Last year San Diego State was arguably the most surprising Top-25 team at the end of the 2016 season. The Aztecs though have several key players and to replace. What can ASU expect from its most intriguing opponent in 2017? AztecSportsReport.com Publisher Ruben Meza offers his perspective.
Coming out of spring practice what were your impressions of the team’s offense?
On offense, this is a bit difficult to answer because SDSU’s starting QB Christian Chapman was coming off offseason thumb surgery so he was extremely limited. Not only that, but SDSU’s primary receiver entering camp, Mikah Holder, dealt with a hamstring issue that lingered on the entire spring. Add in the fact that the team’s best offensive playmakers, most notably star running back Rashaad Penny, sat out almost all meaningful tackling periods and scrimmages and it became pretty clear that the coaching staff were focused on developing the up and comers. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because spring is about development, but having some of the key playmakers out there just a little bit more would have definitely improved the flow of practices. That’s a personal opinion of mine but I do think the flow of practice, especially for a young offensive personnel, leads to more efficient development for everyone involved (including the defensive players).
As for my overall impressions:
- SDSU’s tight end unit is 4-5 deep with guys that can contribute significantly this year even though two of them will get the majority of reps. David Wells (6-6, 250) and Parker Houston (6-2, 215) are like the thunder and lightning combo offenses like to have at running back, yet they’re tight ends. And both of them can catch and run.
-The backup quarterback situation isn’t in a great spot entering the upcoming year, so SDSU’s three incoming QBs this summer better be ready to contribute early because it’s very possible they need to. There was no “quarterback competition” during the spring but there will be a short one early in the fall for the backup role.
The current drop off after Christian Chapman is very, very big. That said, SDSU is and will continue to be a run first offense this year so another injury for Chapman wouldn’t necessarily be the end of the world. Just a potentially slow, painful, uneventful season.
- Starting running back Rashaad Penny has absurd talent. He hardly took any reps throughout spring but when he did step in, it always led to explosive plays. This has been the case for every running back I’ve covered at San Diego State prior to them having breakout years. Penny may be the most talented of the bunch. He arguably has the fastest open field speed on the team despite also having one of the stronger, more physically imposing frames on the roster. He’s going to get at least 30 carries a game.
-The offensive line is still the x-factor. They will decide how many W’s the team actually gets to this season. If they’re good early, a 10-win season is a possibility but that’s still a bit of a long shot based on how spring went for them.
I think they will perform better than people expect. A lot of people around SDSU seem to have big concerns about the inexperience and I can’t really blame them considering just one lineman, right guard Antonio Rosales, has significant starting experience. He’s so much better and poised than the rest of the unit that it would be pretty obvious to spot him out at practices for any casual football fan.
The major issue with them is their lack of reps and it shows (particularly at center and guard, other than Rosales). They are just flat out young and wide eyed and seemed to crack when under pressure. Physically, I think they will match up just fine against defenses that play them straight up because they’re big and talented with solid technique. But their kryptonite is when defenses throw crazy stunts and blitzes at them (which is all SDSU’s defense does by the way). If you tell them who is coming at them, they’ll probably block them. If not, it’s a different story.
They just didn’t look comfortable for most of camp. They didn’t have great timing or look all that fluid. They’ll engage with blockers off balance because they didn’t expect the pressure from a certain angle or they’ll just flat out block the wrong assignment and leave the man next to them in no man’s land. To make a long story short, there were a lot of untouched blitzers coming in for “sacks” on the quarterback before the QB could even finish his drop back this spring. I expected them to improve in this area as camp went on but the final scrimmage of the year, the spring game, was arguably their worst performance in this specific area.
They’ll need to clean that up in fall if they want to have any success. I think they’ll be fine as SDSU OL coach Mike Schmidt always seems to get a great group of blockers together by midseason. They’ll need to be great prior to that if they want any chance to have an efficient offenses against their opponents in weeks 1-4.
Coming out of spring practice what were your impressions of the team’s defense?
The defense lost a lot of talent. Look at the big defensive stats (tackles, interceptions, sacks etc.) and SDSU lost seniors that contributed for well over 50 percent of those numbers to graduation and/or the NFL this offseason.
That said, you can never doubt Rocky Long. His defense is built to make young offenses look bad (which was the case this spring) and unless you have a star-caliber quarterback who can make throws under pressure, you’re going to get yourself into a dogfight no matter which players Long has out there on the field.
The Aztec defense is as inexperienced as it’s ever been under Long but I feel like the overall athleticism gives this year’s group a lot of potential. Despite having several players switch positions to help combat the inexperience, I think they will surprise a lot of people this year - especially those who base their preseason predictions solely on “who’s coming back?” SDSU should outperform what’s expected of them on paper. The team does have some solid returners but the depth the coaching staff has built over the years will really start to show. The team’s defensive ends and edge linebackers are very quick pass rushers, the linebackers can drop back in coverage and they have a couple of big time hitters too, and the defensive backs all seem to have ball hawking traits.
Last year SDSU had clear stars at every level (DE Alex Barrett, LB Calvin Munson and CB Damontae Kazee) and this year we’ll find out who the next big stars are.
Who are the players on each side of the ball that were the biggest surprises of spring practice?
As mentioned, Mikah Holder missed most of camp but I’m not sure if he would win the title for 'best spring camp receiver’ even if he was healthy. That’s how good Quest Truxton was all spring. Truxton catches everything in all areas of the field and is very fun to watch after the catch.
For context, Truxton joined the team late last summer as a JuCo transfer and started to raise some eyebrows as the team’s punt returner last year. His style of returning was very risky and dangerous but it was honestly like watching art sometimes. He never was able to take back a return the full distance (though he led the Mountain West in yards) and he only started to receive game reps as a wide receiver by midseason. He also didn’t make too much of an impact there, other than a crazy, buzzer-beating catch that nearly forced overtime in a loss to Wyoming late last season (SDSU failed the two-point conversion). This spring, he looked like the total package that you want out of your top receiver.
Offensive tackle Tyler Roemer has NFL potential because of his length and body control and he’s already developed so much, so quickly. As a freshman, I’m not sure if the staff will have complete confidence in starting him at left tackle but I think he may be their best option. The guy ahead of him (Joe Salcedo) missed last season and most of this spring due to a knee injury and, really, the only reason Salcedo’s expected to start is because he’s one of the few linemen to actually see the field in his career. Roemer’s upside was out on full display with the first-team all camp so the decision the staff makes on him this fall will be one of the more intriguing ones on the entire depth chart.
Tight end Parker Houston should play a big role on offense this year. Houston already made a name for himself when he played as a true freshman last season but I think some people may be underestimating how good this kid will actually be. I’m talking multiple all-conference honors in his future. He’s a versatile athlete that can line up as an h-back, a tight end or in the slot and he has legitimate receiving skills (he was a WR in high school). He’s more of a lead blocker than a tight end you would want blocking at the line of scrimmage because of his size but he’s a fantastic weapon to have on offense who teams will have trouble defending.
On defense, OLB Jay Henderson has always been a pass rushing specialist but the coaching staff really seemed impressed with his general awareness and improved tackling ability this spring. So much so that they listed him in front of 5th-year senior OLB Randy Ricks, who tore it up this spring with tons of sacks, at their post-spring depth chart.
Cornerback Kameron Kelly was a tweener athlete coming out of high school but ultimately ended up at safety where he’s had time going back and forth as a starter and second-teamer for most of his career. The team entered spring with a laughable amount of corners on the roster (along with a season ending injury to a freshman early on) so the decision to move Kelly over was pretty easy. Kelly is long and fast and probably the best playmaker on the team in terms of ball skills combined with quickness, speed and explosiveness. Turns out, that combination works just fine at cornerback. After just a few practices, he made a big jump at learning the position and looked more and more comfortable as spring went on.
Linebacker Kyahva Tezino was poised to have a breakout camp at this stage of his career and he didn’t disappoint. He’s one of the bigger hitters out of the linebacker group and his tackling ability at the line of scrimmage took a major step forward. He’s just an excellent run stopper who will be rotated in frequently this season because of his improved read and react abilities.
What are the top items on the team’s to-do list going into fall camp?
Number one would easily be for the defense to continue blitzing the heck out of the offensive line. They need as many reps as they can get so they don’t have to find out how important their blitz pickups are the hard way - in actual games.
Second would be to get all the defensive backs on the same page as soon as possible. Traditionally, young DBs that haven’t played alongside each other all that much are susceptible to blowing assignments and getting beat deep. They need to get their timing down and learn each other’s tendencies. The top two safeties, Parker Baldwin, and Trey Lomax, are especially poised when they’re on the field so that won’t be an issue. But all signs point to SDSU starting a true sophomore safety (who primarily played on special teams), a safety playing cornerback for the first time and another corner who tends to take risks and can get beat over the top. That could be a problem.
SDSU’s 3-3-5 is a swarming defense that’s tough to beat and look wonderful when everybody is where they need to be but a few late reactions here and there could break the whole thing down in an instant.
Third would be to get Rashaad Penny up to speed with a week or two to go heading into the season. He hardly saw the field at all this spring and this will be his first full year as the primary back. It’s great that he’s been protected all offseason but he’ll need to be in mid-season form to start the year because he’s going to be playing behind a young o-line and if he makes the look good, he’ll be carrying this team to another potential conference title.
Did this year's spring practice ultimately change expectations for the 2017 season?
No. The expectation is still around 8-10 wins depending on who you talk to. The offensive line has a chance to be one of the most talented units SDSU has put together under Long (which is saying a lot) but they’re just young. The Aztecs lost one of the most productive college players ever in DJ Pumphrey but the top offensive playmakers on offense this season should be one of the more talented group of starters the team has had. They just need to produce.
