About a month is all that remains before the Bronco Mendenhall era of Utah State football begins in earnest, when the Aggies open the 2025 season at home against UTEP.
From there, anything could happen. This season with an almost completely remade team, and in the near and distant future. Utah State football truly could go any way under Mendenhall over the next few years, with NIL and revenue sharing now a thing, plus USU’s impending move to the remade Pac-12 Conference.
Count former Green Bay Packers quarterback Kurt Benkert as one of the believers in Utah State under Mendenhall.
Benkert played two seasons for Mendenhall at Virginia, in 2016 and 2017, which just so happened to be the first two seasons of the Mendenhall era in Charlottesville.
The Cavaliers didn’t experience immediate success, winning just two games in Year 1. But in Year 2, things improved dramatically, with UVA winning six games. From there, UVA experienced multiple seasons that qualified as some of the best for the program in the last 30 years.
In a post on X on Sunday, Benkert waxed wistfully about that era of Virginia football. The Mendenhall era.
“Man I really miss UVA,” Benkert wrote. “We were so bad but we worked hard and (to be honest) had a better record than our talent level should have. We had a few NFL guys but the depth drop off made it tough down the stretch. When Bronco took over so many people transferred out that it made it so hard to compete, (especially) with the academic standards and what not. Definitely got it out the mud those few years and set it up for when (Bryce Perkins) took over and took them on a great run.
“The gap was just really hard to get over those early years but Bronco built it the right way.”
That Mendenhall was able to win at Virginia with less overall talent than the competition bodes well for the Aggies as they move into the Pac-12. Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Washington State and Oregon State all — over the last five years — have a better track record of landing talent. So a coach who can get the most out of his team is needed in Logan.
Utah State is also showing the ability to recruit among the top half in the conference under Mendenhall, which means the Aggie might not even have to over-perform their collective talent level in the future.
Benkert didn’t stop there with his praise of Mendenhall. He went on to express his belief that the Aggies’ new head coach will have similar success rebuilding Utah State. Welcome news for Aggie fans who’ve seen USU add 87 new players this offseason.
“He’ll do the same at Utah (State),” Benkert wrote. “In college, I’d argue the core of the team is more important than the top players most times. You need a TEAM to win consistently in college football, not just a handful of good players.”
Benkert’s praise of Mendenhall didn’t go unnoticed.
Perkins, who led Virginia to an Orange Bowl appearance 2019, responded to Benkert’s post by writing, “Always say one of the best things to happen in my football career was going to UVA and playing for Coach Mendenhall!”
Virginia quarterback Bryce Perkins stands back to pass during the first half of the Orange Bowl NCAA college football game against Florida, Monday, Dec. 30, 2019, in Miami Gardens, Fla. | Lynne Sladky, AP