Only needs 318 yards, it'd be pretty cool to see it happen vs CAL and if we win, that would definitely get hyped on ESPN. Hope they market how close he is during the NH game, maybe fans would wanna come out just to see that.

TV market size is extremely important because of the relationship with dollars/advertisement


The markets in the west coast that are growing

Boise
Reno
Las Vegas
Albuquerque
Fresno
San Antonio
El Paso
Tulsa
San Diego
San Jose


Schools with national exposure or other factors relevant


Air Force Academy National recognition

Byu if they don't get picked by the big 12 they may have major problems

Colorado state university Denver is a high growth area and as long as they can hold their own against University of Colorado they can offer least part of that Denver market

Southern Methodist University

Navy and army might be excellent for football only

If these conferences are limited to 16 and since most of the schools being talked about by the big 12 are located on the East Coast. For example Memphis Cincinnati and Houston


When everything is completed we will have stability and a chance to build a excellent conference . The East Coast rags that are remaining are going to be a more difficult position that the west coast schools

So I almost wish they'd stop with the musical chairs on teams especially since everything seems to be pointing towards us not being included


Any opinions guys

Tuesday was another one of those short practices that was limited due to scrimmage periods that will likely go on tomorrow, so here’s what I got:

-I didn’t see Billy Vaughn Jr (knee) or Sergio Phillips (neck) out there on the field so they were probably getting treatment done. Keith Ismael made it through the whole practice, though, and didn’t voluntarily step out of plays when his shoulder acted up like he did a bit earlier in the week.

-Ryan Agnew had another off day, particularly throwing passes slightly behind receivers running across the field or just staring down his throws altogether.

Damontae Kazee, who had another fantastic practice by the way, was in soft coverage against Judge on the field side (during 7v7s). Judge ran a quick curl route and Agnew stared him down the entire way, allowing Kazee to read the play easily and jump on the pass for a untouched pick six.

Earlier in the day, Agnew found Warring on an out but threw it well behind him. Warring wasn’t covered all that well so he was able to adjust to it pretty easily, but I made a note of it. Then on the VERY NEXT play, he threw an out route in the same spot on the field and it was a duck thrown off his back foot. Babiash intercepted it and ran it back across the field.

Then during his next series, he had WR Quest Truxton run a good in route over the middle (Jeff Clay was in soft coverage so there was a lot of room over the middle), so he threw a soft pass for Truxton to grab. What he didn’t realize was that the other warrior on the field, Kam Kelly, was slowly moving toward the box to cover that exact area. Kelly didn’t catch the pass thrown directly at his helmet, likely because he was surprised Agnew would even try such a throw.

These all happened during 7v7s where the defense runs a lot of zone and it’s the QBs job to figure out the soft spots. Agnew had a lot of trouble with that today and just wasn’t focused when it came to reading the defense and his decision making.

-Pumphrey still hasn’t been tackled to the ground all camp - so the defense basically just shove him and then watch him run by every rep - but he’s still making them look silly at times regardless. With all the sudden jukes and shakes he’s been doing all camp, I honestly can’t wait to watch what he does in the open field this year.

-Dakota Turner is improving and really fast. There’s not as much hesitation after the snap (instead of trying to find his assignment, he just goes straight at him now) and he obviously has the physical tools to block anybody in front of him. (Remember, he was offered by SDSU during the summer skills camp where his athleticism got him on their radar). It’s also just cool seeing a 6-3 FB taking on 6-3 linebackers. That still strikes me whenever I see it. If he sees the field or even starts, he’s hardly ever going to be outmatched when taking on defensive players in the open field - if anything, he’ll be bigger AND taller.

-On the o-line, Rosales was at first-team RG again.

-I’ve been keeping a close eye on Roemer and Ismael lately because odds are that at least one might see the field and I continue to be impressed. Ismael has a very strong base but his hips are very flexible which allows him to dip his body and adjust his feet underneath him to keep himself between the defender and the QB at all times. He’s like a mini-version of Siragusa at that aspect, but he still needs to get more reps as a pulling guard if he wants to be the complete package like Nico.

As for Roemer, he’s quite possibly the biggest steal of the class. He’s all potential right now though, and he’ll only be as good as he wants to be (which can be all-mwc sooner rather than later). But his body language is very poor at times (and kind of reminds me of Rosales’ earlier in his career) during practice and it leads to lazy reps. If/when he’s out there competing hard, trying to perfect his footwork and playing with a mean streak, he’s as good of a freshman that you can find at this level.


-Here were two combos that Mike Schmidt had out there with the second-team that I liked:
=Roemer, Gerhard, Krum, Dixon and Tucker.
=Achayo, Dixon, Gerhard, Ismael and Roemer. (I like this one a little more now that Krum’s stock is rising at center)

-Forrest Hanlon was the only freshman d-lineman signed in February and I think he’s bred for long-term success in this program, as in he will be very productive during the backend of his career. He plays a grown man style of football, but he’s not a grown man. He’s a freshman going up against lineman older and stronger than him. I think his ability will really translate as his body grows over the next few years. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes a major jump even sooner than that because of Coach Lawson’s emphasis on pass rushing moves. Hanlon will have a perfect coach on him to really round out his game.

-Antonio Rosales has made huge strides in his pass protection and I think that was the biggest question mark entering camp. He’s proven through the first two weeks that his technique is consistent and he has been giving 100 percent effort every rep. Book him as the starter.

-As I mentioned above, Kazee had another great day, pretty much covering every route perfectly and not allowing a single pass. The defense will continue to get a lot of sacks this season because his ability to stay with receivers (which allows Rocky to get creative with more complex/time consuming blitzes) on the field.

-Derek Babiash was with the first team all day while Smith and Montgomery were with the twos.

-Holder has had a bad case of butterfinger syndrome this week. Don’t’ get me wrong, he’s still catching pretty much everything and even some poorly thrown balls that most other receivers wouldn’t be able to adjust to and reach, but he’s dropped a handful of freebies the past two days. On one play today, he found himself wide open up the seam and over the top of the defense and Chapman put it on the money - he even added some touch to give Holder even more time to lock into the ball - but Holder didn’t look it all the way in and it bounced off his hand. He grunted/yelled out of frustration because he knows his hands are glue. Hopefully it doesn’t get in his head.

-While Judge is the team’s primary vertical threat, his best asset is still running shallow crosses. He starts off the route at 50-percent speed then zooms over the middle of the field and through the linebackers so that the corner covering him has some traffic to get around. By the time he gets to the opposite hash mark the ball is in his hands and the defense is playing chase. Chaney’s another guy that will be productive in that role after Judge graduates.

Has been named the backup.

Didn't practice this evening. SDSU experimented with Siragusa at left tackle.

Billy Vaughn Jr and Sergio Phillips didn't practice today but are supposed to be clear by Monday.

Rocky said Phillips is farther along than Vaughn though. Vaughn is still limping heavily by the sound of it.

There was no filming allowed at tonight’s practice but there were plenty of takeaways.

-The first big thing was the amount of turnovers there were by the offense, mostly fumbles. Rocky seemed most concerned about that following practice because turnovers were the key reason SDSU was so succesful last year, and at the same time so dissapointing during non-conference play. His theory is that the reason there were so many fumbles was because the ball carriers haven’t been getting hit at full speed that much in camp and that makes a big difference. That said, the defense also deserves credit for forcing those TOs. Trey Lomax in particular made a great strip, or should I say rip, on the ball near the end of Wormhoudt's run.

-The whole scrimmage was very physical, as if the defense and offense weren’t wearing the same helmets. There were a lot of low blows, shoving after the whistle and even some huge piles getting unnecessarily jumped on.

-Christian Chapman threw one of his only bad interceptions all week but it was mainly due to great instincts by Calvin Munson hovering over the middle and breaking on the ball. Munson came out of nowhere so I don’t blame Chapman one bit. He was very accurate the rest of the night.

-Agnew found himself scrambling a lot behind the second team offensive line but he actually had his best scrimmage so far. I doubt Rocky is going to name a true backup quarterback at any point though. It would really be a bad situation if Agnew were named the starter, only for Walker to transfer out before school starts, leaving SDSU’s QB spot with worse depth than what the offensive line has seen.

-At RB, Penny showed more consistent improvement. My favorie play was when he took a quick out route and turned it from a 3 yard gain to an eight yard gain because of pure balance and strength. Munson hit him low just as he caught the ball and turned forward, but Penny somehow kept his legs underneath him. Then another safety came over for a low tackle and he was still able to keep his balance before running out of real estate and being shoved out of abounds. His forte this season will be doing exactly this, especially when small DBs try to hit him low.

-Here’s what the OL units looked like, by the way:

Daniel Brunskill Antonio Rosales, Arthur Flores, Nico Siragusa and Kwayde Miller

Derrick Achayo, Daishawn Dixon, Ryan Krum, Jordan Becar/Keith Ismael and Tyler Roemer.

-I asked Rocky who would be the extra o-lineman when SDSU used a 6 OL formation and he said Achayo.

-I don’t think Becar is playing at a second-team level at this point, but Ismael was limited a bit today due to a bum shoulder so he shared reps with Becar because of it.

The snapping hasn’t been much of an issue during the last few practices once Achayo was moved out. I think Krum will be the backup this year and as things look now Gerhard will be the third string, and the center of the future.

There was one bad snap that was bobbled/fumbled by Jimmy Walker but it wasn’t by Flores.

-Sergio Phillips won’t be moving back to the OL. Rocky thinks he’s better on defense regardless of depth.

-Rocky said for the first time today that Ryan Pope was anticipated to be the starter this season over Salcedo. If Brunskill ends up doing well at RT, there’s a possibilty Pope could come back to play guard depending on if that’s a question mark. It sounds look the earliers Pope will be back is during the fourth game at this point.

-Rocky actually confirmed that Phillips and Hall arre the top two nose tackles at this point.

-There was a lot of flipping again with the usual first and second team position battles (LB, NT, CB, FB, RG) but one of the new depth chart moves was seeing Fred Melifonwu getting a lot of reps with the second team alongside Noble Hall and Julian Rochelin. We'll keep track of this to see if he's consistently working with the 2s.


-The tight ends had a really good day, especially the freshmen and Warring. That didn’t drop anything and even turned upfield for solid gains. They were all used a lot in the slot today as well.

-Truxton and Judge were with the twos while Favreau and Holder were with the starting unit.

-Cumberlander was in full pads for the first time today and you could tell he was chomping at the bit right away. He’s much fresher than his teammates and he really wanted to hit people. While some of the shots were dirty, he really got after it in the run game, especially on crack back blocks.

-Cumberlander actually nearly scored a long TD on a sideline streak but Montgomery was able to break up the pass.

-Holder scored the only long TD of the day.


-In the secondary, Rocky basically said he considers Babiash/Vaughn and Lomax/Kelly as starters, meaning the secondary has seven starters instead of five.

-DB injury updates: Jeff Clay sprained his ankle prior to the scrimmage during a special teams rep. Vaughn was also limited due to a “bad leg.”

-The walkon freshman kicker needed the lucky bounce off the low post to make a field goal from the 20-yard line. Baron will be the guy.

-SDSU’s next scrimmage will be around Wednesday and will showcase a lot of the younger potential guys that can become contributors this season. They’ll have another one next Saturday, but primarily for the walkons and freshmen who likely won’t play this year. It will probably be their last chance to prove themselves before scout team work starts up.

- I should note now that my cell phone’s screen randomly went black today, and I won’t be able to get a new one until Tuesday. I have some interviews saved on that phone so those will have to hold off for a bit.

-CB Billy Vaughn Jr. (knee) didnt practice again today and was limping around pretty heavily. He's stuck running during practice until it heals. Montgomery and Smith are getting more reps because of it and both had great practices today.

- OG Keith Ismael has a torn labrum in his arm/shoulder region and will have to have surgery on it after the year. He'll have a brace on during the season if he plays. My guess is that the coaches want to hold off on surgery because they think he will play (and not redshirt), which doesn't surprise me. He's going to be a very good utility/nterior lineman here.

-NT Sergio Phillips has a pinched nerve/stinger in his neck and didnt practice again today. He should be back in action within the next few days.

Signed with colts. Good for Chase and the aztecs.

Alijah Allen- 2018 WR (CU offer)
James Rafkin-2017 QB
Victor Bates- 2017 3 star WR, offers from BYU, Hawaii, CSU, UNM, Oregon State. https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/6567

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Torn patella tendon and will have surgery Monday.

Joe Salcedo was not at practice this morning and is having an MRI done.

Notes:

SDSU had a very light practice morning this morning for a little over an hour and it was open to the media. The main purpose of attending was just to get an update on Salcedo, which there really wasn’t one. And I don't have much info to pass on the practice. Media is allowed to attend tomorrow evening's practice so we'll get back to the norm starting then, but I would like to note, and not necessarily encourage, that you guys are probably allowed to go to any of those practices.
If inclined, you will probably be fine attending any of the fall camp practices up until a week or two before game week, because that's when game plan installation begins. I talked to Rocky about it and it's basically all open to the public even though SDSU's pr team would prefer there not be big crowds at practice. I should also note that SDSU will have a lot of scrimmaging done Saturday afternoon...just saying. (If you're interested on going I'll make sure to double check tomorrow and Friday that the staff won't lock anyone out of the grass field area), but I bet most of it will be held on the open turf practice field.

-There weren’t full pads on this morning and about half of practice was dedicated towards special teams and kick and punt return periods ran by Bobby Hauck. It was really hard to get anything based off those periods, other than that Tanner Blain looked pretty darn good pinning it and getting hang time on his midfield punts.

-The highlights of the short 7v7 work was a deep interception by Kyree Woods on an overthrown deep ball. He can really run.

-Jerry Chaney also showed off his quick twitch speed after the catch on a slant route take down the middle of the field for a long TD.

-Chase Favreau again had a bad drop on a deep cross over the middle when Chapman placed the ball a bit high and it deflected off Favreau's gloves. Walk-on DB Garrett Binkley was away from the initial play but was able to adjust and make a nice diving interception. He's another one of those productive practice walk-ons that I didn't mention in yesterday's thread.

-With Brandon Jones now out, Daniel Prieto and Casey Brown are now on the fall practice squad and got some PT during 7v7s this morning. Like I said, it was a very light practice so they actually got a handful of plays in. I believe Brown is either the son or relative of local real estate guru and former Aztec RB Casey Brown.

Friday’s practice was very short, by about an hour, and very light. This is because yesterday’s practice was pretty heavy loaded and Saturday’s evening’s practice at 7 pm is going to involve a lot of scrimmage work. So while there wasn’t much action going on, here are some of my observations:

-Ryan Agnew and Jimmy Walker got a lot of run and Agnew again looked the backup. Walker has been off all week and he even had a butterfingers moment where he gave up a fumble during the midwaypoint of his throwing motion on one play.

Like I said yesterday, even his completions could be better placed. Receivers consistently have to reach from behind, low or high to catch his passes and that can keep a potential 20+yard gain to a measly six or seven yard gain.

-Agnew was by no means impressive today, throwing two near picks over the deep middle (Jeff Clay was just a stride or two away from making over the shoulder interceptions), and then throwing an easy pick straight at Kameron Kelly on a TE crossing route over the middle. I should add that this happened during 7v7, where interceptions should never happen (unless maybe if the pass is deflected). One of his near picks during 11v11s would have been a TD for Quest Truxton on a post route but Agnew put a little too much air under it as it faded away toward the corner instead.

He continues to look more and more comfortable in breakdown plays/scramble situations where he throws off-balanced and has to make a quick decision, though. Like today, he made a jump pass just before getting sacked. None of the other QBs are consistent with those type of plays. It’s a unique part of his game and very Manziel-like. He just needs to start delivering those traditional throws standing in the pocket now.

-Watching DJ, I continue to admire the way he can maneuver his way behind the line and find a hole to run through that wasn’t by design. It really catches the defense off guard when he does it.

-Fullback Isaac Lessard got some first team reps at fullback while D-Rich ran with the ones a bit too.

-Mikah Holder had the catch of the day during a secondary miscommunication, running straight up the seam out of a tight formation for a pretty over the shoulder catch and a TD. He’s been unstoppable all camp and makes at least one or two great plays each time I watch him.

-On the offensive line, Antonio Rosales ran with the ones while Dixon went back with the twos.

From right to left, the second team o-line is currently Roemer, Ismael, Gerhard, Dixon and Achayo. That’s three true freshman, a redshirt freshman and a junior college transfer.

-As I noted yesterday, Rocky basically said today that Achayo’s stint as a center is over. His snapping was just a headache during practices so this move is permanent. He will start playing guard and tackle from here on out.

-SDSU tried Gerhard at center and Krum today, with lineups that included Roemer, Becar, Krum, Dixon and Tucker. No signs of Siragusa or Rosales/Dixon at tackle so far.

-Roemer looks very comfortable for his size in his pass set. Physically, he moves as smooth as he come. His development will be all mental from here on out, along with adding strength of course.

Tucker on the other hand is struggling to get used to playing tackle at this level. He has a very impressive frame and moves good enough to stick at tackle during his career here but you can tell he’s not sure of what he’s doing at all times. The same issue occurs with Dixon every now and then, and Schmidt lets them both have it.

-I know the depth is still a major concern but you guys should have no worries about the actual starting o-line. The top five guys will be just fine, and like I said, if Morales sticks with the first-team it will be a tremendous overall run blocking line.

-On the d-line, DT Noble Hall and Ronley Lakalaka got first team reps today, switching with DT Sergio Phillips and LB Austin Wyatt Thayer.

-The hit of the day went to Dwayne Parchment on walkon Tyler Wormhoudt. Parchment hovering at the line of scrimmage and came off the edge unblocked, nailing Wormhoudt in the chin as soon as he grabbed the handoff.

-Again, SDSU will do a lot of scrimmaging tomorrow night at 730. I plan to upload as much practice video as possible from this week in the AM.

Didn’t bring my notebook to practice but here are some observations:

-Chapman has nothing to worry about, but Ryan Agnew has really settled in over the past few practices and is now beginning to solidify his role as a backup while Jimmy Walker is heading in the other direction. He threw one of the worst passes I’ve seen in camp so far (a 30-yarder down the middle of the field, into double coverage, and well underthrown) that was easily picked off by Parchment, and he continues to make simple throws difficult for receivers to catch. He’s not terrible, but he hasn’t been able to find guys in stride and often makes those receivers adjust (by reaching low or behind their body) to otherwise easy grabs.

-QB Mason Hall is on the fall roster now.

-On the OL, Ryan Krum is making a case to be the backup center instead of Derrick Achayo.

-Dixon was once again taking first team reps over Rosales. It looks like they will continue to move back and forth all fall at this point.

-Achayo was actually taking some reps at right tackle. That was a new development to keep track of, but I’m guessing the coaches are just trying to get creative because of the recent injuries.

-I hope Mikah Holder gets the respect he deserves this season because he’s been incredible in camp. He’ll need another receiver to step up if he want to make plays in the open field and make guys miss instead of facing double coverage every pass, and he’ll need to see more targets this year, but I truly believes he’s a future NFL talent. He’s elusive and snatches the ball out of the air and has even made some diving catches look easy in camp. He’s overlooked because of Pumphrey but it’s pretty clear to me he’s one of the most talented players in the conference.

-I hate going back and forth on my practice reports but Eric Judge is back on the field and had another good practice. He was loose and moving well (hamstring) and even showed a little physicality in the run game. I honestly think it’s going to be a week-to-week thing between him and Favreau all year long because of how things have looked with them in camp. I would not be surprised if Coach Cooper will just play the hot hand based off who did well in practice during every game week. I know that’s probably not what a coach would prefer to do, but I doubt we’ll see one consistent No. 2 starter opposite of Mikah. It’s also makes for solid competition between the two.

-Christian Cumberlander is back with the team but he can’t wear full pads until later this week. We’ll see if he can crack into the rotation or even compete with the top three guys.

-NT Noble Hall took reps with the first team today and continues to make a case that he should stay there. That said, Phillips has been really consistent throughout camp and I think Coach Lawson has player consistency up high on his demand list.

Here’s how I see the rotation playing out:

1st team - Kelly, Phillips, Barrett

2nd team - Chibu, Hall, Henderson

3rd team - Rochelin, Gardner, Melifonwu


-LB Ronley Lakalaka has been taking more and more reps with the first-team unit and I’m really liking how the linebacker lineups shake out because of it (Ricks, Lakalaka, Munson and Dunn, Thayer and Tezino). These groups both compliment each other very well and I can see this being the go to move by midseason. Having Lakalaka and Munson together will really make it difficult against pass-first teams (ex. Cal) because of their dropback ability and we all know Ricks will be able to get QB pressure on his own.

-At CB, I’ve continued to be impressed with Ron Smith’s improvement against the run. The corners in the 3-3-5 or so important because the defense tries to force runs to go laterally, specifically against triple option teams, and the corners have to come up to make a stop or at least for the running back out of bounds. (This is why Kazee’s ability to break from his backpedal and accelerate toward the ball as fast as he does so important, and it’s one of the big reasons why he racks up so many tackles). Smith, who’s a great athlete with speed, was probably the skinniest freshman on the team when he arrived last year but he’s gotten stronger and has developed into a solid open field tackler. I’ve really liked his progress.

-Also at DB - while Trent Thompson and Dwayne Johnson have made great initial impressions, Dwayne Parchment and Jeff Clay haven’t improved all that much with their consistency since the spring. I’ve already talked about Clay and his pass coverage issues enough but Parchment has been the opposite. He’s a very good cover guy who will do great against slot receivers, but he’s missed a lot of tackles up in the box so far in camp. If both can improve on their primary cons, I can see either of them easily playing with the first team next year. But if they don’t, the true freshmen could sneak up from behind. (I think all four of these guys will make for great special teams players by the way).

Anyway, I think SDSU’s safety unit featuring Lomax, Baldwin and Kelly will be fine next year. The depth, though, will be dependent on the development of those four I mentioned.

-I should also mention that RB Tyler Wormhoudt had another good practice. He’s taken advantage of the amount of reps he’s been receiving and it will probably continue up until the first game once SDSU starts limiting Pump, Penny and Washington more.

The first local commit is now on board.

St. Augustine running back/linebacker/safety Tariq Thompson committed to SDSU as DB

http://www.hudl.com/video/3/1666955/5721dc09041ddc1b00763251

-Eric Judge tweaked his hamstring I assume during Saturday's scrimmage and spent the entire practice with Adam Hall.

-Billy Vaughn Jr has a bruised knee and was in a brace jogging around the field.

-Juwan Washington had a player fall on his leg late during practice and initially it looked serious but he was able to walk it off.

-WR Liam Cabrera left practice early with what looked like a sprained ankle.

Notes from practice:

Monday’s practice was one of the hottest of camp so far and when you pair that with the obvious soreness and fatigue from the first week of fall camp, it wasn’t as energetic and physical as usual. It seemed to me like the coaches itinerary was to mainly get back into form and add on some new stuff from the playbook. They did their best to keep the overall energy and pace up but you could just tell today was a little bit different.

Noticing this, I really like how DJ Pumphrey and Damontae Kazee have taken on their leadership roles. I normally don’t hear their voices all that often during practices but both have been and should continue to be very vocal this year. They get on guys who start slacking and shout out good plays, especially when the walk-ons are involved. It’s been really cool to see the change in them.

Notes:

The live team periods were much better during the fanfest and there was a major improvement in completed passes. Both Chapman Agnew and Walker looked much more comfortable under pressure and less balls hit the ground. There weren’t any obvious drops either, and if anything, the wide receivers made more of an effort to catch balls that weren’t exactly on target very. Mikah in particular came very close to snagging to very difficulty diving catches going across his body. Other than that, he had another great practice. He’s been the most consistent player on offense other than Pump.

-Passes thrown at Favreau stuck to his gloves today. Just a consistency issue with him.

-Also worth noting that Curtis Anderson has been consistent all camp. Getting better at his route running too.

-Rashaad Penny had a really strong practice, maybe his best. Caught the ball well, made some long runs between the tackles (with good blocking) and took the perfect path through the defense almost every rushing attempt during the live period.

-Antonio Morales continues to look like a starter to me. If he is, he’ll lead the team in pancakes. Both guards looked good today actually, Nico Siragusa hasn’t changed his body much since he’s been on the team but he’s improved his athleticsm every year and he’s obviously the team’s best overall blocker.

-Daniel Brunskill is going to be just fine at pass pro. I don’t know why he said what he said earlier in camp but imagine what he’ll look like once he actually feels confident in his new role.

-DB Jeff Clay has been thinking too much during camp. Other than that, he’s one of the best athletes in the secondary and that’s been clear all along. He’s probably the only DB that gets beat over the top every practice or two (he misread a pretty obvious play-action pass today), and Coach Gonzales has been on him about it. Trey Lomax also offered some mentoring after one of his mistakes, too.

-LB Ryan Dunn was getting a lot of praise from the staff for his effort today.

-Ryan Krum took some snaps at center during practice.

-The offense tried some formations they normally don’t do in the passing game, and it wasn’t during self scout. I don’t know much about UNH’s offense so it’s possible it was done to give the defense some scout looks of them, but it’s also possible that the offense is going to have a different look during some pasding plays this season that we’re not used to seeing.

-Nick Bawden looked strong as ever at fullback on Monday. He’s actually the one that fell on juwan Washington’s leg during the end of the run because he was driving his block toward the sideline well past the whistle. Just a very physical player, which is crazy considering how much that has changed over the year.

-Practice ended with situational plays such as end of clock hail marys for the offense and interception returns for the defense. Rocky yelled at the first team for not sprinting through to the back of the end zones during those interceptions and it led to a more focused finish.

Aztecs sure seem to be everyone's go to pick

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...s-college-football-playoff-frontrunners-again

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/17287082/no-25-san-diego-state-aztecs

Joe Salcedo took a bad fall during 1v1s and it looks like a potentially serious knee injury. I should find out more in the morning.

-QB Brandon Jones is no longer on the team (financial reasons).

-Keith Ismael, other than snapping the ball at center, is a damn good blocker at this stage. It looks like the coaches think he can make the two deep because he was moved over to right guard today and I could see him being the backup at some point this year.

- Eric Judge (hamstring) didn't practice but it looks like he should be back sometime this week.

-SDSU may have one scholarship available to give at the start of the semester, likely to a walk on.


Some observations from practice:


-Today’s practice was a little more energetic than yesterday and it was obvious that the players or getting back into form and feeling comfortable out there in full pads at this point. All the contact and hits being made just sound crisper because guys are squaring each other up and aren’t as hesitant to really lay into someone.


-Ronley Lakalaka in particular had a great practice and probably had the hit of the day on one of the fullbacks. He was full of energy today and in on so many tackles.


-It was actually really tough to single out guys that did well on defense today because there was just so many gang tackles. Both the first and second team defense were really disruptive and everyone looked to be going at full speed. Lakalaka, Baldwin and Kelly really stood out with the second team though. They’re just so quick to the ball that it’s hard for the receivers and running backs to make anything happen if there isn’t much room for them to work with. It has been the exact same case for the first team defense every since the full pads came on to. If the offense does complete a good pass or break a nice rushing play, it doesn’t develop into anything more (like a TD) as often when the defense is in the right position to make a stop. Missed tackles won’t be an issue at all for this defense.


-Now that we’re one week in camp, it still amazes me how high the rate is of players showing obvious improvement and development after their first one or two years in the program. Everywhere I Iook on the defense is a second or third team player ready to make an impact eventually. Even the guys that changed positions like Bawden, Mathis and Richardson will get on the field a bit this year. There aren’t many bust at all whereas in year’s past it was obvious that a handful of scholarship players were never going to see the field by their sophomore or junior year. With this roster, you can make a case for basically every single athlete. Don’t think that this era of SDSU football is just a fluke because the talent level just keeps improving all over the field.


-The freshman DBs and TEs are all the real deal so far and have looked especially fantastic in my opinion. The LBs make plays when they understand the play and what’s going on in front of them. The WRs have dropped off a bit because of tweaks and bruises but I still think highly of them. Chase Jasmin is gaining confidence by the practice. The offensive line and defensive line freshmen all need time to gain strength but literally every one of them looks like a good “get.” Not to mention, there are a lot of guys not even on the field yet (Carroll, Fincher, Morris, Stamps etc.) that could be impact players in the future, too.


-The only consistently worrisome spots of the team so far has been the snapping and the pass protection. The pass protection always seems to find a way to work out under Coach Schmidt once the season starts though, and it’s not like SDSU’s season will depend on the passing game either.


-My biggest worry entering camp was actually how the run game would look early in camp. And, so far, I’ve been very very impressed. All five of them are dogs that finish out their blocks and really run at the defense. That alone will lead to more longer gains than last year in my opinion.


-When it comes to pinpointing certain players that haven’t stood out so far, that’s tough to do too. Jeff Clay gave up another long pass today but Coach Gonzales will eventually get things to click with him. He has all the tools to be a Nat Berhe type player. I expected Jondarius Gardner as a juco guy to have more of an impact in pass rushing sets but Hall and Phillips are just more productive at this point. I think Derrick Achayo’s snapping is a legit concern. I also haven’t noticed Reggie Murphy all that often but he’s still one of the younger guys. I really can’t think of anyone else.


-The walkons have really stood out. Taylor Dodds, Curtis Anderson, Tyler Wormhoudt are very productive and of use during practices.


-Penny again had another good day showing patience, shuffling his feet and moving semi laterally until he found a hole to run through. My week one concerns of that are slowly fading away.


-Jay Henderson, I’ll say it again, will rack in some stats this year unless Barrett is just on the field 99.9 percent of the time. He’s going to be the most improved “production” player on the defense other than Penny I’m guessing.


-Lomax has looked very sharp, calm and healthy out there. He hasn’t missed a beat and you can tell that trio of safeties really have strong chemistry.


-This is not a sure thing but Tyler Roemer moved up to the second team left tackle when Salcedo went down. Gerhard stayed on the right side.

When you have a chance could you give us an analysis of the kicking game so far? Thanx.

Our Hall of Famer gives the kid some helpful advice:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/15/sdsu-aztecs-football-pumphrey-faulk-chat/

This appeared in the UT this morning:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/aug/15/san-diego-state-jim-sterk-athletic-director/

-Notes:

-The kick returning groups were:
Juwan Washington/Kendrick Mathis
Mathis/Rashaad Penny
Chase Jasmine/Juwan Washington
Quest Truxton/Juwan Washington

The punt returners were:

Truxton
Washington
Babiash

Truxton had the best return of the day and showed off that shiftiness we all mentioned we he first was added to the team. Washington also showed off some of his speed when he found his seams.


-Some depth chart notes: Dixon was with the ones and Rosales was with the twos. Still think Rosales will be the guy. Dakota Turner had a lot of reps as the first-team fullback. I’m curious to see if he develops into a better pass blocker than Nick Bawden.

-As mentioned the QBs crushed it during 7v7s. Chapman was perfect on his first and second drives (although one was incomplete due to an uncalled PI on Holder). The rest of the QBs were very efficient too, and although there were a lot of dump offs to the receiers, they actually connected on a number of deeper passes, particularly thrown by Agnew and Chapman. Chapman’s were very pretty and on the money too.

Chapman had one bad throw the entire practice and that was when he put too much air under a throw to Mikah, which was picked off by Malik Smith for a long return. Other than that, he was very sound. Agnew did nearly as well in 7v7s but he really struggled during the live periods and the scrimmage series’ he was in.

-Eric Judge was better than Chase Favreau today, who stumbled on some of his routes and had two or three really bad drops. There’s something about Qualcomm when it comes to Chase. He looks different on the practice fields compared to the college stadiums he plays in.

-Jerry Chaney is becoming the most consistent receiver out of the youngsters. His time will come. He actually made one of the toughest catches of the day on a 25+ yard grab from Agnew. The rest of the younger receivers dropped some really catchable balls.

-One of the worst was within the 10-yard line where Tim Wilson failed to go down for a catch which was sort of thrown behind him. It would have been an endzone if he fell toward the ball and grabbed it but he stayed on his feet and reached back behind him for some reason. Coach Cooper actually got on him about it.

-Randy Ricks without a doubt made the biggest impact on defense and looked like an all-mwc talent. We’ve always known he had that in him but hopefully this is the year he gets to put up big numbers. Him and the defensive ends are just way too quick to contain on the outside. Opponents better have QBs mobile enough to handle that all game.

-Both Kyavah Tezino and Kaelin Himphill showed off their potential with big hits. Himphill actually had two back to back stops, chasing down in outside pitch run, then blitzing on the following play to bring down the running back during the handoff exchange. He has very fast foot speed at this stage and that helped him prevent a big run because the power o play was going the direction where Himphill was originally at, but he stopped the play before it could get started. Very special.

Wormhoudt ran a curl/hitch route over the middle and then when he turned upfield after the catch Tezino was right in his chance and basically speared him into the ground. Pound for pound, Tezino is the biggest hitter. What makes those plays by him especially satisfying is that he always has great form. He’s going to lay down some violent hits without drawing flags in his career.

-Dwayne Parchment, Trenton Thompson and Dwayne Johnson (at Aztec) have been awesome to watch all camp and again today. They all have great agility to the ball and can really lay the hammer.

-There were two bad snaps today, one by Ismael under center and one by Achayo, which he sent over Agnew’s head in shotgun.

-Forrest Hanlon continues to stand out as a pass rusher. Just very explosive with good hands. Glad he’s wearing No. 99 like Jon Sanchez.

-During 1v1s, the defense pretty much dominated like they did during the scrimmage. Mostly with bullrushes.

-Ricks bull rushed through Salcedo, Melifonwu pancaked Jordan Becar, Kelley bullrushed and then cut back inside toward the end of the rep which broke Kwayde Miller’s ankles.

-When the edge rushers did try to speed around the tackles, the only guys to consistently stick with them was Brunskill and Miller.

-Joe Salcedo had one of his worst showings. He looked either tired or was favoring one of his legs. Just didn’t move well and shown any strength in his pass pro.

-Noble Hall continues to look very, very strong. I must have missed it in the spring but his strength at the point of attack has really caught my attention this fall.

-An atlanta Falcons scout was at practice.

Please share any other insights if you guys attended. Hoping to have video up before 11 am tomorrow.

I don’t think soreness is becoming much of a factor yet because Practice 4 was arguably even more physical than 3 on Thursday. The offense and defense had its most competitive practice and there was a lot of talking going back and forth, especially from Damontae Kazee and DJ Pumphrey.

Rashaad Penny, in particular, had the most hard-hitting plays of the day which really set both sides off, but lets get to the general observations.

-None of the top four quarterbacks had a bad day yesterday. Everything went smoothly in terms of the passing game and there weren’t any obviously poor decisions that led to interceptions or anything like that. I’m really interested to see how the staff splits up the reps on Saturday because it sounds like they plan on sitting out the stars during the scrimmage. I’m not sure if that means Christian Chapman will play or not, but I personally expect that he will get a few drives in if anything.

-Ryan Agnew again showed off his accuracy when throwing on the run yesterday. Just his ability to find the most wide open receiver while moving around like he does has looked good. He’ll be used in a lot of play action and bootleg stuff if his number is called this season. That’s where he looks most comfortable.

-The running game wasn’t as dominant as it was yesterday but DJ Pumphrey did score a TD on the very first rep of team period. It was an iso run designed to go left but the defense had a safety blitzing on that side so DJ cut to his right. Both Calvin Munson and Malik Smith already committed to following the o-line toward the left, though, so Pumphrey was given a wide open hole to run through between Siragusa and Miller for an easy TD.

-One thing to expect this season is that all three of the core running backs run very, very hard and they all aren’t afraid to square up against potential tacklers. The only running back that needs to show that he can keep his feet driving through traffic is freshman Chase Jasmin. I’m sure his confidence in running physically will pick up over time but Pumphrey, Penny and Washington have all shown that they can put their helmet down and keep their momentum going forward. It’s a real energy-booster when it happens too.

-Penny in particular embarrassed Jeff Clay twice in back-to-back reps, catching him off balanced on one collision where they met at the second level, then patiently cutting outside then inside to find a hole for a big gain on the very next play. Toward the end of that long run, Clay chased him toward the sideline (for revenge probably) but Penny gave him another lick to the chest which sent him airborne.

Opponents aren’t going to have any fun trying to tackle him in the open field this season.

-Speaking of revenge, Parker Baldwin laid a nice smack on DJ Pumphrey after getting run over by him on Day 3. Pumphrey decided to cut behind his blockers on a similar outside pitch run but Baldwin stayed right with him to make the sudden stop. Baldwin didn’t full on tackle him to the ground because, well, it’s Pumphrey, but he could have.

-Juwan’s speed is starting to get to the defense. On one outside pitch, almost every DB overran the angle toward the sideline because they knew how fast he could turn the corner, so Washington read the play well made something out of nothing. He stopped on a dime, took an "S" route around the entire group and sprinted up field for an easy TD. (Credit to Kalan Montgomery for nearly chasing him down though.)

-Noble Hall had one of his best practices of the camp and it really looks like the strength he has gained this offseason has made the biggest difference. On plays where he doesn’t get the best positioning or leverage initially, he’s still able to make an impact on the play. He never gets pancaked or controlled by his blocker and stands his ground

-Sam Tai actually stood out to me for the first time today. There was one on-one-one rep where he physically matched up with Antonio Rosales and even sent him back a few feet. It’s hard to overpower Rosales like that but he did it.

-The best matchup to watch during one on ones is Kwayde Miller vs. Alex Barrett. It’s always close, but Barrett got the nod yesterday because he uses his burst and leverage to his advantage. He’s quick enough to use a pass rushing move around him but instead he chooses to get under his chin and drive him back. That’s a veteran move when facing a guy as strong as Miller.

-Randy Ricks and Jay Henderson are always the toughest matchup for the o-line because of their speed and bend around the edge.

-The DBs did another good job not allowing any passes over the top during 7v7 periods. The closest occurrences were when Jimmy Walker threw to Mikah on a post route but Malik Smith was right on his tail and threw his hands up when Mikah turned his head. Smith never turned his head but didn’t make contact with Mikah, only the ball, making it a clean play. And Trey Lomax was there to intercept the deflection.

-A few plays later, Rashaad Penny motioned out to the slot and ran up the seam for Agnew to find deep over the middle. The ball was a little under thrown, however, and Jeff Clay was able to easily swat it down. It was almost too easy, which is why Coach Gonzales got on him about not attempting to intercept it right after the play.

-It seems like Chase Favreau and Eric Judge keep flipping each practice when it comes to seeing who has the edge in their position battle. Favreau had a much better performance than Judge yesterday. He made a diving catch on a crossing route and continues haul in those dangerous catches on the sideline. He’s not going to burn any DBs as a vertical threat like Judge, but he’s still capable of being an every down receiver.

Again, it’s clear Mikah’s going to be the guy. Chapman always seems to throw it right where he wants it. On Saturday, watch the team during warmups when they run slant routes and notice how Chapman always perfectly places the ball right in front of Holder’s helmet and in stride every throw. Then you’ll start seeing the differences when throws are being made throughout the rest of fanfest.

-I mentioned that we will probably see Kahale Warring do more things in the slot this year and he’s had a couple reps out there and looks comfortable so far. He even made a few DBs miss after the catch on a quick out, cutting back inside to get up field. The move got a couple taunts by the offensive group toward the defense.

-Freshman Isaiah Macklin was with Adam Hall again today. I really hope he gets to practice on Saturday but we will see if his minor tweak is still lingering.

-Dwayne Parchment showed off his quick twitch speed that I’ve always liked on a blitz from the line of scrimmage and he chased down RB Tyler Wormhoudt, going the other direction, for a nice tackle in the back field. Expect him to have a bigger role on special teams.

-The QBs and OL always stay after practice to work on their snaps but it looked like a bigger group of linemen than normal yesterday (like 8 instead of for or 5). When I pointed it out to Coach Long, he joked that they are having tryouts to find a consistent snapper. And it’s sort of true.

While Flores will start at center, the backup job may very well just go to someone who can consistently snap the ball. It’s been that big of an issue this fall. Freshman Keith Ismael has been at fault a lot but I’ll give him a pass because he just started practicing his snaps this summer after playing tackle and guard in high school.

-If you are going to fanfest on Saturday, I highly recommend you print this roster out. A few of the number changes will confuse you, but more than anything having the names/numbers with you will make for a better experience.

-Practice is closed today so I'll spending all day uploading and editing practice video I've got from this week along with catching up on the stories I have planned

Rocky was a little more clear regarding the injuries toand and said the hope is Marcus Stamps can return after the first quarter of the season. Ryan Pope will take at least half the season. Will Stricklin and Tyler Morris may take the full year.