Bishop Davenport Gets Start For Utah State Against Wyoming

LOGAN, Utah – With Cooper Legas and Levi Williams still battling injuries, freshman Bishop Davenport will make his first start as the Aggies face Wyoming.

USU (3-4, 2-1) travels to Laramie, WY where they will take on the Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday, October 22. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. (MST).

Last three true freshman starting quarterbacks for Utah State had big debuts:

9/3/11 Chuckie Keeton nearly pulls the upset over Auburn

10/19/13 Darell Garretson 15/23 for 144 yards a 1 TD in a 45-10 win v. New Mexico.

11/2/14: Kent Myers 14/15 passing v. Hawaii in a 35-14 win

— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) October 23, 2022

Behind Davenport, sophomore Garrett Larson and true-freshman Chase Tuatagaloa made the trip to Laramie and are available if necessary.

About Bishop Davenport

A 6’2 freshman out of Spring, Texas, Davenport was considered one of the jewels of Utah State’s 2022 recruiting class.

Davenport was rated a three-star recruit by ESPN.com and 247Sports.com. He was named the Texas District 14-6A co-Offensive MVP and a first-team quarterback as a prep senior in 2021.

Davenport threw for 7,433 yards during his prep career, as he was 486-of-714 (.681) passing with 77 touchdowns and 15 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,667 yards on 232 carries (7.2 ypr) with 16 touchdowns as he had five 100-yard rushing games for Spring High School.

Bishop Davenport rushes into the end zone for the go-ahead TD ⚡

Reminder, he's @USUFootball's fourth string QB pic.twitter.com/mAh8nPWOw3

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) October 16, 2022

Pressed into action at Colorado State, Davenport did enough to help the Aggies get a much needed 17-13 win.

Finishing 3-of-9 through the air for 41 yards, Davenport also ran for 29 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in his first appearance.

“He made good decisions so there’s a lot more we can do with him,” Anderson said of the freshman quarterback. “He is very capable. He understands the system well. But in the heat of the moment, we were extremely limited because he just hasn’t had reps.”

Utah State Aggies (3-4, 2-1) vs. Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 2-1)

Utah State lost Cooper Legas (concussion) and Levi Williams (ankle) to injuries last week against Colorado State. Down to their fourth QB of the season, redshirt-freshman Bishop Davenport led USU to a second-half, come-from-behind win over the Rams.

Though Legas and Williams each have more time in Anderson’s system, Davenport has been with the Aggies since early summer. With a week of practice reps under Davenport’s belt, a luxury Utah State didn’t have in last week’s win, he should be able to handle running a larger portion of the offense.

Battle for The Rifle‼️

🆚 Wyoming
⌚️ 7:45 PM
📺 FS2
📊 https://t.co/zJdoJ3Wp9y
🔊 https://t.co/vioCVQHXMY#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/fGEIG6dsIK

— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 22, 2022

As a team, USU is piling up 173.5 yards per game on the ground. Their 1,215 rushing yards are good for second in the Mountain West and top-20 nationally. Utah State’s 294 rushing attempts are the second most in the conference, behind only a passing challenged Air Force team.

The Cowboys rush defense has been stout, allowing a fifth in conference 147 yards per game on the ground.

Calvin Tyler Jr. has been on a tear in recent weeks. In his second season with the Aggies, Tyler Jr. has four 100+ yard rushing games, including topping the century mark in his past three games. Tyler Jr. is the first Aggie back since Kerwynn Williams to top 100 yards in three straight games. Despite his success piling up the yardage, Tyler Jr. has found the end zone once this season.

ℝ𝕦𝕟 𝕀𝕥 🆙💨 pic.twitter.com/DgUzNTtg91

— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 20, 2022

Behind Tyler Jr. is freshman Robert Briggs. In his college debut, Briggs carried 10 times for 85 yards and a touchdown. After earning Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors in that win over UConn, Briggs has only reached double-digit carries twice.

Junior linebacker MJ Tafisi is averaging more than nine tackles per game and is 12th in the nation with 66 stops. Senior linebacker AJ Vongphachanh’s 61 stops is third in the Mountain West and 20th nationally.

This dynamic pair of linebackers will need help stopping a Wyoming offense that is averaging a fifth in the Mountain West, 23 points per game.

Game Eight Captains

As customary, Utah State has named five captains for today’s game. Junior defensive end Patrick Joyner Jr.; graduate-junior defensive end Daniel Grzesiak; sophomore long-snapper Jacob Garcia; graduate-senior offensive lineman Jacob South and graduate-senior offensive lineman Wade Meacham.

𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝟖 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 🏈

▫️Jacob South
▫️Wade Meacham
▫️Jacob Garcia
▫️Pat Joyner
▫️Daniel Grzesiak#BeatWyoming | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/jI8PSd9i1L

— USU Football (@USUFootball) October 22, 2022

Watch & Listen

Utah State (3-4, 2-1) head east to Laramie, Wyoming where they will face the Wyoming Cowboys (4-3, 2-1) on Saturday, October 22. Kickoff for this game is scheduled for 7:45 p.m. (MST). Fans can watch the game on Fox Sports Networks.

Every Utah State football game can be heard on the KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie quarterback Kevin White on the call.

Follow @bpreece24