Every position battle that will define San Diego State's 2026 season

Here’s a look at the depth chart going into fall camp

San Diego State Aztecs football. | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

One look at San Diego State’s preseason depth chart shows exactly where the Aztecs have some work to do in assembling the starting units for their foray into the new-look Pac-12.

There are seven returning starters on offense but only three on defense. On special teams, the only returner is the main returner, Jordan Napier. 

That means there are plenty of jobs to be won when the Aztecs begin fall camp on Wednesday. There will be 26 practices to prepare for the season opener exactly a month later against Portland State. 

Here’s a look at the position battles that will define San Diego State’s season:

Placekicker

Special teams have indeed been special at SDSU in recent years, where the stars have been so good that they’ve had nicknames like “Punt God” (Matt Araiza) and “Hefty Lefty” (Gabe Plascencia).

The Aztecs know who their punter will be after Senior Tashi Dorje won the job during spring drills. He’ll replace Hunter Green, who transferred to Washington after earning second-team All-Mountain West honors. 

But it appears to be a wide-open competition to replace Plascencia, the left-footed kicker who was celebrated for his heft.

The four kickers listed on the depth chart are senior transfer Noah Serna, senior Cooper DiLeva, junior transfer Lane Garner and freshman transfer Tyler Prasuhn.

Serna made 9 of 11 field goals last season at Cal Poly, with his longest being 40 yards. 

During the spring game, DiLeva made a 46-yard field goal while Garner connected from 44 yards.

DiLeva didn’t play last year at Arkansas after kicking for two seasons at El Camino College. Garner kicked for two seasons at Butte College, where he had a long of 48.

How big was Plascencia to the Aztecs? He became the most accurate kicker in SDSU school history by making 87.8% of his field goal tries, 36 of 41. He made 26 straight field goals spanning his junior and senior seasons to set school and MW records. 

Secondary

There was a clean sweep of starters in the five-man secondary, where graduation, the transfer portal and a key injury took their toll.

Safety Dalesean Staley was the only returning starter from the secondary but then he tore an ACL during spring drills and will miss the season. 

The most notable departure was that of senior cornerback Chris Johnson, who went from being named the MW co-Defensive Player of the Year to being a first-round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins, at No. 27.

Of the 14 players on the depth chart in the secondary, seven are transfers and one is a redshirt freshman. 

The depth chart lists sophomore transfer Mike Lindsay as the starter at right cornerback and sophomore transfer Jamison Starks at left cornerback.

At safety, senior returner Josiah Cox is the starter at the SAM position while junior returner Jelani McLaughlin is listed as the starter at strong safety and sophomore transfer Isaiah Green at free safety.

Other returning players who will push for playing time are sophomore Prince Williams at SAM safety, Jelani Whitmore at left cornerback, and seniors Josh Hunter and Max Garrison at strong safety,

Offensive line

Senior running back Lucky Sutton is looking to build on his career-best performance of 2025, when he entered the school's all-time single-season rushing list at No. 16 with a MW-high 1,297 yards, good for recognition on the All-MW first team.

To help him along, the offensive line will have to jell in camp after losing three players who started every game last season. 

The two returning starters are both on the left side: tackle Joe Borjon, who switches from right tackle, and guard Kalan Ellis. 

Interestingly, transfer Evan Lawrence, who appeared in seven games for national champion Indiana last year, is listed as Ellis’ backup. 

The listed starters for the other positions are junior transfer Isaac Lucas at center, sophomore returner Michael Watkins at right guard and junior transfer Isaac Lucas at right tackle. 

Defensive line

The defensive line also took a massive hit with the departure of Trey White and Ryan Henderson for big NIL deals with Power 4 schools. 

There is returning talent, however. EDGE Brady Nassar and tackle Malachi Finau are returning starters. 

There will be competition for the other two starting spots. 

Senior transfer Gavriel Lightfoot is penciled in as the starter at nose tackle and junior transfer Djibril Rahman currently holds the top spot at rush EDGE.

One of the more interesting transfers, senior Kai Wallin, is listed as Rahman’s backup. Three returning players will be competing for jobs on the D-line, including Amari Comier, who, with one sack, is the only returning player who dropped a quarterback last year. The players who accounted for the other 31 sacks are gone. 

Linebacker

Senior middle linebacker Tano Letuli returns after an injury-shortened season. 

Senior Josiah Cox, a returning letterman, is listed as the starter at strongside linebacker. A mixture of transfers and returning players is ready to compete for playing time. 

Wide receiver

All three starters are back: junior Jordan Napier at slot and seniors Jacob Bostick and Donovan Brown on the outside. 

Pushing for playing time will be senior Bert Emanuel Jr., who moved over from backup quarterback, returning senior Nathan Acevedo and transfer Justius Lowe.

Tight end

The competition lines up like this: junior Jackson Ford and sophomore Ryan Wolfer, both returning players, and sophomore transfer Kime Fangupo.

Below is San Diego State's projected preseason depth chart entering fall camp:

SAN DIEGO STATE DEPTH CHART

OFFENSE:

LEFT TACKLE (LT)

78 Joe Borjon, 6-8, 330, Sr. *

77 Cam May, 6-7, 310, Sr. *

75 Delon Craft Jr., 6-5, 290, Fr.-RS

LEFT GUARD (LG)

76 Kalan Ellis, 6-5, 350, Sr. *

71 Evan Lawrence, 6-6, 306, So.-TR

70 Mercer Luniewski, 6-6, 320, So.-TR

CENTER (C)

56 Isaac Lucas, 6-3, 298, Jr.-TR

58 Ikbahl Kassim, 6-2, 315, So.

69 Alex Bleszynski, 6-2, 295, Fr.-RS

RIGHT GUARD (RG)

55 Michael Leville Watkins, 6-2, 310, So.

79 Harlem Nellum, 6-5, 350, Fr.-HS

RIGHT TACKLE (RT)

72 Dennis Jones, 6-6, 350, Sr.-TR

74 Ashdon Wnetrzak, 6-8, 335, Fr.-RS

62 Jarvis Williams, 6-7, 340, Fr.-HS

TIGHT END

15 Jackson Ford, 6-6, 250, Jr. *

88 Ryan Wolfer, 6-5, 235, So. *

47 Kime Fangupo, 6-3, 250, So.-TR

QUARTERBACK (QB)

4 Jayden Denegal, 6-5, 230, Sr. *

12 Stone Saunders, 6-1, 222, Fr.-TR

16 Draiden Trudeau, 6-0, 190, Fr.-RS

RUNNING BACK

7 Lucky Sutton, 6-1, 225, Sr. *

21 Javion Kinnard, 5-8, 175, So.-TR

20 Christian Washington, 5-10, 205, Sr. *

WIDE RECEIVER (SLOT)

2 Jordan Napier, 6-2, 205, Jr. **

13 Nathan Acevedo, 5-10, 170, Sr. *

85 Daishaun Davis, 5-11, 170, Fr.-HS

WIDE RECEIVER (OUTSIDE)

17 Jacob Bostick, 6-3, 190, Sr. *

18 Justius Lowe, 6-1, 190, Sr.-TR

5 Bert Emanuel Jr., 6-3, 235, Sr. *

WIDE RECEIVER (OUTSIDE)

14 Donovan Brown, 6-2, 180, Sr. *

12 Jaylon Hawkins, 6-0, 175, RS-Fr.

10 Parker Threatt, 6-1, 200, So. *

DEFENSE:

FIELD EDGE

33 Brady Nassar, 6-5, 255, Sr. ***

44 Nate Henrich, 6-6, 260, Jr.-TR

10 Lucan Amituanai, 6-4, 240, Fr.-RS

Nose DL

95 Gavriel Lightfoot, 6-3, 330, Sr.-TR

91 Amari Comier, 6-2, 295, Sr. *

94 Tuaoa Tauili’ili, 6-3, 330, Jr.-TR

3-TECHNIQUE

18 Malachi Finau, 6-1, 295, Sr. *

11 Krishna Clay, 6-2, 295, Sr. **

88 Kainoa Davis, 6-1, 275, So. *

RUSH EDGE

59 Djibril Rahman, 6-4, 257, Jr.-TR

45 Kai Wallin, 6-5, 247, Sr.-TR

97 Dominic Coelho, 6-4, 235, Fr.-HS

“WEAKSIDE” LINEBACKER (WILL)

56 Sione Hala, 6-1, 225, Sr.-TR

42 Cameron Cooper, 6-2, 230, Jr.-TR

15 Oberhiri Eyafe, 6-3, 205, So.

“MIKE” LINEBACKER (MLB)

21 Tano Letuli, 6-2, 240, Sr. **

31 Jeramiah Lewis, 6-3, 230, So.-TR

34 Dean Harrington, 6-2, 227, So. *

“SAM” (SAFETY)

24 Josiah Cox, 6-1, 200, Sr. *

30 Jalen Thomeson, 5-11, 195, Jr.-TR

13 Prince Williams, 6-2, 195, So. *

LEFT CORNERBACK

19 Jamison Starks, 6-2, 180, So.-TR

26 Jason Oliver, 6-0, 170, Sr.-TR

16 Jelani Whitmore, 6-0, 185, Sr. **

STRONG SAFETY

20 Jelani McLaughlin, 6-0, 205, Jr. **

29 Josh Hunter, 5-9, 180, Sr. ***

22 Max Garrison, 5-10, 195, Sr. ***

FREE SAFETY

14 Isaiah Green, 6-1, 180, So.-TR

37 Solomon Davis, 6-0, 200, Jr.-TR

17 Kaimana Tufaga, 6-0, 205, Fr.-RS

RIGHT CORNERBACK

27 Mike Lindsay, 6-1, 185, So.-TR

32 Caleb Ricks, 6-1, 195, So-TR

SPECIALISTS:

PUNTER

89 Tashi Dorje, 6-2, 205, Sr.

93 Camden Cowgill, 6-0, 195, Jr.-TR

PLACEKICKER (PK)

82 Noah Serna, 6-2, 200, Sr.-TR

96 Cooper DiLeva, 5-10, 170, Sr.

38 Lane Garner, 5-10, 185, Jr.-TR

80 Tyler Prasuhn, 6-1, 185, Fr.-TR

KICKOFFS (KO)

82 Noah Serna, 6-2, 200, Sr.-TR

96 Cooper DiLeva, 5-10, 170, Sr.

38 Lane Garner, 5-10, 185, Jr.-TR

80 Tyler Prasuhn, 6-1, 185, Fr.-TR

HOLDER (H)

TBA

LONG SNAPPER (LS)

64 Connor Poulson, 5-11, 205, So.

61 Chase Schubert, 5-10, 190, So.-TR

SHORT SNAPPER (SS)

64 Connor Poulson, 5-11, 205, So.

61 Chase Schubert, 5-10, 190, So.-TR

KICKOFF RETURNS (KOR)

2 Jordan Napier, 6-2, 205, Jr. **

14 Donovan Brown, 6-2, 180, Sr. *

PUNT RETURNS (PR)

21 Javion Kinnard, 5-8, 175, So.-TR

2 Jordan Napier, 6-2, 205, Jr. **

* denotes letters earned during a players time at SDSU.