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LOGAN — Former Aggies running back Robert Turbin stood at the podium Saturday evening at the Daines Concert Hall in Utah State's campus and reminisced about when he was recruited to play college football several years ago.
It was a question from his father that had helped him determine where he wanted to go.
"He said: 'Where do you feel like you can make the biggest impact, not only as a ball player but as a community member, as a person, as an individual?'" Turbin said.
The answer to his father's question was Utah State. Now, over a decade since he last put on an Aggies uniform, it seems the former NFL running back made the right choice. On Saturday night, Turbin stood alongside seven other former Aggies athletes who made a lasting impact in the community, including former Seattle Seahawks teammate Bobby Wagner, to be inducted into two separate Utah State Hall of Fame classes.
Members of the 2021 class included future NFL Hall of Famer Wagner, Utah State basketball's all-time leading scorer Jaycee Carroll, All-American softball player Kathy Beasley-Houchen, and two-time All-American pole vaulter Lance White.
The 2022 class consisted of 2011 WAC offensive player of the year Turbin, All-American basketball player Tai Wesley, All-American cross country runner Trever Ball, and accomplished gymnast Barb Zahl-Klein.
Here's a recap of what Wagner, Carroll, Turbin and Wesley — arguably four of the most recognizable athletes in Utah State history — had to say during their induction.
Jaycee Carroll
Carroll is widely considered the greatest shooter in Utah State basketball history. It's hard to argue with a look at his career, which spanned from 2005-08. Carroll was a two-time All-American and is the all-time leader in career points with 2,522.
He led Utah State to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including their first at-large bid in program history. Carroll also spent 13 years in Europe playing professionally, where he won two Euro League championships with Real Madrid. He retired at the end of 2021.
During his speech Saturday, Carroll reminisced on his 3-point shot against Idaho, which gave him the program scoring record, his NCAA Tournament game as a freshman against Arizona, and memories with former teammates and coaches. One memory involved playing under head coach Stew Morrill and how their egos sometimes clashed.
"We had a famous play called dribble," Carroll said. "Everyone in the country knew what dribble was but no one could guard it. And dribble is for a post player to shoot the ball. I remember one practice: I come off the play, my defender falls on the ground, I shoot the basketball, I made it.
"(Morrill) stops practice and says, 'Jaycee, you don't shoot that shot.' I go, 'But, but, but he fell down.' He goes, 'You don't shoot it.' I said, 'But if …' and he goes 'No' and I'll never forget this. He said, 'Jaycee, if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a Merry Christmas.' I had no idea how to respond to that."
Carroll, who recently moved back to the United States with his family, no doubt still cherishes his unforgettable college career.
"There are so many faces that I would like to thank and name and people that did inspire me," Carroll said. "But I'm so grateful for every one of them to help me along the journey. The Spectrum magic and the Aggies were unbelievable. My senior year was unbelievable. And thank you for letting me be part of this. Thank you for accepting me and my family into the Aggie family."
Bobby Wagner
One of the Los Angeles Rams' newest additions made it to Logan to be inducted into Utah State Hall of Fame.
In his Aggies career from 2008-11, Wagner finished with a school record-tying 446 tackles. After leading Utah State to a 7-6 record and a bowl game appearance his senior season, Wagner was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft. Since then, Wagner has been named to the NFL First-Team All-Pro six times and won a Super Bowl in 2014.
Receiving just one offer to play FBS football out of high school, Wagner recalled his initial visit to Logan during his speech.
"My first time on a recruiting trip when I came out here, I actually watched Jaycee break the record," Wagner said. "And so I was like, 'Man, if I come here, I want to break a record, too.' I came from California, and I'd never seen snow before in my life. And so I just knew what the cartoon showed. In the cartoons, they just walked in the snow. I thought that was the proper protocol.
"So I'm headed to the game, to watch him break the record. And I'm like, 'All right, I'm going to walk on the snow like the cartoons.' And I fell like knee-deep into the snow. That's when I asked myself, 'Man, am I really coming here? It's cold, I don't have the proper attire.' But it was one of the best decisions that I could make coming here."
Wagner thanked several people on Saturday night, including Daniel Roberston, who recruited him to Utah State, as well as former head coach Gary Andersen. He also spent time reflecting on his relationship with Turbin and how they were both committed to turning the Aggies program into a winner.
"One of the things that me and Turb constantly talked about was changing the way people viewed this program," Wagner said. "When I was at Utah State and a little bit when I was in Seattle, every time somebody came up to me and asked me what school I went to I would say Utah State, and they were saying, 'Oh, is that the blue team or the red team?' And I'm like 'blue team.' Okay, so BYU. And I'm like, 'No, I said Utah State.'
"So I wanted to change that. And so it was a fulfilling moment, you know, some years back when I had somebody come up to me asking what school I went to and I say Utah State and they said, 'Oh, the Aggies.' And that let me know that we were moving in the right direction."
Robert Turbin
Turbin rushed for 3,315 yards in his career with the Aggies, earned three first team all-conference honors, and tied the school record with 40 career rushing touchdowns. His senior season, he averaged 6.1 yards per carrying and had a school record 19 touchdowns en route to being the WAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Following his historic senior season, Turbin was drafted in the fourth round of the 2012 draft by Seattle and won a Super Bowl in 2014. He played eight seasons in the NFL.
In a lengthy, heartfelt speech, Turbin shared several anecdotes about his time in Logan and how it helped him grow up.
During Turbin's freshman season, he tore the capsule in the bottom of his big toe.
"For a long time, we couldn't figure out how to fix this thing, or what was going on," Turbin said. "Here's this 17-year-old kid with a lot of potential, and he's injured for the first time ever. I thought I was invincible and had never been hurt before."
Thanks to the help of Dr. Florian Nickisch and the Aggies' athletic trainers, Turbin was able to get healthy. Throughout the adversity, all of his time and attention went toward getting healthy and back on the football field, and his scholastics slipped.
Turbin managed to turn things around, however, and earned academic honors in 2010 and 2011 — something he called his "proudest moment" during his time at Utah State. He credited former Utah State student Allison Noble, who was in attendance at the ceremony, for tutoring him and helping him through school.
"So Alison is really special because academic honors don't happen without her," Turbin said. "Graduating college doesn't happen without her."
Turbin closed his speech by showing some vulnerability.
"My time here was great, but it wasn't perfect. I'm not a perfect human being," Turbin said. "We all make mistakes. The worst ones are the ones that affect others negatively, right? And they say, you should never have any regrets in life. But there's certainly a couple of choice moments that I wish I could have back.
"But at the end of the day, it made me a better person. Overall, my experience at Utah State and all the people who are there for me in those mistakes, all the people who were there for me in the great moments, and everything in between. It made me a better teammate, person, leader, father, and friend; and so, I couldn't be more grateful to Logan, Utah, and I couldn't be more grateful for Utah State University."
Tai Wesley
Wesley is one of the winningest players in Utah State basketball history. During his four years at school from 2008-11, the Aggies went 111-28, and a stunning 68-1 in the Spectrum. During that span, Wesley helped lead Utah State to four straight WAC regular season titles and qualified for three straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
A dominant force in the paint, Wesley, a 2011 Associated Press honorable mention All-American, is the only Aggies player in history to post over 1,700 points, 850 rebounds and 350 assists in his career.
He retired from professional basketball in 2020; but his biggest professional success came in the Australian NBL league, where he won two championships and was called an "NBL Icon" by ESPN.
In a video interview shown prior to his speech Saturday evening, Wesley reminisced about the iconic games he won, including a WAC championship over Nevada and a win against BYU and Jimmer Fredette in the Spectrum.
During a tearful speech that followed, Wesley recounted some more lighthearted experiences.
"I remember a game my freshman year we were at San Jose State," Wesley said. "And 88 seconds into this game, one of the opposing players ran into my elbow with his teeth. The refs obviously overreacted — as they do. I was ejected from the game.
"As I was walking to the locker room because they wouldn't let me sit on the bench, I passed coach Morrill. Coach looked at me and said, 'Wesley, that's the stupidest thing you'll do your whole career.' And at the time, I thought he was right. He didn't know I was going to meet Wild Bill and do very stupid other things."
Wesley spoke highly about the camaraderie he had with his teammates, saying they were just "having fun" on their way to breaking records.
"I mean, we had the perfect storm that was just right," Wesley said. "Those are days that I hope go down forever as the best, because it was special."
Wesley thanked several people, including his wife, parents, teammates and assistant coaches; but what stood out was his appreciation for head coach Stew Morrill.
"Coach Morrill, let's be honest, coach, you weren't for everyone," Wesley said. "In fact, each season we used to take bets on which new guy wouldn't be coming back from Christmas. That being said, coach, you were perfect for me. I knew that if I put in half the amount of time that you did I will be successful."
