What San Diego State head coach Sean Lewis said following spring football practice

Following the end of spring practice, San Diego State head football coach Sean Lewis sat down with Aztecs play-by-play announcer Jon Schaeffer to preview the team as they head into the summer with the fall season closing in.

Here are the highlights from Schaeffer’s interview with Lewis.

ON SPRING FOOTBALL

“Yeah, John, everything was great. You know, we finished phase two of spring ball healthy, confident. The work that our kids put in was really, really good. And there's a tremendous belief and rightfully so because of the work that the guys put in and the connection that we have in the building right now. I'm really pleased with where we're at.”

ON THE SPRING SHOWCASE

“Yeah, it was great. It was exactly what we needed. Again the work that we had put in you know you look at it as you set out you know hey what is it that we need to get done as we get closer to being game ready and where we were on that day and leading up to it myself, the staff, you know the players we all felt really good and really confident about where we are. So to go out that day and kind of compete in a different way to be in our teams that we had established at the very beginning of the year and for those guys to go and compete in a different way was fun. And I think it was good for the fans that were there to see and engage with our guys in a different way. And there's ways that we can continue to make that better and better. But I hope it to be a great new tradition and a great new way to connect the community and our team and to have a good day of fun and to compete just in a different way than the fans are used to seeing.”

ON BUILDING TEAM CHEMISTRY IN THE SPRING

“Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's just another one of the great days that we've had this year thus far and sitting with the guys through all the exit meetings and everything. You know, I always want to ask them and get some feedback about, hey, like what's been transformational, what's been impactful and where do you have the most belief in our team right now? They've talked about the new things, you know, that we've done, the connections that we have, the relationships that have been built. And because of that, the extra time that they're spending together away from the building outside of the required football activities, and just how they know one another and how they're truly a team, which I think is truly a competitive advantage that that we're excited to have as we go forward, especially in this whole NIL era that we are operating in. To have a team that's connected, like that is really, really dangerous and really excited about where we're going in the future.”

ON ADDITIONS AND SUBTRACTIONS IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL

“Yeah, feel great. Right. I mean, the biggest thing that we've talked a ton about and that our community's done an unbelievable job with is every time these portal windows open, there's key guys and key stakeholders and key individuals, right, that are the heart and the soul of our building. And every single one of those guys is still here in our building, right? We battled off some power four schools that were sniffing around and you know very proud of the work that our staff did and the commitment that the kids showed with that. And then we've been able to add some really great pieces here you know just a handful because of the work that we had done in the wintertime, but you know as we came through the spring identifying some more spots along the O-line, D-line in particular where we really want to fortify those trenches. That was an area a year ago where we didn't have the depth in our collective, we didn't have the depth in our locker room and for a multitude of factors, injuries and other things. Obviously, that really hurt us down the stretch. So, we don't want to put ourselves in that situation again, so we identified that. Feel great about where we are and excited. You know, guys got a little downtime right now, but excited to get them back in the summertime here and get rocking and rolling.”

ON KEEPING TOP PLAYERS FROM ENTERING THE TRANSFER PORTAL

“I think it starts first and foremost with the individuals, right? like they're a bunch of high character dudes, man, that really value the right things, right? They value the connection in the locker room. They have a tremendous sense of personal pride in their performance that we're truly when, you know, we've put those graphics out that say unfinished business, right? But that's something that they've taken to heart, right? They see the vision, they are completely bought into our way of doing things and you know they want to start it and they have started it and now it's really important for them to finish it, you know, which I think is something that's beautifully unique, right? Too often you start working on something and things either get too hard or it becomes too challenging it's so easy nowadays to hit eject and to go somewhere else but these guys know and understand how crucial they are to the success of reestablishing the dominance of a tech football the way that we're going to this year and the last year of Mountain West and as we go forward because of the work in particular that this whole team has done that this whole staff has done and that starts with, you know, the character of the club and the character of those young men that have decided to be here to finish the work to continue to do great work and to build towards an amazing future.”

ON TEAM BEACH WORKOUTS

“It's been awesome, you know, and again, it was last season at the end of the year, you know, sat down with the guys again, getting that feedback in the exit interviews and everything, and we had only done it one time last year. It was around the 4th of July before the guys got a little time off. But when we got to the end of season exit interviews, everyone spoke to that day and how unique that was, how challenging it was, but how they really got to know more about, you know, their teammates from that unique experience. So, as we mapped out all the work that we were going to do here in 2025, it was really important for us in winter conditioning to do that more consistently. So, yeah, we went down to Coronado Beach three times and did three different iterations of exercises and again in micro teams and position groups and offense, defense, different challenges. Again, we're not reinventing the wheel here, right? There's a great team of teams right there in Coronado with the Seals that are doing great work. And you know, it's kind of like, hey, if it works for them, you know, to build a resilient team of tough individuals, you know, it's probably something that we can, you know, gleam from a little bit. And then what was really cool and really impactful was then the last day of winter conditioning, we were able to go down to enable special warfare and sit right off the grinder with a group of Seals and do some engagement and basically have a mastermind leadership and team building conversation. And I was really proud of the guys because a staff member didn't say boo that day. It was purely driven by our players. They took great ownership of that opportunity and to see their engagement. The way that they were leaned into the conversation and the feedback that we've gotten from that has been, you know, noticeable with all the things that we've been doing. So, it's been really cool and again one of those things that only the unique city of San Diego can offer which makes our guys' experience here truly first class and different than anywhere else in the country.”