SDSU Football Roster Analysis: The Offense
The calendar flipped to August recently, which means that the 2018 college football season is just around the corner.
This year, the San Diego State Aztecs will travel to Palo Alto to face the Stanford Cardinals in the season opener on August 31. We will continue to do a weekly piece here at East Village Times taking an overview of the Aztecs’ roster and seeing if they have what it takes to challenge for the Mountain West Conference Championship this season.
Let’s take a look at the offense:
There’s no quarterback controversy in La Mesa, as Christian Chapman will be under center for his senior season. Chapman is expected to carry more of the load on offense, as Aztecs legend Rashaad Penny moved on to the NFL. During last month’s Mountain West media week in Las Vegas, coach Rocky Long said that he expects Chapman to become the leader of the offense and that SDSU will go as far as he takes them.
As important as Chapman’s impact will be, the Aztecs have developed an identity as a “smashmouth” football team under coach Long and they should still run the ball in order to jump-start their offense. Last year’s backup running back, Juwan Washington, will finally get his chance to carry the load on offense. Washington has shown flashes of greatness throughout his career. If he can give the Aztecs similar numbers that they received from the position in the last few years, this Aztecs offense will be deadly.
The offensive line is very young this season, as three of the five starters are sophomores. However, due to the injuries to last season’s offensive line, all have experience in the college game. In my opinion, the play of this unit will dictate the success of this Aztecs’ season. If the offensive line can hold their own in the trenches, the Aztecs will compete in every game they participate in.
The wide receiver position is a bit of an enigma. Senior Fred Trevillion will be the go-to guy for Chapman in third-down situations, as the two have developed a rapport. As for the rest of the receiving corps, the coaching staff is very high on sophomore Tim Wilson Jr. They believe that Wilson is the kind of receiver that can stretch the field and give the offense a dimension that has been missing in the passing game. The rest of the unit has a lot of youth and inexperience, but it’s safe to assume that adjustments will be made and some of these players will have a positive impact on the Aztecs offense.
This Aztecs offense certainly has a chance to be better than last season’s offense, but there is certainly no clear-cut superstar player. This team’s players will have to rely on each other to succeed, and not on the back of one particular player. With improvements to Chapman’s passing game, a talented running back, and a somewhat familiar core of players, the San Diego State Aztecs have a chance to be the best offense in the Mountain West Conference.
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