Utah State Football Preaches ‘Earned, Not Given’ Philosophy
Jul 16, 2025, 4:53 PM
Utah State football heads into 2025 with heads held high under Bronco Mendenhall. (Photo courtesy of Utah State Athletics)
(Photo courtesy of Utah State Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – After a season of turmoil and upheaval that started at the very top, Bronco Mendenhall and the Utah State Aggies are hoping to instill a culture in Logan that propels USU into the next era.
“Our program is earned, not given,” 2024 All-MW honorable mention DT Gabriel Iniquez Jr. told the Mountain West Network of Mendenhall’s influence. “That’s one of the sayings that we have in our pillars of our team structure. The culture we’ve been building is exactly what we need for Utah State. Troubles in the past or whatever, but Coach Bronco has just been more work, less drama. That’s all with us. We’re gonna work hard and do our best at the end of the day.”
2025 Mountain West Football Media Days are being held at Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17.
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“We’re all fairly new, and we’re just trying to, you know, accelerate that process of us, you know, building a family and being a band of brothers and playing for each other,” Iniguez said of gelling with nearly 70 new teammates. “Coach Bronco is doing a good job of preaching playing for each other and doing hard things together.”
Iniguez Jr. is already eyeing USU’s August 30 home opener against UTEP and playing in front of the home fans.
“I honestly want that whole stadium sold out, man. I know the HURD is going to go crazy… Win or lose, they come out and support us. They’re out there rowdy and all that. I love gamedays in Maverik Stadium.”
Bryson Barnes explains ‘Earned. Not Given’ Philosophy
Bronco Mendenhall has earned a reputation for building teams and instilling discipline through his 33 years of experience as a college coach. Stepping into a program like Utah State, Mendenhall’s steady approach and team-first attitude are already having a positive impact on a young Aggie team.
As one of the few returning players from 2024, expected starting QB Bryson Barnes explained what the ‘earned, not given,’ mentality means for the program.
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“To the team, we kind of have a little system put in place where, regardless of everything that’s given in the modern day of college football, that you’ve got to earn to get to that point.”
Barnes explained, “You’re not going to show up on day one and be given anything. You’ve got to show up. You’ve got to come to work each and every day. You’ve got to earn it. You’ve got to earn your jersey number. There’s so many things to earn in this program. At the end of the day, you’re going out there to work, and you’re earning it, because your teammates can recognize that. Then you kind of get put in this position to be able to be given things, because you’ve earned it.”
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Utah State kicks off the 2025 season on Merlin Olsen Field at Maverik Stadium on Saturday, August 30. Kickoff against the UTEP Miners is at 5:30 p.m. MT.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
