San Diego State’s running back room has plenty of star power heading into 2026
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“Running Back U” is alive and thriving on Montezuma Mesa.
The San Diego State Aztecs are rushing headlong into the first year of the revitalized Pac-12 Conference, led by hometown players Lucky Sutton and Christian Washington, and newcomer Javion Kinnard, a multi-faceted player from Colorado State.
Sutton had a breakout junior season, when he was the Mountain West rushing champion with 1,297 yards, good enough for 13th on the school’s all-time, single-season list. Sutton was named to the All-Mountain West first team and was a Doak Walker Award semifinalist.
He’s looking for more this season after announcing in December that he was finishing his college career with his hometown team.
Sutton and all of his teammates will give fans a sense of where they stand after not quite two weeks of fall camp when they hold a public scrimmage at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium.
The running game helped carry the Aztecs to a 9-4 record and a berth in the New Mexico Bowl, their first postseason appearance in three years. With Sutton leading the way, the Aztecs piled up 2,583 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns.
Sutton, who came to SDSU from San Diego’s Cathedral Catholic High, is a team-first guy.
“Not focused on things individually. Just wanting to be a part of a team that wins a championship and really holds up to our potential,” he said. “That's all I'm really focusing on is doing my part to contribute to a team that goes hard and wins … it's just the same mindset I came into last year. I still have a lot to prove. I've been saying that for a while now. I feel like last season, everyone says it was a decent or good season. I didn't think it was good enough. So just having that mindset that I have something to prove is just one thing. I'm just having that mentality coming into this season.”
Sutton is chasing the Aztecs’ rushing legacy
Sutton is motivated by being part of SDSU’s running backs legacy. His 1,297 yards last fall were the most since Rashaad Penny powered his way to a school-record 2,248 yards in 2017.
Donnel Pumphrey owns three of the Top 10 single-season rushing performances, which helped him become the career FBS rushing leader with 6,405 yards from 2013-2016.
“Yeah, (running backs coach Darian Hagan) speaks about them all the time,” Sutton said. “We have the legacy and the standard in our room. You know we have Marshall Faulk up there, Rashaad Penny, Pump (Pumphrey) up there, Ronnie Hillman, all the great backs. In our running back room, we always try to dream big and uphold that standard and that legacy.”
SDSU has more than just Sutton in the backfield
Hagan is entering his third season. His first year mentoring the Aztecs' backs was highlighted by Marquez Cooper rushing for 1,274 yards and 12 TDs.
"The backs are doing pretty good. You know, Lucky is ‘Steady Eddie.’ He does everything the right way,” Hagan said. “You know he's a big physical back. You know Christian Washington, he's been up and down a little bit. … Chop [Javion Kinnard] is phenomenal. He gets the ball in his hand, and you don't know what's going to happen, but it is always going to be something good.
“Jordan Thomas is getting better. He has had some good runs this camp. He's starting to strike people in pass protection. Then Josiah Lucas is probably the quickest, if not fastest, player on our team. When he gets the ball, he knows where he's going. He's dynamic with the ball, so he and Chop, you can put them in space, and we're going to win every time.”
“He's on our leadership council, so he's a guy that has special privileges. He’s a guy that is always the first one in the building, and one of the last ones to leave. He's not a “rah-rah” guy, but he leads by example. But when I tell him, ‘Look, you know you have to say more, you have to do more and you have got to lead them better,’ he will get up and he'll say what he needs to say.”
Hagan said he tells his players what he learned from his college coach: “You have got to lead these guys; got to take guys to a place they can't take themselves. If you can do that, you're a good leader.”
Kinnard brings another dimension to the Aztecs’ offense
Kinnard transferred from conference foe CSU after earning All-MW second-team honors as a punt returner while also seeing action at running back and wide receiver.
“Being here I am learning every day and being taught the details,” Kinnard said. “That's something we prep a lot, being a running back I have enthusiasm every play. I think my role is going to help us out in the receiving room a lot. We can expand the offense a lot. I notice that when I get in, Coach Lewis might expand the offense, might put us in empty (backfield) but they also let me be a true running back here.”
Kinnard said he’s already learned a lot from Sutton.
“It's crazy because Lucky's kind of like a robot. He does everything right; you never see him do anything wrong. So, coaches have said, if you want to do what's right, look at Lucky. I could go home and for about an hour, just watch film of what they drew up for Lucky before I watch my film, and just see everything he does, and he doesn’t ever forget anything every time. I always say, you don't have to ask questions. Look at Lucky and how he does things. You'll be all right.”
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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.