Signing Day is sneaking up and a lot of recruiting news will be popping up once official visits begin, starting on the 16th and continuing for the next two weekends following. Luckily for San Diego State, the staff should be all set in place by then, so no recruits will be leaving without meeting their potential position coach in college.
On defense, especially, all the coaches are remaining intact for next season (from what I know as of earlier this week) - although I wouldn't count out a coach receiving a "title promotion" as defensive coordinator.
Let's start with the defensive line first.
DL - Losing: Kenny Galea'i, Sam Meredith and Dontrell Onuoha.
The three listed above all spent time at nose tackle at one point or another this season, but Rocky has Alex Barrett, who he calls the best nose guard in the league, for two more years and a number of other potential contributors at the position. Freshman DT Sergio Phillips saw a lot of time at NT for a kid who is technically still a frosh and played offensive guard throughout his high school career. He played in six games toward the second half of the year, peaking in the bowl game when he earned his first career sack. USC transfer Christian Heyward is the other obvious possibility at nose, but like I've said before, he can be a true difference maker at end and did well there during the bowl game too. Malcolm Jackson also had some nice moments throughout the times we've watched him at practices this year too, so it's safe to say, barring any critical injuries, SDSU's NT position will be in a good spot heading into 2015.
At end, I've always felt that Jon Sanchez was one of the most under-appreciated players on the team. He led the defense in quarterback hurries and his body is getting bigger and stronger each year. Now that he's heading into his senior year, he's arguably the most accomplished player on the defensive line.
Dakota Turner will likely line up on the other end (may depend on Heyward's role and/or Barrett's health next year). He spent his freshman year adjusting to his new body while going back and forth at LB and DE and he found his role this year backing up Meredith. Based off of experience and production, Turner will be the most unproven player on the defense next year (as the projected depth chart stands now), but if you've ever met the kid, you know that his work ethic should keep him in line with where his level of play needs to be.
Behind those two ends are probably going to be a mixture of Jordan Watson, Noble Hall and Julian Rochelin. As you can already tell, there's no experience in that group. Those roles will be up for grabs throughout the spring and fall and that's why I'm personally excited to see who steps up.
The freshmen class can get some time at DL next season if the current guys fail to step up, though.
Kevin Scott (who can play both inside and out) are all options at this point. I'm hoping to get more info on the Cheathum-saga this weekend. Hayes has kept things quiet but most of the schools pursuing him have had coaching changes while SDSU has remained on him. With Scott, it all depends on how his visit goes on the 23rd.
LB - Losing: Cody Galea (stand-up end role), Josh Gavert, Derek Largent.
From how things are looking now, Jake Fely should be cleared to start next season. I have no idea what to expect out of him because I literally haven't seen him go through contact drills since 2013-14. It'll be a toss up until I get to see him in fall camp. Behind him will likely be Darryl Dunlap, who mainly played special teams this season but also had some mop up duty a few games. Micah Seau will need to improve a lot this offseason if he wants that spot behind Fely, in my opinion.
Next to Fely should be Munson (I think he'll stay on the field a lot more this upcoming season) with Devante Davis backing him up, while the stand up end role can be played by a number of guys. Fred Melifonwu will probably be the leader during spring camp, but there's A LOT to like about Randy Ricks at that position too. He fits that role but if SDSU lands a JuCo 'backer like
Austin Thayer who's a little bit thicker/wider, Ricks could fill even more of a need as a speed rusher on the opposite edge (like Derek Largent). Jay Henderson also makes sense as a stand-up end, which I expect he can get some playing time at after being a special teamer this year.
Reggie Murphy currently reminds me of Micah Seau. I'm not sure what position he'll play in college and he still has a lot of room to add muscle. Same thing goes for John Caroll - he can play both inside and outside.
Carmichael Jesuit LB Isaac Lessard is a "silent" verbal and on film he looks like a bigger Calvin Munson. Very productive, fearless player. His teammate,
Ronley Lakalaka from Hawaii is also an option too, if SDSU likes what it sees during his official visit coming up soon.
All these targets/commits improve the overall position quality when it comes to tackling ability, in my opinion.
DB - Losing: Nobody.
What was once Rocky's biggest concern this past season may likely be the team's biggest strength for at least the next two seasons. Before I get started, Tony White and Danny Gonzales deserve a ton of credit for putting together probably the best secondary the MW will see this upcoming season.
JJ Whittaker and Damontae Kazee got snubbed in the post-season awards and will be back with a vengeance. Both of them have that bulldog attitude you love to have on your side at corner. Safeties Trey Lomax, Na'Im McGee and Malik Smith all improved this past season and each of them do what they are required to do very well in this defense. Smith, in particular, sometimes gets criticized for taking chances but he's supposed to take chances in his role, especially because of how athletically gifted he is compared to Lomax and McGee.
Worth noting that those five starters in the secondary combined for about 180 solo tackles on their own this past season, and they'll have a lot of viable backups aiming for playing time next season too. A lot of things to like here.
At corner, Billy Vaughn Jr. is the third option, but Kalan Montgomery and Derek Babiash have a lot of athleticism and upside too. Incoming freshman Mike Bell Jr. also has legitimate potential at cornerback as well (Pac-12 schools really missed out on him).
At safety, guys like Kendrick Mathis, Fred Trevillion, TJ Hickman and Pierre Romain all know it's now or never unless they want to end up playing primarily on special teams next season, not to mention the loads of talent Coach Gonzales has coming in next year with Jeff Clay (at Aztec), Dwayne Parchment and Ron Smith (Warrior). Clay's a super-athlete while Parchment and Smith are different types of 'warrior's we've seen in the past in that they are more like safety/nickel guys than safety/outside linebacker guys. A lot of versatility in that unit for sure, an important trait considering the amount of run-heavy teams SDSU faces in the MW to go along with the mostly spread-based teams during non-conference play. I expect that to show more relevance a year from now, though.
Like I mentioned in the offense outlook thread, Mississippi recruit
Noruwa Obanor.
Also, as I promised to reveal in another thread, expect SDSU to make a late run at recent Nevada commit
Dominic Christian from Chicago Hales Franciscan. Osia Lewis signed former WR Joe Morrow and current DL Jordan Watson from that school two seasons ago.
This post was edited on 1/9 3:32 AM by RubenMeza
