How’s replacing Jalen Royals going?

When news broke ahead of the Wyoming game that Jalen Royals wasn’t going to play another snap in a Utah State uniform, a foot injury knocking him out for the season and ending his career in Logan, questions arose immediately.
Namely, how would Utah State football replace the future pro? Would USU’s prolific offense change? Could anyone on the roster come close to approximating Royals’ production?
With two games in the books following the loss of Royals, those answers have been answered.
Next man up. It is a sports cliche for a reason. It is a real thing, even if it isn’t the most exciting answer.
That is how Utah State has replaced Royals. Or tried to at least.
“It has kind of been the motto this year,” interim head coach Nate Dreiling said. “Next man up mentality.”
Thus far, next man up has been a combination of wide receivers — namely Otto Tia, Kyrese White, Jack Hestera and Grant Page.
Throw in running backs Rahsul Faison and Herschel Turner as well.
It has been a committee approach, with each of those aforementioned players either hitting their season high in receptions in the last two games, or coming close to it with their second-most receptions in a game this year.
Tia has a combined 11 receptions over the last two games, the most prolific catching stretch of his USU career.
White has a combined 10 receptions over the same stretch.
Against Washington State, Page set a new career high in receptions with seven.
No player has come close to the 10-plus receptions per game that Royals was regularly posting before going down with an injury, but many have seen their workload grow.
As evidenced by the production of the last two games, Utah State hasn’t tried too hard to replace Royals with a single player. Rather, the offense has been about versatility. The more players targeted the better.
Here are all the players with four or more receptions in at least one of the last two games:
Spreading the ball around has all been a part of the plan, post-Royals.
“You knew Jalen was going to get 150 yards (a game),” Dreiling said after the Wyoming game. “You knew Rahsul was going to run for over 100 and then the next guy was going to have a big game. And now that next guy, whoever they are, they have to be way more consistent. Not that they weren’t, but the ball is going to come to them a lot more often. Whether that is Otto, or Kyrese, Jack or Grant Page. All of these guys who have unbelievable talent. And each of them have had individual games with over 100 yards. Can we stack that and have a couple of them do that consistently every single week?”
Two weeks later, Dreiling thinks things have gone pretty well on that front.
“The ball is getting facilitated all over the place, so it is going to be hard for defenses to key in on one target when it is a pretty even group across the board,” he said. “There is a lot of consistent play with those guys and I think Spencer (Petras) continues to have a good year and hopefully can finish strong these next three games.”
If there is a player who has come close to approximating Royals, it is Page. Specifically his performance against Washington State had shades of Royals to it.
Page led the Aggies in both receptions (seven) and receiving yards (54). The only thing missing was a touchdown and a big play reception, with his longest catch going for 15 yards.
The sophomore isn’t Royals, to be clear, but at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds he has shown glimpses of being a real playmaker for the Aggies.
That Page is in this position is of note, given how sparingly he played to start the season.
Slowly but surely, he has carved out a role, though, with Royals’ absence only adding to his opportunity.
He credits his improved production to growth mentally. A better understanding of the game and Utah State’s offensive scheme.
“Mentally I have improved a lot,” Page said. “Playbook, the offense, knowing where to line up. And executing. Mentally I have improved a bunch. Physically I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing.”
He has also tried to build his connection with Petras, in order to finish the season out strong.
“Me and him (Petras), our relationship has grown a lot,” Page said. “I’m getting a lot of reps with the No. 1s now. We’ve been throwing a lot trying to get that chemistry down, so on Saturday’s everything clicks. I feel like me and Spencer’s chemistry has improved a lot the last couple of weeks and it is only going to get better and keep growing.”
Page understands, though, that no one can replace Royals by themselves. For good reason. Royals is expected to be the first Aggie drafted since quarterback Jordan Love in 2020 and there is at least a chance that Royals is a first round selection like Love was.
“Everybody knows that Jalen is a huge part of our offense,” Page said, “but we have to move on and get better. And I think a bunch of guys stepped up, including myself. I think we are getting better each week. I think we are going to have a good next three games.”