Clarity Gained Regarding Former Utah QB Jason Shelley And Utah State
When news broke on Nov. 15 that Jason Shelley's time at Utah State had come to a quick and abrupt end, the decision was met with many concerns and questions regarding what happened.
As rumors swirled regarding why Shelley was no longer from the program — from a violation of team rules to breaking the law — nobody except Utah State interim head coach Frank Maile and Shelley knew why.
Mandatory Credit: Melissa Majchrzak-USA TODAY Sports
Just over two weeks since that shocking information, Maile elaborated on the situation during his weekly press conference on Monday afternoon.
“Jason did nothing illegal,” Maile told reporters. “He is a great young man. His dismissal was 100 percent my decision and not due to any misconduct or violation of institutional policies or rules.”
Shelley's mom Janine had been his biggest advocate regarding his dismissal, tweeting out support for her son and alluding to reasons as to why he may have been let go when the news first broke.
It had been a tough season for Utah State and Shelley before he was dismissed.
One week prior to Shelley being let go, the head coach Gary Anderson was fired from the program. The Aggies were then 0-4 and without their original head coach and starting quarterback moving forward.
He started in all four of his games this season for the Aggies, completing 51-of-99 passes for 420 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Through his two years with the Utes, Shelley — who checks in at 5-foot-11 and 200-pounds — finished with 1,428 yards of total offense for the Utes, including 1,205 passing yards in 19 games.
But he's best known in Utah circles for leading the team to a come-from-behind win over hated-rival BYU two years ago.
It was on a Saturday night in late November when Utah, the No. 17 ranked team in the nation, found itself trailing hated-rival BYU 27-14 entering the fourth quarter.
Shelley, who had replaced injured starter Tyler Huntley two games prior, had brought Utah back and now held a 28-27 advantage with just under two minutes left in the fourth quarter. With the ball on BYU's 33-yard line on 1st-and-10, Shelley faked a handoff to Zack Moss, ran right and broke three tackles en route to the endzone and the win.
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