What is the recovery timeline for McCae Hillstead? And what do the Aggies need from Cooper Legas in the meantime?

McCae Hillstead could be back in action for Utah State next weekend, when the Aggies host Fresno State on Friday night.

Or he could miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

Such is life in concussion protocol.

Aggies on the air

Utah State (2-3)
vs. Colorado State (2-2)
Saturday, 6 p.m. MDT
Maverik Stadium
TV: KJZZ
Radio: Aggies Sports Network

The Aggies’ true freshman quarterback — who started back-to-back games against James Madison and UConn — is recovering from a concussion suffered in the Aggies’ win over the Huskies last weekend.

Hillstead is doing well, Utah State coach Blake Anderson said Wednesday during his weekly coaches show, but concussion protocol is a tricky business.

“It’s a five-day protocol and you only move through the protocol if you don’t show any symptoms at all,” Anderson explained. “If at any point symptoms continue to rise up, you don’t move forward at all. It just doesn’t progress. You can only move forward without symptoms.

“So if it stays with symptoms then you’re on day one till until the symptoms are gone. And then when you get to that point then you start adding exercise and they do cognitive testing on a daily basis,” he continued. “And if at any point you move beyond and symptoms show back up, you just go back again. So it could be five days without any issues or it could be five months. It just depends on how your body recovers.”

Anderson said that this coming Tuesday looks like a good day for Hillstead to return to practice, “a healthy kind of goal for him to be cleared and healthy and ready to go to work.”

“But we’ll be smart about it,” Anderson emphasized. “McCae was at practice. He did not practice but was out there. And that’s a step in the right direction. His numbers are going down every day at a pretty steady pace so I think Tuesday’s a good goal for him.”

With Hillstead out for at least this weekend’s game against Colorado State, USU will turn once again to Cooper Legas at quarterback.

The starter Week 1 against Iowa (and Week 2 against Idaho State and Week 3 against Air Force), Legas has drawn rave reviews from Anderson since he relieved Hillstead against UConn.

For good reason too. The former Orem High standout was nearly flawless in the second half of Utah State’s victory, and most importantly showed a decisiveness that he hadn’t in previous outings, one of the primary reasons he was replaced by Hillstead to begin with.

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“Just (needed) consistent progress for him, and he’s done that,” Anderson said. “He did that even in the absence of being the starter. I think you guys saw the result of a good two weeks’ worth of prep, and not hanging his head, not visibly coming in here frustrated every day. He came in with a great attitude. He has had as much energy or more than anybody on our team, especially on offense. And he was helpful to McCae and continued to ask good questions.

“His practice reps were really, really good at a high level. And you saw the results of that on the field; I thought he was a little bit more calm. He made better decisions and made them quicker than he had in previous games.”

But, Anderson and company need more from Legas going forward, particularly Saturday night against a Rams team that is much improved from last season.

The Aggies’ offense has been excellent this year, with both Hillstead and Legas under center — outside of dismal first quarters — but the Rams pose a challenge that no other opponent has thus far this season with their Air Raid attack.

Given USU’s defensive struggles this season — the Aggies rate poorly in both total defense (No. 112) and scoring defense (No. 115) — it will be up to the offense to keep pace with the Rams if Utah State is to come away victorious.

And that starts and ends with Legas (there does need to be mention here of the Aggies’ ailing offensive line, which saw two redshirt freshmen play considerable downs against the Huskies and three players start their first games at Utah State).

“What I need to see this week is (Legas) to take the next step and just continue to improve, protect the football and make the right decisions in a timely manner,” Anderson said. “(Colorado State) is not a team that you want to hold the ball against, so he’s got to work through his reads and be decisive.

“If he’ll prep the same way he has the last two weeks then that gives him a chance to do that. And it allows our offense to have a chance be successful. If he’s cautious or fidgety or indecisive, then it makes it more difficult. He knows that and that’s what he’s been working on.”