12th, 2019, 1:44 am

Well, there goes USU's 3rd all-time highest rated recruit according to 247 rankings. I don't blame him one bit either. You're that highly rated as a LB and you find yourself on a team that is in desperate need of help at LB, especially as the season progressed, and he finds himself trying to bulk up by adding 70 lbs. to a short frame to play some other position. Meanwhile the staff is busy trying freshman after freshman each week as injuries pile up at LB. They even go to walk-ons but the guy with the highest rating is relegated to a few ST duties (which he performed rather well).

His tie during recruiting was coach Patterson coming from ASU and I was so happy he chose not to follow him to TTU but I'm wondering if he regrets sticking it out with the new staff knowing how things worked out.

Madmartigan · Post by **Madmartigan** » December 12th, 2019, 6:42 am

dyedblue wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 11:25 pm
I am not surprised. I am prepared for more to come.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

LOL. You just can't help yourself.

GordoAggie · Post by **GordoAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 7:15 am

Bummer. He was a good get.

Imakeitrain · Post by **Imakeitrain** » December 12th, 2019, 7:52 am

Did he use up a year of eligibility? He did play in a few games. Made that huge block on kick return!

I'd be upset too if a coach switched my position and then used a year of eligibility on kick return. It's almost better for him now if we did use a year, because at least he could get a RS year in when he does sit out.

hipsterdoofus21 · Post by **hipsterdoofus21** » December 12th, 2019, 8:08 am

That sucks, but given how our depth performed the second half of the season the coaches need to recruit the guys that will fit the system they want to establish. Lavalle should've been a LB, but Gary and Ena have a plan and if you support them you'll given them more than 1-2 years to get their system running.

AGGIEinIOWA · Post by **AGGIEinIOWA** » December 12th, 2019, 8:10 am

There’s got to be a good reason why the staff was trying to convert him to D-line. Gary and Ena are both very seasoned and smart defensive guys. They would have left him at LB if they thought that gave the Aggies the best chance to succeed. Makes you wonder what the reason was. Was he too slow for LB, although one of his supposed strengths was running to the ball and he played on special teams this year. Maybe he had an injury that decreased his mobility or something. I wonder if he is leaving by his choice or if he was asked to leave because he isn’t in our long term plan (getting recruited over). Hopefully we can get the whole story some day. Not sure I’ve ever seen a situation quite like Lavelle’s.

Aggie19 · Post by **Aggie19** » December 12th, 2019, 8:14 am

AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:10 am
There’s got to be a good reason why the staff was trying to convert him to D-line. Gary and Ena are both very seasoned and smart defensive guys. They would have left him at LB if they thought that gave the Aggies the best chance to succeed. Makes you wonder what the reason was. Was he too slow for LB, although one of his supposed strengths was running to the ball and he played on special teams this year. Maybe he had an injury that decreased his mobility or something. I wonder if he is leaving by his choice or if he was asked to leave because he isn’t in our long term plan (getting recruited over). Hopefully we can get the whole story some day. Not sure I’ve ever seen a situation quite like Lavelle’s.

Only played in 3 games, he still has a red shirt year.

https://247sports.com/college/utah-stat ... 135166368/

Post by **aggies22** » December 12th, 2019, 8:38 am

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:08 am
That sucks, but given how our depth performed the second half of the season the coaches need to recruit the guys that will fit the system they want to establish. Lavalle should've been a LB, but Gary and Ena have a plan and if you support them you'll given them more than 1-2 years to get their system running.

The funny thing is, we'll never get enough quality depth along the defensive line to run an effective 4-3/4-2 (whatever). Too many of those big guys end up at schools much bigger than Utah State. It's not a knock on us, it's just life in the recruiting world. Coach Andersen said this exact thing the first time he was here.

We currently have 4 scholarship defensive linemen that weren't linebackers last season. If we are counting converted linebackers, we have 9. But none of those linebackers are over 250 pounds.

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » December 12th, 2019, 8:43 am

I know we lost out on that Ami recruit. Do we have any potential D-line targets for this class? D-line seems really thin right now. This was one of the biggest weaknesses on the defense this year in my opinion.

BustaMcNutt · Post by **BustaMcNutt** » December 12th, 2019, 8:49 am

I would think with all the talk of the rise of Jordan Love, we would have it fresh on our minds how little stars matter or at least how difficult it is to project a high school kid's career. We can be outraged we lost one of our highest rated recruits. But I think we should save that emotion for after we see what he becomes. I doubt there would've been too much heartbreak if Love left after one year and us not seeing him play. And that's because he was lowly rated and we hadn't seen what his potential was. But then this week we were all concerned our low-rated recruit was going to get stolen by Texas Tech or Oklahoma. Let's see what LaValle becomes. For now, I'm willing to give Gary the benefit of the doubt as to why LaValle wasn't at LB.

Roy McAvoy · Post by **Roy McAvoy** » December 12th, 2019, 9:05 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:38 am

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:08 am
That sucks, but given how our depth performed the second half of the season the coaches need to recruit the guys that will fit the system they want to establish. Lavalle should've been a LB, but Gary and Ena have a plan and if you support them you'll given them more than 1-2 years to get their system running.
The funny thing is, we'll never get enough quality depth along the defensive line to run an effective 4-3/4-2 (whatever). Too many of those big guys end up at schools much bigger than Utah State. It's not a knock on us, it's just life in the recruiting world. Coach Andersen said this exact thing the first time he was here.

We currently have 4 scholarship defensive linemen that weren't linebackers last season. If we are counting converted linebackers, we have 9. But none of those linebackers are over 250 pounds.

This is what I can't figure out and would love for Andersen to be asked this directly and hear his response. The first time around he said we can't run a 4-3 here and needed to switch to a 3-4 to utilize the strength of the players we can recruit. Then, the next time he comes back he runs a 4 man front.

Aglicious has posted about this at length and once made a great long post about it.

Machismo · Post by **Machismo** » December 12th, 2019, 9:14 am

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 9:05 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:38 am

hipsterdoofus21 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:08 am
That sucks, but given how our depth performed the second half of the season the coaches need to recruit the guys that will fit the system they want to establish. Lavalle should've been a LB, but Gary and Ena have a plan and if you support them you'll given them more than 1-2 years to get their system running.
The funny thing is, we'll never get enough quality depth along the defensive line to run an effective 4-3/4-2 (whatever). Too many of those big guys end up at schools much bigger than Utah State. It's not a knock on us, it's just life in the recruiting world. Coach Andersen said this exact thing the first time he was here.

We currently have 4 scholarship defensive linemen that weren't linebackers last season. If we are counting converted linebackers, we have 9. But none of those linebackers are over 250 pounds.
This is what I can't figure out and would love for Andersen to be asked this directly and hear his response. The first time around he said we can't run a 4-3 here and needed to switch to a 3-4 to utilize the strength of the players we can recruit. Then, the next time he comes back he runs a 4 man front.

Aglicious has posted about this at length and once made a great long post about it.

Send him an e mail and ask, it's worth a shot. football@usu.edu

https://utahstateaggies.com/sports/foot ... dersen/358

Imakeitrain · Post by **Imakeitrain** » December 12th, 2019, 9:15 am

AGGIEinIOWA wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:10 am
There’s got to be a good reason why the staff was trying to convert him to D-line. Gary and Ena are both very seasoned and smart defensive guys. They would have left him at LB if they thought that gave the Aggies the best chance to succeed. Makes you wonder what the reason was. Was he too slow for LB, although one of his supposed strengths was running to the ball and he played on special teams this year. Maybe he had an injury that decreased his mobility or something. I wonder if he is leaving by his choice or if he was asked to leave because he isn’t in our long term plan (getting recruited over). Hopefully we can get the whole story some day. Not sure I’ve ever seen a situation quite like Lavelle’s.

**key note, I'm not accusing you of this because you clearly stated that you'd like more information**

I think there are a lot of players that would get recruited over before Lavalle. Something happened from when Lavalle entered camp until today. There is way too much upside potential for a RS Freshman that was as highly recruited as Lavalle to "recruit over" or ask to leave absent other circumstances.

It does seem like in both football and basketball when a guy leaves via transfer some on the board are quick to state "he wasn't that good anyway/ addition by subtraction/ he was being recruited over"

In some cases that is true. Jordan Stone was trash and had rocks for hands and couldn't hit a free throw. In other cases such as David Collette, Kyle Davis or Koby it's absolutely false. We could have really used Koby last year. We could have certainly used Kyle Davis & David Collette in those years after they transferred.

Switching back to football, make no mistake, it stinks that Ja'Marcus Ingram transferred. It made us less competitive. The good thing is, is that Lavalle was respectful enough to give us time to offer other players.

NavyBlueAggie · Post by **NavyBlueAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 9:19 am

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 10:39 pm
As he should based off fit. I feel bad this kid committed to Usu and then the staff was trying to turn him into a DT.

Spot on Roy. at 5'11" and 225 lbs what shot did he even have as a down lineman. This does nothing to elevate my skepticism of the insight and abilities of D C Ena.

Post by **aggies22** » December 12th, 2019, 9:21 am

Aggie84025 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 8:43 am
I know we lost out on that Ami recruit. Do we have any potential D-line targets for this class? D-line seems really thin right now. This was one of the biggest weaknesses on the defense this year in my opinion.

Promising ones? We have one, 3* DE Sam Moala from Garden City CC, KS. I'm starting to wonder if we are going to be a major player in the Transfer Portal. We currently have 10 juniors-to-be on the team. That sets us up very well to look for FBS transfers with two years remaining or SEVERAL JuCo transfers. This is another reason why we struggled in 2019, we are a VERY young team.

Post by **aggies22** » December 12th, 2019, 9:22 am

NavyBlueAggie wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 9:19 am

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 10:39 pm
As he should based off fit. I feel bad this kid committed to Usu and then the staff was trying to turn him into a DT.
Spot on Roy. at 5'11" and 225 lbs what shot did he even have as a down lineman. This does nothing to elevate my skepticism of the insight and abilities of D C Ena.

You two are dead on. It's just one of MANY head-scratching position changes. Mo Uasike back to DT? Can I get an amen??

Aggie84025 · Post by **Aggie84025** » December 12th, 2019, 9:37 am

aggies22 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 9:22 am

NavyBlueAggie wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 9:19 am

Roy McAvoy wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 10:39 pm
As he should based off fit. I feel bad this kid committed to Usu and then the staff was trying to turn him into a DT.
Spot on Roy. at 5'11" and 225 lbs what shot did he even have as a down lineman. This does nothing to elevate my skepticism of the insight and abilities of D C Ena.
You two are dead on. It's just one of MANY head-scratching position changes. Mo Uasike back to DT? Can I get an amen??

Yes Mo should be going back to D-line. We are pretty set on the O-line. We should also move Logan Lee back to Defense he could have made an impact, but sat the bench on the tight end side without playing much at all.

NavyBlueAggie · Post by **NavyBlueAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 9:43 am

Mo was listed as a 2 year letterman on this seasons roster, and for some reason a very solid D lineman (6'1" 305 lb letterman) was shifted from defense to play on the "O" line. Another head scratcher and I just don't know how much more position shuffling we can absorb at Utah State.

frankiesaysrelax · Post by **frankiesaysrelax** » December 12th, 2019, 12:13 pm

Does anyone know if Andersen was making personnel changes with his players like this at OSU before he bailed on them? I remember hearing something about him saying he hired the wrong assistants or something, but did he have any issues with changing schemes and moving players.

I imagine there is a plan that he thinks will work with the 4- 2 , or whatever number is after the 4, but it seems like it could have been wiser to hold off on implementing that scheme until you've recruited the correct players for it rather than move guys from where they are comfortable and have been playing for their time at USU. Our linebacking core just didn't look the same this year and was one of the more disappointing things to see watching our team play.

USUFAN5 · Post by **USUFAN5** » December 12th, 2019, 12:14 pm

From what I've been told by coaches is that sometimes when a players is told to change positions it is more like a wake up call to say you just aren't cutting it for whatever reason (See Mo and Lavalle)...and they are kind of trying to force an outcome.

Specifically, Lavalle is a traditional thumper type linebacker who just doesn't have the speed to play in this type of a game. There is a reason that, in general, safeties are being moved to linebacker positions. That is just what I've been told.

CanuckAggie · Post by **CanuckAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 1:17 pm

USUFAN5 wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 12:14 pm
From what I've been told by coaches is that sometimes when a players is told to change positions it is more like a wake up call to say you just aren't cutting it for whatever reason (See Mo and Lavalle)...and they kind are trying to force an outcome.

Specifically, Lavalle is a traditional thumper type linebacker who just doesn't have the speed to play in this type of a game. There is a reason that, in general, safeties are being moved to linebacker positions. That is just what I've been told.

Interesting explanation. I could buy that. I'm willing to give Coach A and his staff time to implement things the way they see fit. Some of the changes have seemed odd from an outsiders perspective, but I see no reason not to have some faith that they will get the ball rolling.

NavyBlueAggie · Post by **NavyBlueAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 4:15 pm

This current AGGIE staff has facilities, a fine college, and a truly collegiate experience to recruit to. Time is neither their friend nor ours.

NVAggie · Post by **NVAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 4:46 pm

JFW. That is all I care about. They can do whatever they think needs to be done to win. JFW.

dyedblue · Post by **dyedblue** » December 12th, 2019, 5:32 pm

Madmartigan wrote:
dyedblue wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 11:25 pm
I am not surprised. I am prepared for more to come.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LOL. You just can't help yourself.

By the looks of it, many others can’t help themselves either. There is no way that kid was sticking around with the position change. It could never have worked out.

I’m not sure what you are calling me out for, but yeah, there you go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

YoungBloodAggie · Post by **YoungBloodAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 6:21 pm

dyedblue wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 5:32 pm

Madmartigan wrote:
dyedblue wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 11:25 pm
I am not surprised. I am prepared for more to come.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LOL. You just can't help yourself.
By the looks of it, many others can’t help themselves either. There is no way that kid was sticking around with the position change. It could never have worked out.

I’m not sure what you are calling me out for, but yeah, there you go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It probably has something to do with your incessant criticism of this head coach, BUT then again maybe I'm just grasping at straws here.

2004AG · Post by **2004AG** » December 12th, 2019, 6:36 pm

dyedblue wrote:
Madmartigan wrote:
dyedblue wrote: ↑
December 11th, 2019, 11:25 pm
I am not surprised. I am prepared for more to come.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
LOL. You just can't help yourself.
By the looks of it, many others can’t help themselves either. There is no way that kid was sticking around with the position change. It could never have worked out.

I’m not sure what you are calling me out for, but yeah, there you go.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

How would you have any idea “it could have never worked out”?

We don’t even know for sure that’s why he’s leaving let alone if “there was no way that kid was sticking around with the position change”.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

QuackAttackAggie · Post by **QuackAttackAggie** » December 12th, 2019, 6:39 pm

Gary brought three good players from Utah, without whom we probably struggle to make a bowl game. They wanted to play for him. I'm not going to buy that the kids transferring are doing so because of a problem with GA.

The fact that we were desperate for LBs all season and Lavelle still didn't get in the game might be indicative of his performance at LB. That would be my first thought, not that the coaches were stubbornly trying to get him to a different position for no reason.

hickaggie · Post by **hickaggie** » December 12th, 2019, 6:41 pm

QuackAttackAggie wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 6:39 pm
Gary brought three good players from Utah, without whom we probably struggle to make a bowl game. They wanted to play for him. I'm not going to buy that the kids transferring are doing so because of a problem with GA.

The fact that we were desperate for LBs all season and Lavelle still didn't get in the game might be indicative of his performance at LB. That would be my first thought, not that the coaches were stubbornly trying to get him to a different position for no reason.

You might be right but this D was handled so incompetently this year that its a hard case to make.

Sl7vk · Post by **Sl7vk** » December 12th, 2019, 7:10 pm

Not gonna lie, this one hurts.
I loved this kid as a recruit and his pancake block against (Nevada?!?) on a td kickoff return summed up his potential.
I’m much more worried about Ena than Sanford which seems to run counter the rest of the board.

ineptimusprime · Post by **ineptimusprime** » December 12th, 2019, 8:04 pm

Sl7vk wrote: ↑
December 12th, 2019, 7:10 pm
Not gonna lie, this one hurts.
I loved this kid as a recruit and his pancake block against (Nevada?!?) on a td kickoff return summed up his potential.
I’m much more worried about Ena than Sanford which seems to run counter the rest of the board.

You are definitely not alone. Aggressive, solid defense has been the bread and butter of our resurgence over the last decade. The biggest risk to us slipping back into the dark days is Ena, not GA or Sanford. Part of this may be that I have a deep bias against him because he played for BYU.

Back on topic — sad to see LaValle go.

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