The wait is finally over. White smoke descended from the Fowler Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon. SDSU has chosen a starting quarterback.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel broke the news. Head coach Sean Lewis anointed Danny O’Neil to lead the Aztecs into the 2024 season.

“We made a decision that everyone was interested in,” Lewis said following Monday’s practice. “All three kids competed really hard. There’s lots that we still need to work through and the pieces obviously around Danny. We need to continue to elevate their play as we go forward. But, really pleased with how all three kids competed. Danny was the most accurate and the most productive all through camp. He went about his business day-to-day the right way, and (I’m) excited to see the team respond and rally around him while we continue to build the identity of this club.”

Chief among the reasons Lewis was hired was to bring elite signal callers to The Mesa. While O’Neil’s play will ultimately determine the merits of his selection, there are reasons to be excited and disappointed that the true freshman will be under center for SDSU against Texas A&M-Commerce.

Below are five reasons O’Neil’s place at the top of the depth chart makes sense. They are followed by three points that question his selection.

Danny O’Neil earned the starting job

The QB competition at SDSU was set up for AJ Duffy to win. Like O’Neil, he was brought in by Lewis. All Spring Camp, and at the beginning of Fall Camp, Duffy was the first QB on the field during drills and walk-throughs.

O’Neil enrolled early at SDSU. He acclimated to college life, away from his midwestern roots, for a chance to compete. Duffy has lived away from home since he was a senior in high school. They started on an unequal playing field. O’Neil bridged the gap and won.

Rumors of O’Neil’s superior practice performances circulated the past few weeks. It was enough for Lewis to hand him the keys to the offense. Leading a team of older athletes is a tall task. O’Neil earned the right to do so.

Lewis praised O’Neil’s work ethic repeatedly this offseason. Supporting his head coach’s words, the new starter is not celebrating too much.

“Really, it’s just building confidence in the guys, and really, just building the trust,” O’Neil said when asked what his focus is now that he’s won the job. “Today was practice 16 or 17 of camp. Just continue to get reps and reps, knowing where the guys are going to be, making sure they’re making all the right decisions. Making sure I’m seeing the coverage, seeing everything right. Just making all the right decisions and just trying to make everyone around me better.”

Never a better learning environment than 2024

There are advantages to his development in place this season that won’t be there next year. They make O’Neil’s selection more understandable. He might be more seasoned with a redshirt year under his belt in 2025, but the environment this season is special.

First, SDSU’s expectations haven’t been lower in 15 years. Coming off a 4-8 season and with a new head coach, the Aztecs are not expected to reach a bowl. If O’Neil leads the team to a 6-7 record, it will be viewed as a success. More will be expected in Lewis’ second year no matter who is the quarterback.

Second, the running game should be SDSU’s strength this season. Marquez Cooper and Kenan Christon are competing for spots in the NFL. They won’t be on the 2025 roster. Stopping the duo and the stable of backs behind them will be job one for opposing defenses. That reality should simplify O’Neil’s reads.

Finally, Texas A&M-Commerce is the college equivalent of a preseason NFL game. TAMUC replaced Portland State on the schedule. The Vikings have a senior returner at QB, who easily held off former Aztec signal caller Will Haskell for the top job. They would have been a bigger upset threat than the Lions.

TAMUC boasts a pair of preseason all-Southland Conference defensive backs who should be able to test O’Neil and the passing game. But Lewis can afford O’Neil another look with fans in the stands. If the freshman is not up for the task, SDSU should still come out with a victory.

“The whole room has worked extremely hard for that spot,” O’Neil explained. “All five guys in there, we push each other every day. We’re competing every day. (Lewis) told me I’m the starter for week one. There’s no promises for week two or anything like that. As long as everyone keeps competing and working hard, it’s going to be a competition all year.”

O’Neil makes the Aztecs more potent offensively

With defenses expected to put more players in the box, receivers on the outside should frequently have one-on-one coverage. O’Neil has the arm strength to make all the throws to take advantage of opportunities on the perimeter.

During Fan Fest, O’Neil had a deep pass that put S Deshawn McCuin in a difficult spot. McCuin had tight coverage, but the pass was of a high enough quality in single coverage to force the DB to make a good play. McCuin could not get his hands on the ball. It fell into WR Jordan Napier’s stomach and onto the ground. It counted as an incomplete in the box score but showed what O’Neil is capable of doing.

Some of the easiest and safest passes are deep balls. With teams keying inside, Lewis should be able to dial up some shots, which should also give corners pause on underneath routes. O’Neil can take advantage of what defenses will give SDSU.

“I’ve been told that I’m pretty cerebral, I guess,” O’Neil said. “Just be able to take things in, notice things on film, maybe that helps a little bit. Really it’s just repetition, seeing a bunch of pictures up on the screen, knowing where to go with the football, following my rules.”

Builds loyalty to counter NIL dollars

As unique as SDSU’s NIL space continues to be, they are not leaders in the industry. Lewis chose to go into the year without an upperclassmen QB. Whoever he gives playing time to in 2024 will have offers the Aztecs likely can’t match this offseason. O’Neil is the only QB with a proven track record of loyalty to Lewis.

Committed to Lewis at Colorado, O’Neil spurned offers from Power 4 schools to join his coach in San Diego. Los Angeles was the closest he had been to America’s Finest City before his official visit in December.

If O’Neil stands out in 2024, he will be among the most coveted college signal callers. With only one fewer year of eligibility than a high school senior, but with established production, a million dollars would not be a surprising offer. Relationship and rewarding the person who believed in him is the best chance for SDSU to build their offense around O’Neil for the next few seasons.

With the rest of the room not significantly better, investing in O’Neil makes sense.

“I committed to (Lewis) and was committed to him at Colorado for a few months,” O’Neil said. “We just had a good connection. When he left, I obviously decommitted. I just felt most comfortable with our relationship. He has a lot of qualities off the field that I really admire. Just the level of character that he has, it’s kind of hard to find that in college football. The way he let me be around his family, meet his wife, meet his kids. Just the trust that he has. It’s just a cool relationship to have.”

Sean Lewis’ Career Goals

The elephant in the room around Lewis and the goodwill he’s created in a spectacular start to his tenure is that SDSU is a stepping stone for his career ambitions. Former head coach Brady Hoke’s first tenure lasted only a pair of years. Hoke landed a job at Michigan after just one winning season on The Mesa.

Over the next two seasons, if Lewis can take a run-oriented offense, modernize it, fill the seats at Snapdragon, and have a double-digit win season, he will be at the top of every coaching wish list.

Lewis’ alma mater, Wisconsin, was 7-6 in 2023 while averaging 23.46 points per game in former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell’s first season in Madison. The Badgers were picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. Fickell’s honeymoon would be over with two more years of mediocrity and middling offensive play.

If Lewis proves he can change SDSU’s offensive philosophy using a true freshman QB, he would be an attractive candidate. Lewis’ assistants have spoken about hitching their careers to Lewis’ ascension in the profession. O’Neil has already followed Lewis once; would he do it again?

Lewis explicitly refuted any idea that his selection of O’Neil had anything to do with the future, but like every college coach, the possibilities of Lewis’ tenure were already known the day he was hired.

If he excels, SDSU will be a stop in his career. On the day of his hire athletic director JD Wicker said the university protected itself with language in Lewis’ contract for that possibility. If Lewis flames out, he will be replaced. If he has terrific but unspectacular years, he will get a contract extension to try and reach the heights Aztec Nation hopes for.

Whatever the future, Lewis has tied his fate to O’Neil. SDSU’s head coach’s contract is up after the 2028 season. O’Neil’s career with the Aztecs will be ending around that same time.

“(The decision) was all about this year,” Lewis emphasized. “It’s got nothing to do with the future. It’s about right now for all these guys that this is their last year of eligibility. This isn’t about the future. It’s about putting our team this year, and everyone’s a part of this organization in the best position to be successful here in the now so we can win.”

O’Neil does not have the highest ceiling in the QB Room

The positives of O’Neil’s game extend beyond those listed here, but some reasons make Lewis’ decision a risk. O’Neil has tremendous upside, but Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson offers even more.

If there is currently an NFL QB at SDSU, it is Tupou’ata-Johnson, not O’Neal. Four months ago, SDSU hosted a coaches’ clinic. They told those gathered the minimum height a QB needs to be recruited by the Aztecs. O’Neil barely qualifies.

O’Neil falls two inches under the NCAA average for starters at the position. At Fan Fest, SDSU played Joe Borjon (6-foot-8) and Christian Jones (6-foot-9) next to each other. Does that experiment end with O’Neil as the quarterback?

Tupou’ata-Johnson is four inches taller and thirty pounds bigger than O’Neil. His size allows him to withstand the rigors of the run game and makes him more dangerous in ad lib situations. If Lewis is looking for an inexperienced QB to mold into a star, why not pick the one with the most upside?

At Monday’s practice, Tupou’ata-Johnson took reps with the second team. Lewis did not name O’Neil’s backup, but putting Tupou’ata-Johnson there makes sense because the offensive scheme won’t have to be changed if he enters the game.

This is AJ Duffy’s Team

Talking with players informally throughout the year made it clear that the team expected Duffy to be the starting quarterback. Whatever the reason behind this assumption, this reality makes O’Neil’s job tougher.

When O’Neil languished through a turnover-filled Fan Fest, Duffy brought confidence to the huddle. The Aztecs’ collective body language improved when he stepped onto the field.

After Texas A&M-Commerce, SDSU plays two games where they will likely be underdogs. The money favors SDSU heading into its first bye week with a 1-2 record. If they do and O’Neil hasn’t distinguished himself, a loss of confidence is a possibility.

Poor Scrimmage Results

Following Monday’s practice, Lewis downplayed the importance of the Aztec Fast Showcase and the Fan Fest scrimmages in evaluating O’Neil. What choice did he have? SDSU’s starting QB was outplayed by every scholarship signal caller on both days.

At the Aztec Fast Showcase, O’Neil’s numbers were 2-5 for 15 yards and 1 interception. After months of offseason work, the freshman QB improved to 8-14 for 79 yards and 2 interceptions at Fan Fest. Nearly a third of O’Neil’s attempts ended in turnovers. Only two teams in 2023 had a lower yards per completion than his 9.4.

There were some key drops that hurt O’Neil’s production, but he responded to that adversity by making bigger errors.

“If you treat practice like a game when the games’ come, you’re trained, and you’re ready for those moments,” Lewis said on how he’s tried to coach O’Neil. “He’s settled in. The fans get to see a couple of those public days. We get to assess. We get to evaluate everything how he does. We’re really big about that process and not just about the end result on a given day.”

Some players are terrific in practice but struggle in games. Until he proves otherwise, those questions will linger about O’Neil. The silver lining to his scrimmage results is it showed how great he must be at practice for Lewis not to count them against him.

Paul Garrison

My earliest sport’s memory involve tailgating at the Murph, running down the circular exit ramps, and seeing the Padres, Chargers and Aztecs play. As a second generation Aztec, I am passionate about all things SDSU. Other interests include raising my four children, being a great husband and teaching high school.