Sean Lewis, Lucky Sutton open fall camp with high expectations for San Diego State’s first Pac-12 season

Aztecs aiming for strong start in rebuilt Pac-12 Conference

San Diego State Aztecs running back Lucky Sutton (7). | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

Third-year coach Sean Lewis is leading the San Diego State Aztecs into the inaugural season of the rebuilt Pac-12, along with quarterback Jayden Denegal and running back Lucky Sutton.

It’s a big deal for this group of players, who will try to build on the success of last year’s 9-4 finish, which included their first bowl invitation in three seasons. 

“Yeah, I mean they get to be the first, right? And I think that's pretty special, right?’’ Lewis said in his opening news conference. “And so hey, being aware of and recognizing and having humility that again guys in the past positioned this program to receive the recognition, to get the ask and to get the invite and to elevate to the Pac-12, right?

“Well, now it's on them to make sure that we honor the work that was done. And then again, we constantly are talking about starting fast and finishing strong. Well, hey, this is the first year where we get to start fast in this conference and so we want to do that the right way again to our standard and to our expectations.”

The season opener is Sept. 5 at home against Portland State. The Pac-12 schedule starts Oct. 3 against Texas State, also at Snapdragon Stadium.

Here are the highlights of the news conference:

Lewis on having the top skill position players back

“Obviously, we've been able to retain those guys and bring everyone back. And I really don't know how to articulate clearly, you know, how impactful that it is. I mean, for a first day of camp, this our third year, obviously, rolling and going, but to have the quarterback back, to have the skill back, to know the mechanics, our tempo mechanics, we just ran as many plays as we ever did in the first team tempo period of camp since we've been here. So, that speaks to obviously their knowledge, the foundation of where we're at. And, man, I'm really excited to dive into the depth of the detail and for them really to master their craft and the enthusiasm that those guys showed up with.

Lewis on dealing with change

“The one thing that I've learned in my 40 years on this Earth is that change and adversity are always going to find you, right? So, yeah, it's year three, but it’s year one with this team. We talk about the continuity offensively. There's quite a bit of lack of continuity defensively, right? So, things are always evolving. We have to adapt.

“Like, give me all the changes, all the changeups, all the curveballs, whatever you want to call it. And, you know, hopefully I can hit on my back foot a little bit and hang and send one over the park here.

Lewis on having 18 players who’ve been with him since year one

“It’s impactful,  right? I mean, to have a team meeting and you look at Brady Nassar who's sitting there in the front row, right? You’ve got Lucky who's sitting in the front row. Those guys who have been with us from the beginning, like they get to be an extension of the staff and so like when we talk about hey, doing it the Aztec way and doing it our way right they're really like force multipliers who help champion that message right.”

Lewis on whether day one was different coming off a winning season

“No, we're still trying to prove ourselves. The success of it all, the external noise, it's all well and good, right? I'm really proud of what we did, but this team this year has got to forge their own identity. So, you know, again, having day one energy, day one enthusiasm, like it's Christmas morning, right? I mean, I rolled over at 3 a.m. and like I didn't need my alarm.”

Lucky Sutton on his mindset coming off his career year

“I'll just be the best player I can to help the team win. Anything that I didn't do last year, to improve upon that. You know, I didn't have a lot of receiving last year, so definitely working on that and also just working overall, anything that I did wrong last year to improve upon that.

Sutton on QB Jayden Denegal returning from shoulder injuries

“Jayden from last year to this year, I can just see a tremendous growth in his leadership and just him as a football player. Over this whole offseason, he's been doing wonderful things with the receivers and just him just overall just leading the team. and I just can't wait to see what he does throughout camp and this season as well and to go through what he did last year, it just shows how he is as a strong player in person.”