3 San Diego State football players who could make an immediate impact against Portland State
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The San Diego State Aztecs open perhaps the most eagerly anticipated season in school history when they host Portland State on Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium.
It’s the first of four non-conference games before the Aztecs play their first-ever Pac-12 Conference game, against visiting Texas State on Oct. 3.
While about half the roster is new this season, some familiar faces will be leading the Aztecs as they look to make a strong impression coming off a turnaround 9-4 season under coach Sean Lewis. The Aztecs did lose their final two games of 2025, including a wild 49-47 defeat to North Texas in the New Mexico Bowl, so they’re eager to start this season off with a home victory.
Here are three players who could make an immediate impact against Portland State, which finished last in the FCS Big Sky Conference at 1-11 last fall.
Senior running back Lucky Sutton
“Run, Lucky, Run” could be the Aztecs’ mantra, at least early in the season.
The senior from San Diego piled up numerous preseason accolades in the wake of his breakout junior season, when he led the Mountain West with 1,297 yards, and scored 10 touchdowns. It was his first season as a starter and he performed so well that he ended up at No. 13 on the school’s all-time, single-season list.
Sutton’s debut as a starter was also against an FBS school, Stony Brook, and he responded by gaining 100 yards and scoring twice. He had five more 100-yard games, all against Mountain West teams, including a career-high 158 yards in a home win against Wyoming.
He’ll no doubt be eager for this game because he was held out of a scrimmage at Snapdragon Stadium two weeks ago.
When asked if Sutton knew he wouldn’t get any touches that day, Lewis said: “Yeah, there's no secrets. He's pretty good. We need him on September 5th and everything going forward. So, he knew, everyone knew. He’s really mad at me because he really likes to play football and he wants to get hit and that'll be OK.”
For those keeping score at home, Sutton has been named to the watch lists for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award and the Maxwell Award for college player of the year. Athlon Sports, Lindy’s and Phil Steele Magazine all put him on their preseason All-Pac-12 first teams.
Senior quarterback Jayden Denegal
This will also be a big one for Denegal, who says he’s healthy coming off surgery on his non-throwing left shoulder, which he injured just four plays into last season’s opener. He was able to play through that injury as well as fatigue that developed in his throwing shoulder, but chose to have surgery and miss the New Mexico Bowl so that he’d be ready for spring ball.
Denegal had a decent performance in his first season as a starter, but has made it his goal to exceed his 1,807 yards passing and dramatically improve his ratio of nine touchdowns to eight interceptions. He completed 143 of 243 passes (58.8%) and had a passer efficiency rating of 126.9.
Denegal received some interesting preseason accolades, including being rated as the “Pac-12’s Strongest Arm” and a “Player to Watch” by Lindy’s. Pro Football Network named him third-team All-Pac-12 third while Athlon’s made him a fourth-teamer.
Senior wide receiver Bert Emanuel Jr.
The most interesting offseason development was Emanuel moving from backup quarterback to wide receiver. He’s listed as a starter on the updated depth chart, in part because Jordan Napier and Jacob Bostick are coming off injuries.
But he performed well at camp and the coaches are no doubt as eager as the fans to see how the Denegal-to-Emanuel connection works out. The thought of Emanuel getting open and getting the ball in his hands has to have coaches and fans salivating.
That’s because of his dazzling performance at New Mexico, when he started at quarterback in place of Denegal. He rushed 11 times for a jaw-dropping 172 yards and two touchdowns before he was knocked out of the game with a shoulder injury in the second quarter. He scored on a 72-yard run — the Aztecs’ longest scoring run of the season — and added a run of 69 yards.
What’s next
The PSU-SDSU game kicks off at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and will be shown on USA Network.
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Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.