San Diego State shifts from fall camp to game-week mode
In this story:
San Diego State’s second fall camp under Sean Lewis is over and the Aztecs pivot to game-week mode, feeling like they’re in better shape than they were a year ago.
“(I’m) really pleased with the effort we had in fall camp,” Lewis said. “We wanted to start fast, and I thought we did that this camp. We were much further along this year compared to last (year).”
The Aztecs turn their focus to their opener next Thursday night against FCS Stony Brook at Snapdragon Stadium. Fans will be eager to see junior quarterback Jayden Denegal in a real game after the former Michigan backup beat out Bert Emanuel Jr. for the starting job.
Praise from a former quarterback
Ryan Lindley, San Diego State’s all-time passing leader who is now the Aztecs’ senior offensive analyst, likes what he’s seen from Denegal.
“JD is a heck of a talent (and) he's a great kid,” Lindley said. “It's been really fun to watch him. I think now in this transfer portal era, we deal with a lot of different levels of guys, when they're coming down from a blue blood like Michigan. Not to disparage anybody else, but you get some that I don't think really handle it the right way. And he's a guy that there isn’t any level of entitlement. Now there's a level of respect you have for him.”
Denegal was the backup to J.J. McCarthy on the Wolverines’ national championship team in 2023. McCarthy was the first-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings in the 2024 NFL Draft and will be their starter this season. He appeared in seven games during his time at Michigan, completing four of five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. He didn’t appear in a game last year.
“The guy's been on a national championship team. He's one of the 105 that was in that building when they won it all,” Lindley said. “It's been a lot of fun to watch him work day in and day out, and just kind of get to know him more as a kid. We're going to have a lot of fun doing it with him through the ups and downs.”
Lindley’s other duties
Lindley is also entering his second season as the tight ends coach and wants to see his players help the run game reach its goal of gaining at least five yards per carry.
“I think the great part of that, when we all talk about finishing right, is continuing to maintain pressure on blocks, and a lot of that really just comes with your approach,” Lindley said.
“I'm a former quarterback coaching the tight ends. I take a lot of our run game philosophy from (run game coordinator/offensive lines coach) Mike Schmidt. That's where we're going to take all things on. We’ve all got to speak the same language. So, the biggest thing is how we're going to take that from where we were last year, increasing that yards per carry number is how we finish on blocks.”
Lindley is high on Seth Adams, who previously played tight end at Southeastern Louisiana and Kennesaw State after playing offensive line at KSU and Cumberlands.
“We liked what we saw in film and what we loved about him, the guy had a nature to him that was physical, and he didn't just block people, he finished them,” Lindley said. “He loves football and he loves competing. We could start with something there and he’s set the standard in that room. He’s going to leave his mark.”
The Lindley file
Lindley started at SDSU from 2008-11 and set program passing records in yards (12,690), touchdowns (90), completions (961), attempts (1,732), starts (49), consecutive starts (44) and victories (23, which has since been broken). Before SDSU, he played at El Capitan High in suburban Lakeside.
He played and coached in the NFL and CFL, and was on the staffs at Utah and Mississippi State before returning to Montezuma Mesa.
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
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.