What San Diego State coach Sean Lewis said at Mountain West media days

“I promise the fans that whatever their expectations are, they might be equal to but they’re not greater than those within our own building,”

San Diego State Aztecs head coach Sean Lewis. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

This is a big season for coach Sean Lewis and his San Diego Aztecs, who are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-9 finish last fall running his AztecFAST offense. It’s also SDSU’s final year in the Mountain West before joining the reconfigured Pac-12. 

The subject of fans’ expectations and the AztecFAST offense came up during MW media days in Las Vegas. 

Lewis was asked if he expected fans to be more understanding of how the offense works. 

Lewis smiled, laughed and shook his head. 

“No. Fans are fanatical. That’s what ‘fan’ is short for,” he said. “And I wouldn’t want our fans to change in any way. For the fan base wanting you to win right now, hell yeah. I would not want the fans’ expectations to change a bit. I promise the fans that whatever their expectations are, they might be equal to but they’re not greater than those within our own building.

“So our fans don’t need to change. The only thing our fans need to do is show up a little bit earlier, tailgate a little bit harder and then get into Snapdragon a little bit sooner, pack that place and we’ll do our part to put a great product on the field. … I want them to be fanatical about the Aztecs.”

Lewis has referred to his offense as AztecFAST since he was hired on Nov. 29, 2023, after serving as Colorado’s offensive coordinator. 

The FAST part never really referred to actual speed on the field, but rather is an acronym that stood for fun, accountable, smart and tough.

Lewis has tweaked it this year so it stands for focused, accountable, smart and tough.

The highlight of fall camp will be the battle for starting quarterback between transfers Jayden Denegal and Bert Emanuel Jr., the son of the former college and pro quarterback/wideout.

Central Michigan quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. (3) runs against Michigan State defensive back Charles Brantley (0). | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The season opens at home against Stony Brook on Aug. 28.

Here’s what Lewis said at media days:

Lewis expounding on fans’ expectations

“They want it right now. Good. So do I. We want to have that sense of urgency. But I also know our fans are smart enough to understand things that are meaningful and sustain the test of time and adversity and changes and all the things that are coming that will continue to change, you need to have a solid bedrock and solid foundation to stand upon. And that’s where the character of our kids, the culture of our club, we are building that. Success, by doing it the right way, will always be a lagging indicator.”

Lewis on the timeline for selecting a starting QB

“We’ve got a big scrimmage mapped out to have kind of like preseason game No. 2 on Aug. 14, so if there's one date I’d like to circle it’s probably around there to know as we come out of that and as we’re two weeks out for the week one opponent, that we’re able to know that, hey, this is the guy and clearly identify these roles so that the team knows, those individuals know, hey this is where we’re starting as we move through the season.”

On how Denegal and Emanuel have done so far

“Jayden and Bert have done a tremendous job. I think they’ve earned the respect of their peers, which is really, really important. Now we get to go into camp and figure out who’s going to be the guy and who’s going to help the team win.”

Lewis on the Aztecs getting back to bowl eligibility

“That’s the standard for San Diego State. We’ve got to re-establish that identity of winning. We’ve got to start a new streak of consecutive bowl seasons year after year after year.”