San Diego State football signs big-time pass rusher

Lucan Amituanai becomes the Aztecs’ first signing in the February period

San Diego State Aztecs helmets. / Troy Babbitt-Imagn Images

On Wednesday morning, San Diego State announced the signing of edge defender Lucan Amituanai to their 2025 recruiting class.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Amituanai out of Elk Grove High School in Sacramento had previously signed with Washington State during December’s early signing period. Following the Cougars’ bowl game, head coach Jake Dickert accepted the head coaching job at Wake Forest, leading to Amituanai and several other recruits backing out of their commitments.

San Diego State took advantage of the always-moving coaching carousel, hosting Amituanai on campus this past weekend for an official visit. Amituanai led the way defensively for Elk Grove as a senior, finishing with 68 tackles, 10 sacks and three forced fumbles. He was named first-team All-Delta League in addition to being named Elk Grove Defensive Player of the Year. As a junior, he had 4.5 sacks and an interception.

Amituanai’s top game as a senior came in a non-league win over Chico. He had six tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble while helping his team hold Chico to 130 total yards in a 21-7 win.

Welcome to The Mesa, @AmituanaiLucan!

🏠 Sacramento, California
🏈 EDGE
🏫 ELK Grove HS#A2TEC5MPIRE x #NSD pic.twitter.com/CgqwwQtUk1

— San Diego State Football (@AztecFB) February 5, 2025

San Diego State edge defender Trey White was arguably the Aztecs’ best player in 2024. A local standout at Eastlake High School, White broke out this past season by leading the Mountain West in both sacks (12.5) and tackles for loss (19). White has announced his return to the Aztecs in 2025 and has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Rob Aurich coached San Diego State’s edge defenders during the 2024 season and has since been promoted to defensive coordinator for the 2025 season. Taking his spot as an assistant coach in charge of the edge defenders is Roy Manning. A 2004 Michigan graduate who played three seasons in the NFL, Manning has been coaching college football since 2010. He most recently coached on the defensive side of the ball at Oklahoma and USC.

During college football’s early signing period in December, the Aztecs signed 18 high school players and added 18 other players from the transfer portal.

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