San Diego State football names six team captains

A sure sign that the season opener is getting close is when a team names its captains.

For the San Diego State Aztecs, the six captains chosen in a vote of the players include edge rusher Trey White and linebacker Tano Letuli, who become the first multi-season captains since J.J. Whittaker in 2014-15.

The other captains announced Saturday are center Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli, cornerback Chris Johnson, quarterback Jayden Denegal and linebacker DJ Herman.

Three of them played at San Diego high schools — White at Eastlake, Ulugalu-Maseuli at Mater Dei and Letuli at Cathedral Catholic. Two others are also from Southern California — Johnson is from Eastvale and Denegal is from Apple Valley — while Herman is from Las Vegas.

White and Letuli are the first underclassmen captains at San Diego State since Kevin O’Connell in 2005. O’Connell is now the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.

The six captains will walk out together for the coin toss for the first time on Thursday night when the Aztecs host Stony Brook in the season opener at Snapdragon Stadium.

Here’s a look at SDSU’s captains:

Trey White

White has already piled up a number of accolades, including being named to the watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award (most outstanding defensive player), the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (national defensive player of the year) and the Senior Bowl Top 300. He was also named the preseason Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.

White is looking to build on his breakout season of 2024, when his 12 ½ sacks were tied for fifth in FBS and his 18 ½ tackles for loss (among his 40 total tackles) led the Mountain West. He also forced a fumble.

Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli

Ulugalu-Maseuli enters his fifth year at SDSU as the most experienced offensive lineman on the team with 27 career starts. He has been named a preseason first-team All-MW selection by Lindy’s Sports and a second-team pick by Athlon Sports.

Chris Johnson

Johnson was an honorable-mention All-Mountain West performer last year after totaling 67 tackles, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and an interception. He enters his final season with 103 tackles, four forced fumbles, five pass breakups and two interceptions, having played 36 of the team’s 37 games since arriving on campus in 2022.

Johnson joined White on the Senior Bowl Watch List.

Tano Letuli

Letuli was named to the preseason All-MW team after leading the Aztecs with 70 tackles last year despite missing two games with a broken hand. He was an honorable mention all-conference pick last year.

He has also been named a first-team all-MW pick by Phil Steele Magazine, Athlon Sports, Lindy’s Sports, College Football Network and Sports Info Solutions, while also recently making the Polynesian Player of the Year Watch List.

Jayden Denegal

Denegal was named the starting quarterback after competing with fellow transfer Bert Emanuel Jr. He spent three seasons at Michigan and was the backup to J.J. McCarthy during the Wolverines’ national championship season in 2023. He appeared in seven games at Michigan, completing 4 of 5 passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing four times for 10 yards.

The Aug. 28 opener will be his first career start.

DJ Herman

Herman has played in 36 career games, including making two starts last year at linebacker. Herman has been one of the top special teams players in the country and could play on all five units this year — kickoff, kick return, punt, punt return and PAT/field goal.

The season ahead

The Aztecs are looking to bounce back from a 3-9 finish in Sean Lewis’ first season as head coach and put up a strong showing in their final year in the Mountain West. SDSU is headed to the new-look Pac-12 next year, along with current MW foes Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and Utah State. They’ll join Pac-12 holdovers Washington State and Oregon State, as well as Texas State. National powerhouse Gonzaga will join in hoops.