SDSU adds two more players to Class of 2022 on signing day
Credit: Garrison/EVT
On Wednesday, San Diego State announced the addition of two high school seniors to its Class of 2022.
During the early signing period in mid-December, San Diego State secured 14 incoming freshmen, including local running back Lucky Sutton. After finishing a dominant senior season at Cathedral Catholic High, Sutton was recently upgraded to a four-star recruit by 247Sports.
Three of the 14 signees enrolled in school for the spring 2022 semester and will participate in camp starting on February 28th.
The Aztecs added six transfers to the class in January, all of whom are currently enrolled and also available for spring camp.
The two signings announced today were wide receiver Hassan Mahasin and safety Josh Hunter. Their inclusion in the program brings the total number of new Aztecs to 22.
Hassan Mahasin
Mahasin (nicknamed “The Missile”) is an explosive athlete who can compete at multiple positions. Playing at Junipero Serra High School with fellow Aztec signee Drew Azzopardi, Mahasin earned Bay Area News Group Player of the Year as a junior during the five-game spring 2021 season, racking up 386 rushing yards, 359 receiving yards, and ten touchdowns.
Azzopardi gushed about Mahasin’s abilities on Episode Five of The SDSU Football Podcast, saying, “you can put [Mahasin] anywhere on the field, and he will make a play.”
SDSU Director of Player Personnel Matt Razzano will be featured in an upcoming episode of the podcast. He says Mahasin is a dynamic playmaker who “has the quick twitch, elite movement skills that help him create separation at the top of his routes.”
Mahasin, a four-star recruit per 247Sports, began his senior season by catching 23 passes for 418 yards and seven touchdowns in addition to three rushing touchdowns. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL in the middle of the fourth game and missed the remainder of the season.
“No more Division I football for him,” Jihad Mahasin, Hassan’s father, told EVT when asked his first reaction to his son’s injury. “I was numb for about two to three days.”
But the elder Mahasin says prayer, faith, and support from all of his son’s coaches kept the dream alive. He also credits Dr. Ting, who performed the surgery, and his son, Ryan Ting, a physical therapist, for making sure the recovery and rehab would get his son back on the field sooner than expected.
“San Diego State was the first school to honor Hassan’s scholarship offer, and that meant a lot to our family and showed how much they thought of him as a player, person, and student,” said Jihad.
Mahasin received numerous offers across the West Coast, including six from the Mountain West and two from the Pac-12 (Arizona State and Colorado), before committing to SDSU a week after his injury.
Mahasin said during Episode Five of The SDSU Football Podcast that he chose the Aztecs mostly because of the coaching staff. “They were the most genuine coaching staff. They recruited me hard and were the first team to reach out to me when I got hurt,” he said.
His father is happy his son made that choice, adding, “it just feels right.”
Despite committing to San Diego State in October and wanting to sign during the early signing period, SDSU did not officially announce Mahasin as part of its early signing period class. Mahasin told EVT it was because the school wanted to wait and see how his knee rehab progressed before making it official during Wednesday’s signing day.
He took an official visit to San Diego State two weeks ago with his family. His father told EVT that it was a great experience. “It really gave me clarity of who I will be leaving my son with for the next four years,” he said. “The coaches and staff were very family-oriented and really gave me the answers that I personally felt were truthful from their hearts and not what they thought I wanted to hear.”
Mahasin is ahead of schedule in his recovery and looks forward to being ready to play in the fall. Mahasin says the coaches plan to use him like he was used in high school and similar to how the Aztecs utilize Jordan Byrd, lining up at receiver or running back and finding ways to get him in space to utilize his speed, in addition to returning kicks. While Mahasin has yet to meet Byrd, he looks forward to learning new tricks from him in the upcoming season.
Josh Hunter
Hunter played safety for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, the best team in California, and selected as National Champions by MaxPreps for the second time in five years. The Monarchs won the state championship by defeating Mahasin and Azzopardi’s Serra team in the final game.
Despite playing for one of the best programs in the country that has sent a long list of players to Division One schools, Hunter started on the team since his freshman season. He is a versatile defensive back, lining up at corner, nickel, and safety during his four years on the varsity team.
The three-star recruit and two-time Trinity League Defensive MVP was held in high regard amongst recruiting circles heading into his junior season, receiving offers from LSU and Oregon and considerable interest from several Pac-12 schools.
The Aztecs made an offer in February 2021, and Hunter committed to San Diego State before the start of his senior season.
Greg Biggins, recruiting analyst at 247Sports, tweeted that Hunter was “one of the best all-around football players in the region…as tough and competitive as they come and could end up anywhere in the secondary, but nickel is where he probably projects best.”
In the Aztecs 3-3-5 defense, Hunter will fit in very nicely in one of the Warrior safety positions.
Razzano raved about Hunter’s experience playing next to numerous high school teammates who went on to play Division I football. “His leadership ability and instincts are off the charts,” he added.
Hunter’s father, Brian, played professional baseball for nine seasons from 1991 through 2000 and played in three different World Series’ as a member of the Atlanta Braves.
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The Aztecs’ announcement did not include one high school senior who verbally committed to San Diego State. Three-star tight end Jordan Morris from Mesa, AZ, committed to the Aztecs back in June after suffering a torn ACL injury that sidelined him for his senior season. Morris received ten offers, including from five other Mountain West schools. It is expected that the talented tight end will gray shirt in the fall and, therefore, will not be officially announced and join the team until the class of 2023.
Avid sports fan and historian of basketball, baseball, football and soccer. UC San Diego and San Diego State alumni living in America’s Finest City. Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics.