The start of every football season brings hope and optimism to programs and their collective fan bases.

Every team starts the season with the same record and an opportunity to match or exceed expectations. 

For San Diego State football, eclipsing last year’s three-win record should be the absolute floor. Winning the Mountain West conference championship is the ceiling. 

Bookmakers set the team’s win total at 4.5 games. Bowl eligibility comes with six. The Mountain West media picked them to finish eighth in the conference. 

While exceeding these outside expectations will depend on every member of the roster and head coach Sean Lewis’ coaching staff, several players stand out as the most important to achieving the team’s goals. 

Before providing EVT’s Top 10 list for the most important players on the 2025 Aztecs, here are three players who just missed the cut.  

Honorable Mention

• Myles Kitt-Denton (WR)

Kitt-Denton provided the biggest play of Fan Fest, an 87-yard catch and run. On Wednesday, he was named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List, which is handed to the best offensive player with ties to Texas. He brings a level of production that no other receiver on the roster possesses, albeit at the FCS level. His speed and explosiveness can provide the vertical threat the offense lacked in 2024, opening up more passing windows in the short and intermediate zones. 

•  Brady Nassar (EDGE)

Nassar will line up opposite Trey White, the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, which will likely keep double teams away from him. What the rest of the defensive front, specifically Nassar, can do to exploit one-on-one matchups and bring down quarterbacks can set the bar high for the 2025 defense. The former Colorado commit showed steady progress over the last two years, and his junior season could be the breakout many expected when he signed with the Aztecs.   

• Bert Emanuel Jr. (QB)

With Emanuel Jr. competing for the starting QB position throughout spring and fall camp, it is hard to know what role, if any, Lewis and OC Matt Johnson will provide the dual-threat playmaker. Spectators at fall practice noted Emanuel ran a different set of plays when inserted into drills and scrimmages, particularly focused on read options to utilize his speed and elusiveness. If specific packages are created for Emanuel, Jr., the Aztec offense would have a dimension it has not had in some time. 

10. Gabriel Plascencia (PK)

Scoring points is the object of a football team, and placekickers are usually near the top in scoring at the end of a season. The Mountain West Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year had a great 2024, but the Aztecs will need him to be even better in 2025. Finishing drives with at least three points boosts morale. A coach’s confidence in a kicker to make field goals from 50+ yards out also helps manage end-of-half and game situations. For a team that lost three games by a total of nine points, this can make a big difference. Plascencia knocked in a 57-yard field goal at Fan Fest last week, but missed a 39-yard attempt. Consistency will be key from all yardage. 

9. 

   Christian Jones (LT/RT)

Behind QBs and DEs, LTs are typically the highest-paid players in the NFL. Protecting a right-handed signal caller’s blind side is vital to the success of any offense. Jones has the experience in that regard, starting 11 games at the position last year. His career has not been without bumps. In 2023, he started at LT for the first five games of the year with left-handed Jalen Mayden under center. He lost his starting spot for game six and did not start the rest of the season. He began 2024 as the starting left guard for the Aztecs, until a first-half injury to LT Joe Borjon in the opening game moved him back to LT for the rest of the season. Borjon is back healthy in 2025 and is competing with Jones for the LT position. If Jones wins the competition, he will be asked to provide comfort and safety to the blind side for whichever QB takes snaps for the Aztecs. If he slides over and plays on the right side, he will be playing a crucial position for the first time as an Aztec and will need to excel at it immediately.  

8. Eric Butler (S)

Much of the talk around the returning defensive players has centered around Trey White, Chris Johnson, and Tano Letuli, but Butler has been just as consistent and productive throughout the course of his Aztec career. Last year, Butler played free safety and earned Honorable Mention All-Mountain West. This year, he moves to the nickel role, aptly named “stud.” Butler played the field warrior role in the 3-3-5 defense at the start of his collegiate career, so he is familiar with covering the slot. Butler also played CB at Centennial High. For the staff to make this change, they must believe Butler can thrive more in this role and provide better coverage for the defense. With spread offenses, covering the slot has posed major challenges for Group of 5 schools, which do not have the luxury of playing elite cover guys in the slot. If Butler proves his coaches correct, the 2025 Aztec defense could be very difficult to pass against. 

7. Jordan Napier (WR)

When the transfer portal opened last December, the player whose entrance in the portal stung the most for Aztec fans was Napier. Soon thereafter, word came that Napier had withdrawn and returned to the Mesa. Whatever reasons Napier had for deciding to return, it was a boon for Lewis and the staff. Napier’s seasonal output was a mixed bag, spending time behind senior Ja’Shaun Poke at the slot WR position. His talent was evident when he received opportunities to get the ball in his hands. In the preseason, he was named on the Paul Hornung Award Watch List, given to the most versatile player in college football. He is the skill position player most familiar with Lewis’ offense, and the staff will lean on him heavily in the passing game. 

6. Chris Johnson (CB)

Following the 2023 season, starting CB Dez Malone entered the transfer portal and ended up at a Power 4 school (Oklahoma). Many Aztec fans believed the same fate was destined for Johnson after 2024. Not quite. Johnson, along with many of his defensive teammates, announced fairly quickly they would return in 2025. Johnson, recently named to the Top 300 Senior Bowl Watch List, would have been a sought-after recruit in the transfer portal. Instead, he will be locking down receivers in the Mountain West for another season. The tandem of Johnson and Bryce Phillips was the strength of the Aztec defense last year. Despite playing CB, Johnson recorded the second most tackles (67) on the team and forced three fumbles. If the newly named team captain can improve on his interceptions (only two in 24 games the last two years) and force offenses away from his side, the defense could be elite. 

5. Lucky Sutton (RB)

An early misconception among the public when Lewis was hired was that his offense was predicated on spreading out receivers and throwing the ball all over the field. In reality, his offenses, past and present, have relied heavily on the ground attack to establish its success. With Sutton primed to finally become the lead back in his hometown, his importance cannot be denied. Last season, Marquez Cooper carried the ball 292 times. The next three backs on the roster (Cam Davis, Jaylon Armstead, and Sutton) totaled 32 carries. While that strong of a deviation is not expected in 2025, Sutton should receive the bulk of the carries in Lewis’ “one-back” attack. If he is unable to produce, the offense will continue to struggle to put points on the board, and defenses will key in on the likes of Napier and Kitt-Denton.

4. Tano Letuli (LB)

The MIKE is the quarterback of the defense, and Letuli, a two-time captain, will once again be commanding the controls. In year one as an Aztec and in a new defense, Letuli led the Aztecs with 70 tackles. Too many times, though, miscommunication and players abandoning their roles and getting out of position stifled the defense’s overall success. With an experienced group returning, the Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List nominee can focus more on improving his zone coverage drops and shedding blockers in the run game. If those areas improve, Letuli should have little issue earning the First Team All-Mountain West honors he was selected for in the preseason and helping the Aztec defense win more than three games. 

3. Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli (C)

   

One of two returning starters on the offense, Ulugalu-Maseuli shifts back to center after stints at both guard positions the past two seasons. When asked if the position change was more akin to roster need or where the staff saw the senior best, Lewis proclaimed the latter, noting the switch to guard in seasons past was for roster need. The staff feels center is where Ulugalu-Maseuli thrives, and they hope to see that in his final season. With new guards alongside him and the unenviable task of helping set protection signals at the line of scrimmage, it is imperative for the first-time team captain to play at an All-Mountain West level. Otherwise, the offense will continue to be haunted by pre-snap penalties and protection breakdowns, and the play of the skill positions will not matter. 

2. Trey White (EDGE)

The accolades have been stacking up during fall camp for White. Most recently, he garnered a Top 300 Senior Bowl Watch List nomination, and ESPN named him the 36th best player in the nation. Entering last season, White set individual goals for himself. He hit most of those, collecting 12.5 sacks and earning First Team All-Mountain West, but the team won only three games. This year, White insists his goals are all related to team success. Named a captain for the second straight season, White wants to elevate, not only his play, but the play of his teammates around him. The respect White has earned around the conference will ensure consistent double-teams throughout the season. Taking on those blocks and allowing the rest of the front six to make plays in the backfield will be paramount. Ultimately, the great players overcome the extra attention they receive and still make the impact warranted for their accolades. If White can duplicate double-digit sacks and help his teammates flourish, the Aztec defense will be one of the best on the West Coast.  

1. Jayden Denegal (QB)

It is no surprise that the most important position on a football team lands at number one. Despite lacking the experience, production, and preseason accolades that White possesses, Denegal’s success on the field will be the biggest determining factor in the Aztecs’ final record. White has an experienced group surrounding him in their second year together. Denegal has two returning starting offensive linemen (one playing a different position), and a returning slot receiver (Napier) who did not start regularly a season ago. Navigating the early-season hiccups that are natural for a new collection of talent on offense and accelerating the development will hinge on Denegal’s shoulders. If the former National Champion Wolverine and team captain minimizes mistakes and makes plays on the field, the Aztecs should have no issue making the bookmakers look foolish. 

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.