San Diego State’s Fall Camp begins on Thursday. A new head coach and mostly new assistant coaches will begin the quest to rebound from a poor 2023 season. 

Last week, EVT writer Paul Garrison provided ten key position battles to watch during fall practice. Here are three storylines to watch as Fall Camp progresses. 

Leadership

Football teams look towards their veterans to lead through the dog days of summer conditioning and Fall Camp as they approach a season. With a brand new coaching staff in place at SDSU, player leadership is ever more paramount. For the 2024 Aztecs, with 29 incoming transfers, some players are still getting to know their teammates. 

The roster currently holds 29 seniors. Only 12 of them were Aztecs in 2023. Just one, Kenan Christon, was a captain. Given that the starting quarterback will be a first-time starter and an underclassman, the team will require its seniors more than ever to lead it in 2024. 

Under head coaches Rocky Long and Brady Hoke, the players voted for the team captains during each fall camp. Under Sean Lewis, the process will likely stay the same. But who will rise to the forefront?

On offense, Christon is a returning captain, but the majority of the team who voted for him in 2023 is no longer around. TE Jude Wolfe represented the offense at the Mountain West Media Day in Las Vegas two weeks ago but has yet to play a game as an Aztec. 

Returning starters Mekhi Shaw (WR), Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli (OL), and Myles Murao (OL) should be in the mix on that side of the ball based on their experience over the past few years. 

Two players, Marquez Cooper (RB) and Ja’Shaun Poke (WR) are new to SDSU but played multiple productive seasons under Lewis at Kent State. Whether they are voted captains or not, they will play large roles leading an offense that is playing under a new system for the first time. 

Wolfe’s teammate in Las Vegas was S Deshawn McCuin, a transfer from TCU, who started some in 2023 but was predominantly a backup. McCuin has been front and center in SDSU’s marketing push heading into the 2024 season and is one of the few returning defensive players from last year’s rotation.

DT Tupu Alualu (490 snaps) and LB Cody Moon (488 snaps) lead the returners in snaps played in 2023. Both enter their second seasons as Aztecs in 2024. Alualu is primed for a breakout playing in a 4-man front likely more suited for his skill set, while Moon is listed as a backup at one of two LB spots. 

Unlike Lewis relying on Cooper and Poke who have familiarity playing under his offense, DC Eric Schmidt does not have that same luxury on defense. 

While it will take the whole team to buy into what Lewis is selling, leadership will be key to the Aztecs as they acclimate so many new players to the roster.

Pace and Fatigue

Any opportunity to discuss SDSU does not go by without mentioning Aztec Fast. The moniker Lewis brought to The Mesa is everywhere, from coach and player interviews to articles to NIL merchandise. 

During Spring Camp, Lewis reiterated the offense was not fast enough as the players were getting used to playing in it. The summer conditioning period that just completed was to ensure the players built endurance to play even faster come Fall Camp. 

Practice one on Thursday will show whether the players are up to the task. 

While the head coach at Kent State from 2018 through 2022, his offenses were always ranked in the top ten in FBS in average time between snaps. In 2021, they were second in the country, averaging 20.3 seconds between plays. 

As the OC in Colorado last year, Lewis increased the pace of play by 2.4 seconds. CU moved from 25.7 in 2022 to 22.3 in 2023. The latter pace was eighth best in the country. In contrast, the Aztecs averaged 29.6 seconds between plays, eighth worst in the country. 

In order for the offense to play this fast on game days, it must excel at it on the practice field. Not only does it take all 11 players on the field, but each of the backups at the position plus the coaching staff needs to be on the same page with signs, signals, and communication. 

No doubt it will take time to become a well-oiled machine. Fatigue will play a big factor, especially for the big guys up front doing the blocking. All it takes is one play for a lineman to miss a block that could lead to a sack, fumble, or tipped interception that changes the outcome of a game. 

The Aztecs are relying on two returning starters on the offensive line (Murao and Ulugalu-Maseuli). They missed all of Spring Camp recovering from injuries so Thursday will be their first action getting acclimated to the speed of AztecFast. How long will it take them to get up to speed? 

Who’s who?

The Aztec roster currently holds 109 names. Nearly one-third of them (33) are new to the program and were not on the spring roster. Those include both true freshmen out of high school and incoming transfers from the spring window. 

The 18 true freshmen who arrived on campus this summer, including preferred walk-ons, are listed below. 

14 – Nick Clegg (K)

16 – Parker Threatt (QB)

20 – Cincere Rhaney (RB)

21 – Heath McRee (WR)

34 – Dean Harrington (LB)

36 – Prince Williams (DB)

37 – Jason Mitchell (DB)

38 – Kurt Rossner (WR)

51 – Kodi Cornelius (DL)

59 – Danny Niu (LB)

60 – Connor Poulson (LS)

62 – Kai Holec (OL)

81 – Will Cianfrini (WR)

82 – Bobby Shaw (WR)

84 – Ben Scolari (WR)

86 – Ryan Gaea (DL)

90 – Arthur Ban (TE)

95 – Ryan Wolfer (TE)

When attending spring and fall practices, having a roster handy to identify who is who on the field will be a must. Making matters more difficult is the annual shuffling of jersey numbers from returning players. 

Since the end of spring camp, 11 players changed numbers. They are listed below, with their previous numbers cited in parentheses.  

0 – Bryce Philips (14)

1 – Chris Johnson (21)

5 – Owen Chambliss (59)

6 – Eric Butler (34)

9 – Dalesean Staley (33)

11 – Nate Bennett (85)

13 – Tyler Pastula (98)

16 – Jelani Whitmore (35)

21 – Tano Letuli (50)

81 – Mikey Welsh (40)

85 – Jerry McClure (11)

Forty-four players on the field will be sporting their Aztec numbers for the first time.

Sending the roster to print…

Andre Haghverdian

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.