Utah State’s Fall camp is in full swing as the Aggies prepare for the 2025 season with their season opener against UTEP less than a month out. There are still some questions about the depth chart, especially at receiver and at offensive line, but there are other position groups where the starters are clearer. So, who are the predicted starters and who are the backups that could make a difference and potentially see the field? Let’s get into it!
This article in the series will cover the linebackers.
Weakside Linebacker
Starter: Bronson Olevao Jr. (Junior): Before attending Utah State in 2022, Bronson Olevao Jr. went on a two-year LDS mission. Bronson arrived at Utah State in 2022 and redshirted the season, not appearing in any games. During the 2023 season, Olevao Jr. played in three games before injury kept him out for the rest of the season. He finished 2023 with six tackles and two tackles for loss. During his sophomore season in 2024, Olevao Jr. played in 12 games and finished with 23 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and four tackles for loss.
Backup Weakside Linebacker: #1 Mataira Brown (Sophomore); Ryker Lotulelei (Freshman)
Mataira Brown attended Snow College in Utah before coming to Utah State and played in 11 games in 2024, leading the team with 47 tackles and garnering 0.5 sacks, 9.5 tackles for loss, and one forced fumble. During Mataira Brown’s senior year of high school at Pleasant Grove (Utah) High School, he had 88 tackles with four sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
Ryker Lotulelei is a freshman out of West High School in Salt Lake City and served on a two-year LDS mission from 2022-2024. A three-star prospect and ranked as the 45th best recruit in the state of Utah (247Sports), Lotulelei had 54 tackles, three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, and an interception in his senior year.
Middle Linebacker
Starter: John Miller (Senior): During his redshirt junior season with Utah State, John Miller appeared in 12 games and made seven starts during the season. Miller finished 2024 with 52 tackles, two sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, and two pass breakups. John Miller attended Oregon State (2020-2023) before coming to Utah State and had 22 tackles, one tackle for loss, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble over four years. John Miller was a three-star prospect out of Oregon and was ranked as the #5 player in the state by 247Sports.
Backup Middle Linebacker: #1 Sampson Alofipo (Junior); #2 Tymere Burton (Sophomore) #3 Jaxton Scoffield (Freshman)
Sampson Alofipo spent two seasons at New Mexico Military Institute (2023-2024) before arriving at Utah State, and made a major impact, appearing in 22 games and recording 106 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 19.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumble recoveries, and a forced fumble. During his sophomore season, Alofipo made 60 tackles, 4.5 sacks, and six tackles for loss and added two pass breakups, an interception, a forced fumble, and a recovered fumble. During his freshman season at New Mexico Military Institute, Sampson Alofipo had seven sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss and added three pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery. Burton was a three-star recruit coming out of Liberty High School in Nevada.
Tymere Burton is in his first season with the Aggies after spending his last two seasons at East Mississippi Community College (2024) and Charlotte (2023). While at East Mississippi Community College, Burton appeared in seven games and made 22 tackles and one tackle for loss. Burton did not appear in any games at Charlotte, redshirting the 2023 season. Tymere Burton attended high school at South Gwinnett High School in Georgia and recorded 37 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, and an interception.
Jaxton Scoffield comes into Utah State out of Roy High School and played in 24 games in his varsity high school career. Throughout his career, Scoffield had 80 tackles, five tackles for loss, five sacks, nine pass deflections, three interceptions, and six fumble recoveries.
STRIKE
Starter: Brevin Hamblin (Junior): Brevin Hamblin is in his first season with Utah State after playing for Utah Tech for the 2023-2024 seasons, totaling 139 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss, three pass breakups, and two forced fumbles through 23 games and 14 starts. During the 2024 season, Hamblin led the team in tackles with 96 and had 2.5 tackles for loss, adding two forced fumbles and two pass breakups to his statistics. During his freshman season at Utah Tech, Brevin Hamblin had 43 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Brevin Hamblin prepped at Syracuse (Utah ) High School and had 31 tackles, six interceptions, four pass breakups, and one forced fumble as a senior. As a junior, Hamblin had 45 tackles and seven interceptions.
Backup STRIKE: #1 Bobby Arnold (Junior); #2 Titan Saxton (Sophomore); #3 Blake Barnes (Redshirt Freshman)
Bobby Arnold is in his first season with Utah State after spending time at New Mexico (2024) and Dodge City Community College in Kansas (2022-2023). With the Lobos, Arnold redshirted and appeared in four games, finishing the season with 21 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss through three starts. At Dodge Community College, Arnold appeared in 19 games and had 49 tackles, one sack, five tackles for loss, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and a pass breakup.
Titan Saxton redshirted the 2023 season with the Aggies before transferring to Snow College in Utah for the 2024 season, where he had 47 tackles, two sacks, seven tackles for loss, three pass breakups, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. The sophomore is now back with the Aggies and looking to make an impact. Coming out of Sky View High School in Utah, Titan Saxton had 56 tackles and three interceptions as a senior to help Sky View High School win back-to-back championships. Before attending Utah State, Titus Saxton went on a two-year LDS mission.
Blake Barnes had a productive high school career at Milford (Utah) High School and is the younger brother of senior quarterback Bryson Barnes. As a senior, Blake Barnes rushed for 1,183 yards on 213 carries and had 13 touchdowns. Barnes also had 408 yards receiving and five touchdown catches while also adding 410 kickoff return yards on the season. Defensively, Blake Barnes registered 100 tackles, one sack, 12 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and one fumble recovery. As a junior, defensively, Barnes had 160 tackles, one sack, and two tackles for loss. Offensively, Blake Barnes had 687 yards receiving and two touchdowns. As a sophomore, Blake Barnes rushed for 530 yards and had four touchdowns offensively. Defensively, Barnes had 86 tackles, one tackle for loss, six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and one interception. While Barnes may not see much of the field, if at all, this season, he is a player who could certainly see the field as soon as next season if he can keep developing.
