San Diego State faces major special teams overhaul entering Pac-12 play

The placekicker known affectionately as “Hefty Lefty” is gone, having moved on to the NFL.

The punter is gone, too, having transferred to Washington of the Big Ten.

The San Diego State Aztecs have some serious rebuilding to do on special teams, where they have shined in recent seasons.

The Aztecs got a look at the replacements for kicker Gabe Plascencia and punter Hunter Green during their recent spring game.

Tashi Dorje has locked up the punter spot.

But the kicker competition will continue through summer workouts and fall camp, with transfers junior Lane Garner and senior Cooper DiLeva competing for the job, along with incoming transfer Noah Serna from Cal Poly.

Why this matters

One of the Aztecs’ biggest losses from last season’s team was the left-footed Plascencia — thus the “Hefty Lefty” nickname — who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears.

Plascencia finished his SDSU career as the most accurate kicker in school history by making 36 of 41 field goal attempts, an 87.8 completion percentage. He was so automatic that he set the SDSU and Mountain West records by connecting on 25 straight field goals spanning his junior and senior seasons.

He was the MW preseason special teams player of the year before ending the season as a second-team pick.

Green upheld an impressive streak of success by Aztecs punters by being named to the all-league second team. Green punted 63 times for an average of 47 yards, a long of 75 and 26 inside the 20.

Special teams coach Zac Barton is entering his third season with the Aztecs. Heading into last season, he said “the standard here has been nuts” and that special teams the last decade “have been elite.”

Now it’s up to Barton to shape the specialists who could have a big impact on what the Aztecs hope is a big first season in the reborn Pac-12.

So who takes over?

DiLeva kicked a 46-yard field goal and Garner had a 44-yarder during the spring game.

DiLeva transferred from Arkansas, where he didn’t see game action last year. Before that, he spent two seasons at El Camino College, going 8 of 12 on field goals and 36 of 38 on PATs as a freshman, and then hitting 11 of 15 field goal tries as a sophomore, plus 40 of 41 PATs.

Garner is coming in after playing two seasons at Butte College, where he had a big 2025 season by converting 13 of 15 field goal tries, including a career-long 48-yarder, and making all 38 PATs.

They’ll continue their battle through fall camp.

Meanwhile, Dorje has been confirmed as the punter by coach Sean Lewis, who led the Aztecs to a 9-4 bounce-back season and a bowl berth for the first time in three seasons.

“Tashi is going to be the guy who is going to punt for us; he has really solidified his role in that regard,” Lewis told the Daily Aztec, adding that the senior “has done a really nice job separating himself and being that guy who is going to be the punter for us this year.”

Dorje punted three times for a 50-yard average and a long of 60 yards.

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