Fall Previews 16 of 63: San Diego State

San Diego State:

Head Coach: Rocky Long
2014 Record: (7-6, 5-3 MWC)
Basic Offense: Multiple
Basic Defense: 3-3-5
Starters Returning: 18 (6 Off., 8 Def., 4 Spec.)
Starters Lost: 10 (5 Off., 3 Def., 2 Spec.)

Offense:

The Aztecs have a quarterback to replace in 2015 but feel fairly comfortable with Kentucky transfer Maxwell Smith (292-486/3,070/21TD career stats) at the helm. The off and on starter in the SEC has shown glimpses of excellent play but has never been able to put it all together for an entire season. Smith will not be just given the starting job as redshirt freshman Christian Chapman is right there at the top of the depth chart and looking to be a four year starter for the Aztecs. Former Oregon quarterback Jake Rodrigues is sitting third on the depth chart but well below the co-starters heading into fall camp.

Donnell Pumphrey

While the quarterback position is up for grabs, one position that is well in hand is at running back. Junior Donnel Pumphrey (255/1,755/19TD) was a first team selection on the All-Mountain West Conference team and is on the preseason 1st team for the upcoming season as well. Pumphrey is on the Doak Walker and Maxwell Award Watch Lists and is one of the favorites to be the MWC Offensive Player of the Year. Pumphrey has made 13 career starts and should make all 12-14 starts this fall. Senior Chase Price (130/605/5 TD) will see backup duties after a 2014 season that saw him put up 71 yards rushing versus North Carolina. Price is a good pass catcher with 15 catches for 117 yards last fall. Senior Dakota Gordon (26/110/0TD) will be the main blocker with redshirt freshman Sal Jeppi also earning playing time as well in the backfield.

The Aztecs have been known to produce some quality at the tight end position in the past but heading into the 2015 season, there is a bit of uncertainty at the position. Junior Daniel Brunskill (5/31/1TD) made four starts at the position in 2014 and looks to be the top player in line for the opening. Brinskill should be able to hold his own blocking at 6-5, 250 pounds as well as become an important target in the red zone. A breakout season would not be out of the question for the junior tight end. Backing up Brinskill is sophomore David Wells who assimilated into the team last fall primarily on special teams. He will be needed to bring depth to the tight end position on offense while still giving quality snaps to special teams.

Eric Judge

There is a bit of question in the passing game about who will actually come up with the majority of the receptions for the Aztec offense. Sophomore Mikah Holder (5/53/0TD) had an excellent spring and actually heads into fall camp as a starter over junior Eric Judge (23/439/2TD). Honestly, it will not matter too much who starts the game as both receivers will see a significant number of snaps on offense and should be able to put up solid stats for the San Diego State passing game. Another sophomore is projected on the other side at wide receiver with Chase Favreau (2/55/0TD) making the switch from quarterback to receiver last fall well enough to earn playing time down the stretch in 2014. Junior Lloyd Mills (22/310/1TD) is listed as the backup heading into the fall due to a leg injury that kept him out of the entirety of spring drills. If he is healthy, he should overtake Favreau and earn a starting role for opening night. Paul Pitts (2/23/0TD) and Jemond Hazely (13/173/1TD) should give solid depth to the wide receiver corps.

Pearce Slater

The Aztecs have three offensive linemen that made all 13 starts in 2014 but have to replace arguably the two most important spots in center and left tackle for the upcoming season. At left tackle is a battle between 6-7, 300+ pound behemoths Kwayde Miller and Ryan Pope. Miller is the odds on favorite to earn the position with the SDSU coaching staff wanting to redshirt Pope and have at least two years of the JUCO transfer at left tackle after Miller exhausts his eligibility. Miller's play will determine how well that plan can be implemented this fall. Moving inside, junior Nico Siragua (14 career starts) should be able to hold off UAB transfer and fellow junior Ryan Krum for the starting spot. Krum was a JUCO transfer at UAB where he redshirted his only season with the Blazers. In the middle at center is a bit scary as juniors Arthur Flores and Austin Maass will battle for the starting job after seeing action in a combined one game last season. Maass has seen action in two total games for the Aztecs while Flores will finally see live game action for the first time this fall. The offensive line is much more experienced on the right side with projected right guard starter Darrell Greene (25 career starts) making the All-MWC honorable mention list last fall. The senior should be a force in the running game as he has been mentioned at the MWC's best run blocker in 2015. Senior Robert Craighead will be making the move to the offensive line after spending time at tight end and defensive line during his time with the program. Filling out the offensive line is right tackle and preseason 1st team All-MWC honoree Pearce Slater (13 career starts) immediately jumped into the starting lineup last fall after joining from the JUCO ranks and should be one of the best offensive linemen in the MWC this fall. Redshirt freshman Joe Salcedo will back up Slater.

Defense: 

Alex Barrett

In the 3-3-5 defense the Aztecs implement, defensive end Alex Barrett (39 tkl, 9 tfl, 3 sacks) was the most productive despite only seeing action in 10 games last fall. Barrett still made the All-MWC honorable mention team despite missing three games. Sophomore Dakota Turner (18 tkl, 2.5 tfl, 2 sacks) had a nice freshman season and will see more playing time in the rotation and should be able to improve on his 2014 stats. At the other defensive end position, senior Jon Sanchez (30 tkl, 6.5 tfl, 2.5 sacks) will look to be more disruptive in the backfield after a pretty good junior season. Sanchez is a bit undersized but should be able to hold his own this fall versus some talented MWC offensive lines. Junior Micah Seau (1 tkl) will have to up his production this fall after making a single tackle in 2014. Seau has made the move from linebacker to defensive end and is the nephew of NFL hall of famer Junior Seau. In the middle, senior Christian Heyward (31 tkl, 5 tfl, 2 sacks) will look to play a major role. Heyward is the only 300+ pound defensive lineman on the roster and was a 4-star recruit out of high school. Backing up Heyward is redshirt freshman Noble Hall. Redshirt freshmen Damon Moore and Julian Rochelin as well as JUCO transfer Randy Ricks should be in the fight for playing time.

Calvin Munson

At linebacker, the Aztecs will rely upon junior Calvin Munson (78 tkl, 10.5 tfl, 4 sacks, 4 INT) to lead an inexperienced group. The honorable mention All-MWC selection in 2014 is the only returning linebacker with more than 15 tackles last fall. Arizona transfer Ryan Dunn will push Munson for playing time but could actually see time at other linebacker spots in different scenarios. Sophomore Jay Henderson (3 tkl) is the projected starter at one outside linebacker spot and got valuable but limited experience as a freshman. He will be needed to step up and give Munson support on the second level. Fellow sophomore Fred Melifonwu (6 tkl, 2.5 tfl, 2 sacks) has the size at 6-5, 240 pounds to be a great player but is still learning to be a linebacker at the FBS level. His biggest contributions could be in the 2016 and 2017 seasons. 2015 brings a close to the career of senior Jake Fely (12 tkl, 1 tfl) the California native has seen a promising career take a turn with a foot injury followed by a serious neck injury that threatened his career. Fely has 30 career starts for the Aztecs and is a great player when healthy. Senior Devante Davis (2 tkl) struggled a bit as a JUCO transfer in 2014 but should be able to find a role in the SDSU defense this fall.

Damontae Kazee

San Diego State heads into the 2015 season with one of the best secondaries in all of the G5 that includes two Thorpe Award Watch List members and all but two starts from last season back. Cornerback is the position of strength for the Aztecs with senior J.J. Whittaker (58 tkl, 2 tfl, 2 INT) and junior Damontae Kazee (52 tkl, 1 tfl, 1 INT, 13 pbu) make up the starting duo. Both are Thorpe Award Watch List honorees with Kazee earning 2nd team All-MWC honors in 2014 as well as being named to the preseason 1st team this fall. Whittaker has made 26 straight starts for the Aztecs. Sophomore Billy Vaughn Jr. (26 tkl, 1 INT) and senior Pierre Romain (9 tkl, 1 fr) will play as backups. At the two safety positions, junior Malik Smith (53 tkl, 3.5 tfl, 3 INT, 7 pbu), an Honorable mention All-MWC in 2014, and sophomore Trey Lomax (63 tkl, 3 tfl, 1 sack) make up a duo of starters that made 24 of a possible 26 starts in the last two seasons. Sophomore Kameron Kelly and junior Kendrick Mathis (2 tkl) are not game tested yet but should be able to expand their roles in the Aztec defense this fall. Junior Na’im McGee (58 tkl, 1 tfl, 2 pbu) rounds out the starting group after quickly making the jump from the JUCO ranks to a starting spot. He could be in store for a big 2015. Brandon Porter (35 tkl, 2 tfl), T.J. Hickman (5 tkl), Fred Trevillion (5 tkl), Kalan Montgomery (3 tkl) and Arizona transfer Derek Babiash will provide depth for the Aztecs.

Special Teams:

The Aztecs are excited for the senior season of kicker Donny Hageman, the preseason MWC Special Teams Player of the Year. Hageman will handle kickoff and field goal duties after making 17-21 field goals with a long of 49 yards while drilling all 36 PAT attempts and landing four of his 14 kickoffs for touchbacks. Redshirt freshman John Baron II will be the understudy for Hageman this fall. Punter is much more in the air as JUCO transfer Tanner Blain will battle redshirt freshman Jon Weilbacher for punting duties. Neither has punted on the FBS level but Blain holds the advantage heading into fall camp.

Overall: 

Coming off of a 2014 season that ended in a bowl berth and a winning record, the Aztecs have high expectations heading into the 2015 season with a very experienced and talented team.

The Aztecs open the season hosting FCS foe San Diego in the battle for the city of San Diego. The Aztecs have the overwhelming talent advantage and should easily roll their city counterparts in the opener to get to 1-0 on the season. Following the easy opening win, SDSU travels to Pac 12 foe California for a G5 versus P5 matchup. Cal was impressive on offense but terrible on defense and this game should be a bit of a shootout with the Aztecs able to run all over the Bears defense. The experienced Aztec defense will do just enough to slow down the Cal passing game and move the Aztecs to 2-0 on the season. San Diego State has the weapons to overcome Sun Belt foe South Alabama to move to 3-0 before falling for the first time in the 2015 season to Penn State on the road.

October 3 is the make or break game of the season for the Aztecs as they host Fresno State in what is expected to be the battle for the MWC west division. Expect San Diego State to break a three game losing streak to the Bulldogs and move to 4-1 on the season. Easy wins over Hawaii and San Jose State will get the Aztecs to 6-1 before falling to Utah State and heading to Colorado State at 6-2 for a Halloween matchup. San Diego State pulls out the impressive road win and sweeps the final three games o the season versus Wyoming, UNLV, and Nevada to finish the regular season 11-2. Prediction: 11-3.