And CSU is proving to be a team that can get reallllyyyy hot from three these past two games. Not the best matchup and they currently lead Fresno State 23-15 with 8:44 to go in the first half.

Winston Shepard is doing warm-ups with the team but also spending time getting some extra stretching in (ankle) with an assistant.

Nevada leads UNM 29-28 at the half. Still up in the air as both teams look very evenly matched so far, other than UNM coughing up nine turnovers already.

SDSU will have a scrimmage at Mesa College on Saturday from 1-3 p.m.

The reasoning for the scrimmage being at Mesa is to treat it like a road game. The team will take buses there and back. Rocky expects tough road games next season so he wants to get his players prepared for it. He also plans to do an "away" scrimmage in the fall. It's similar to SDSU practicing on a local high school's blue field before Boise St games.

Pumphrey won't play in the scrimmage.
Brunskill, Munson, Kazee, Siragusa, Barrett and Kelley will play very little.

Jordan Watson practiced after missing Monday's practice.

Marcus Stamps and Rashaad Penny were back today and did everything but 11-on-11s

Billy Vaughn has a strained hamstring and was limited today but he is fine.

Noble Hall missed Monday's practice due to the ab issue that kept him out last season.

-Practice is closed but Rocky said the o-line is improving their assignments in pass protection after struggling in the scrimmage. He'll keep a close eye on them on Saturday.

-Kwayde Miller may practice next week but will be limited to individual drills if he does.

There is a chance Miller comes back as a right tackle because Ryan Pope is a little lighter on his feet. Miller's experience and comfort at left tackle will make it a really close position battle though.

-Rocky said Chase Favreau has really improved his hands in practice. He also said he's much better as a receiver than this time last year.

Favreau was listed as a starter for pretty much the entire offseason heading into last season but really fell off the map. Does that mean he just happens to be a good practice player that can't translate his production onto the field? Maybe. But Rocky made it clear that Favreau does indeed look better in practices now compared to last year. Take that as you may but it's a positive sign.

I forgot to mention this earlier: I bumped into a former coach of former San Diego State commit Greg Bell today. It is believed that Bell will go to Arizona Western junior college and play for the Matadors.

You can expect SDSU to stay in the driver's seat for Bell once he gets everything in order. By the sound of it, he will actually enroll early at AWC - that's a very good sign.

There are also rumblings of non-qualifier WR Steffon McKnight, arguably the biggest 2016 recruit in San Diego until schools cooled off because of grades, will also attend AWC. That's a good connection to have...

Side note: Another little rumbling that I've been hearing about from people is that Fred Melifonwu is considering rejoining the team this summer or in the fall as a walk-on. We'll see how that plays out later on.

I also can't help but bring up former right guard Will Tuihalamaka after mentioning Fred. Tui was extremely impressive in the fall but quit the team midseason because he thought he should be playing. I have no update on Tui other than that he's likely going the JC route at this point (my earlier guess was that he would transfer somewhere like UTEP or UNM - that sort of level).

But since many Div. 1 schools have starting spring camp already and his name hasn't popped up anywhere, my guess is that he didn't find a landing spot and will give the JuCo route a go. Any JC would take him because of his pure talent so I'm sure he will end up at one of the big JuCo programs in California.

SDSU offered Cameron Rising today, arguably the top 2018 quarterback in California. He's already a national recruit.

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All settled in here at the arena now.

It's pretty empty in here for the most part but it looks like SDSU fans near sold the entire allotment.

Note: Jeremy Hemsley will come off the bench again.

Extra note: Utah St.'s shooting is hot:

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Let's see if that holds up today.

vs. Air Force...

Our odds of receiving an at-large bid took a hit when Monmouth and Valparaiso lost yesterday.

Monmouth had a series of huge non-conference wins (UCLA, USC, Notre Dame, Georgetown), all on the road. Valparaiso beat Oregon St on the road, and nearly took down Oregon. Not saying either will be locks because they're from historically one bid leagues, but they'll definitely be in consideration.

Personally, I think our resume is stronger because the MW is better than either the Horizon or Metro-Atlantic, and the selection committee will look favorably on our performance since January ... but having Monmouth and Valpo in the at-large pool will make it a little tougher for anyone else to get in.

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/utah-state-aggies-wyoming-cowboys-201603090661/

The MW player of the year went: 4-17

Per GoAztecs


LAS VEGAS – San Diego State collected a handful of hardware as the Mountain West released its postseason awards as voted on by the league’s 11 head coaches. Steve Fisher was named the coach of the year, while Skylar Spencer and Jeremy Hemsley were voted the conference’s defensive player of the year and freshman of the year, respectively. The coaches made their selections based on league games only.


As far as all-MW recognition is concerned, Trey Kell was voted to the first team, Winston Shepard landed on the second team and Hemsley was a third-team honoree. Shepard and Spencer were also named to the Mountain West all-defensive team.


2015-16 All-Mountain West Teams – Head Coaches Selections (SDSU Only)

First Team

Trey Kell

Second Team

Winston Shepard


Third Team

Jeremy Hemsley


Defensive Team

Winston Shepard

Skylar Spencer


Coach of the Year

Steve Fisher


Defensive Player of the Year

Skylar Spencer


Freshman of the Year

Jeremy Hemsley

http://footballscoop.com/dfo-scoop-2/wednesday-march-2-2016-2/

Wonder what this all means in the grand scheme of things. Do we back fill the DFO post? What does the Assistant Athletic Director for Football do?

Obviously the more non-coaching football oriented folks we have the better (to ensure we keep up with the P5 schools).

Just got back from the scrimmage where several fans and local coaches were in attendance. Rocky Long said nearly 500 coaches signed up for the clinic last night and many of them watched practiced.

The first segment of practice consisted of the offense and defense splitting fields so the coaches could watch the position drills. Then SDSU ran situational scrimmage periods consisting of the offense starting at their 1-yard line, starting at the 25 yard line and overtime scrimmaging. Then SDSU did a full-speed scrimmage with the first, second and third team rotating each drive.

It went how you guys would expect: the run game was consistent (with two or three long runs), the passing game couldn’t complete many deep throws because of the offensive line, and the defense was dominant.

What stood out most was how fast the defense was playing. No matter which unit was on the field, the defense swarmed to the ball against the run and any completed passes thrown against them were put to a halt at the spot of the catch (other than a Mikah Holder deep ball touchdown).

That said, when brought up to Rocky after the practice, he agreed that the defense was giving effort and playing hard but he still wasn’t happy about alignment errors. He also really wasn’t happy with the o-line for “blocking the wrong guy” and said that’s why we saw so many hits at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield. In short: he was glad the defense played as hard as they did - now they just need to learn to line up right with more consistency.

A quick note: Rocky Long said the school has now in fact sent in a request to get Maxwell Smith an NCAA waiver for a sixth-year.

Smith, who is still in rehab and a few months away from being healthy enough to jog or practice, will not be the starting QB should he return, Long said.

Smith has also indicated to the coaching staff that he wants to be a coach or player-coach and that seems like the likely scenario at this point.

-It sounds like people around Smith still want him to play QB but I think Smith is moving on from the idea and will end up rejoining the team this summer to be a player coach.

- Rashaad Penny seemed like the most consistent player on the field today. He likely averaged five or six yards a carry and that average likely increased to about 8 or 9 after an impressive 50 yard run up the sideline where he nearly beat Jeff Clay and Kameron Kelly down the field (two of the best athletes on defense).

Penny constantly carried multiple defenders an extra yard or two near the end of every run. More importantly, a number of those carries were between the tackles. Rocky’s biggest question last season was whether or not Penny’s success as a returner and a slot receiver (who found a lot of success on end around runs) would translate to consistency between the tackles. Using today as an example, Penny for sure passed the test.

Penny also continued to impress as a pass catcher. He took a catch in the flat seven yards up the sideline before having a big collision with Kalan Montgomery. It looked like Montgomery came in with a full head of steam but Penny somehow looked unaffected while going out of bounds. Physically, he’s starting to look like Walter Payton

-Although Washington had some nice carries, performed fairly well and seemed to run harder as the day went on, he continues to look like a one trick pony who will find the majority of his on field success via outside pitch runs. Washington's just more comfortable in that role - and there’s nothing wrong with that. He also had a few plays where he lined up in the slot today. If not for end arounds, his role seemed to be as the check down option over the middle which suits him perfectly. Chapman used him as a check down on one play where Washington turned around, made a guy miss and gained 13 yards. He’ll be a fun weapon to watch in open field situations.

-The other offensive players who have shown consistency continue to be Mikah Holder and Christian Chapman. The offensive line really struggled today in pass pro so Chapman and the other QBs didn’t have much time to connect with their targets farther than 20 or so yards away. To nobody’s surprise, Chapman connected with Holder over the top during the first drive of the scrimmage for a 99-yard touchdown. That was the only touchdown of the scrimmage.

Later on, the offense nearly scored on a 3rd and goal situation inside the five when Chapman threw a quick out to Chase Favreau on the field side with the ball right on the money. Favreau lost possession as he fell toward the grass though, and the drive ended. Billy Vaughn Jr. was beat by Favreau's cut outside so he's lucky Favreau didn't maintain possession.

Chapman also connected with Holder on a 35-yard jump ball against Billy Vaughn Jr. along the sideline, but it was called back due to a “sack” by Jay Henderson.

Some QB cons:
-Chapman did have one bad overthrow and then nearly threw a pick in the end zone (Kameron Kelly jumped the route and would have intercepted the pass but Montgomery jumped in his way) but the rest of his passes seemed to be on target. I have no doubt that Chapman will be your 2016 starter.

-Ryan Agnew couldn’t get in any rhythm at all because of the pass protection (whereas Chapman made the most of it). He was very quick to scramble on a few occasions though. The one time I felt like he had time to show what he’s got, his 12 yard pass to Darryl Richardson was dropped (although it could have been deflected). I think D-Richardson may eventually get passed on the depth chart by walk on TE Kahale Warring, who had one or two catches with Jimmy Walker and the third team today.

-Walker didn’t get very many reps and some of the passes he threw were flat out inaccurate or wobbly. He did throw a six-yard in to Jerry Chaney for a first down. That said, Agnew and Walker made Chapman look very very good today - take that as you may.

Defense

-There were a lot of sacks and TFLs today, and although that’s not a good sign for the offensive line - it also shouldn’t take away from the play of the defense.

-The defense was tremendous today. Sergio Phillips, Jay Henderson, Austin Wyatt Thayer, Kyavah Tezino, Derek Babiash, Jeff Clay, Trey Lomax and even Julian Rochelin were all over the field.

-Babiash, Henderson and Tezino all made very strong cases for hit of the day. Babiash stayed patient on a play action rollout with Curtis Anderson running across the field directly at him and he gave him a very nice lick. Henderson does a lot of stunts and slants and he had a handful of big hits inside the box. It’s worth noting that Rocky wants Henderson to play defensive line full-time moving forward. He was a fringe starter behind Ricks last season but that position required to many assignments and responbiilities. Now, as strictly a defensive end, Henderson can really show off his athleticism and quickness instead of thinking about assignments too much. His motor is also improving, he chases down plays or scrambling QBs to the very end and his effort has really improved.

The hit of the day may have been made by Tezino, though, because of his face up form and how he drove back a walk on running back five yards before bringing him down. It was a textbook tackle when the two met just before the line of scrimmage and was exciting to see Tezino finish off the play strong. This play happened right after Babiash’s hit on Anderson, so the sidelines and crowwd got really pumped up.


-Ryan Dunn really struggled today. Missed a lot of tackles in the hole at the line of scrimmage whereas guys like Tezino and Thayer really stood out. Billy Vaughn also had an ugly missed tackle against Stamps. Lakalaka also seemed pretty tentative for most of the scrimmage and I doubt he had many tackles.


-Because of time the QBs had to throw, the secondary started to cheat up a bit and it led to more stops against the run. Na’Im McGee and Trey Lomax continue to look like the best DBs in run support (other than Kazee who didn’t play much).

-After Favreau’s bad drop early on, he bounced back with a couple strong catches on short ins and slants. He got the wind knocked out of him after one in route led him toward Jeff Clay for a big collision.

-There was a little scuffle after a play when Malik Smith and Nick Bawden were shoving each other to the point where Bawden’s helmet came off and Smith whipped/threw it at Bawden. Antonio Rosales and Sergio Phillips also got into a bit of shoving match after one play.

-The bad snaps continued and I identified that the majority of them occur between Ryan Agnew and Derrick Achayo. I brought it up to Rocky and he made a good point: Both Agnew and Achayo played in shotgun systems at their former schools so that is why they are struggle to adapt to SDSU’s under center exchanges. It’s something they can only improve on with experience.

-Dwayne Parchment had some moments - a sack and a deflected pass - but I still don’t think he will pass guys like Clay, Baldwin and Lomax on the two deep yet.

-One of the big question marks Rocky has is who will backup Randy Ricks now that Ryan Dunn moved over to inside linebacker next to Munson and Jay Henderson is with the d-line? Currently, it’s looking like it will be Reggie Murphy. He’s not very athletic for a linebacker but he and Ricks will create a nice combo during the season based off how he played today.

-One of the funnest matchups to watch this spring has been Judge vs. Babiash. Agnew threw a deep ball their way today and Babiash played it as well as he could have. Babiash ran in front of Judge while remaining very tight in coverage. This kept Judge from running at full speed toward the ball and it didn’t warrant a pass inteference penalty. Opposing wide receivers are really going to hate Babiash this year. His athleticsm allows him to really frustrate wide outs.

-Former players Jon Sanchez and Darrell Greene were in attendance.

-I’ll have more scrimmage info and video up later on.

Didn't practice today:
WR Derrick Rose
WR Christian Cumerlamder (mono symptoms).

Limited during practice (banged up after scrimmage):
RB Rashaad Penny
RB Marcus Stamps
DT Jordan Watson.

I'm of the opinion that Rashaad Penny has reached the point where he doesn't have to prove himself with so many practice reps (he had a ton during the scrimmage) and should be treated more like DJ Pumphrey but not to the extreme. The coaches feel otherwise and have him splitting (what feels like equal) reps with Washington and Stamps.

Other:
Kwayde Miller will sit out the rest of spring (lower back). He was expected to miss a week or two but the trainers and coaches are playing it safe it seems like.

By the way, Pro Day is March 17.

After leaving football practice I got into a minor car accident (I'm fine) and will be late to the game but I'll be sure to post updates as soon as I get in.

The eighth-seeded Aztecs took care of ninth-seed Wyoming tonight, 62-44 and will face No. 1 seed Colorado State tomorrow at noon.

The Rams are ranked No. 22 in the country and have only lost one game all season (a one-point loss to Ivy League Champ Penn).

The game will be live streamed on GoAztecs.com.

That was very enlightening to read about coach G's philosophy on recruiting. Heck, I'll buy into it

There is a great deal of coverage , and rightfully so, regarding spring practice and the signing period that took place for football, but basketball coverage and recruiting has been noticeably devoid of content this season. I realize it's not AAU season, but there hasn't even been any coverage of potential '17 and '18 recruits and their high school seasons. Are things that quiet, or is basketball on the backburner compared to football these days? Hoping to see more, as I'm more of a b-ball guy, and that's where my interest for this subscription lies.

But no Aztecs made the cut. I'm sure many of you saw this coming but it's still a bit of a surprise considering the team's record in conference play. I'm not sure how to feel about this.

Notables:
-Winston Shepard made the second team,
-Trey Kell and Jeremy Hemsley made the third team.
-Josh Adams is the player of the year.
-Eljah Brown is the newcomer of the year.
-Nevada's Cameron Oliver was the freshman of the year while teammate Tyron Criswell was the sixth-man of the year.



1st TeamJosh Adams, Wyoming, Sr. – 160 points (7)
Marvelle Harris, Fresno State, Sr. – 156 (4)
James Webb III, Boise State, Jr. – 137
Elijah Brown, New Mexico, So. – 135
Tim Williams, New Mexico, Jr. – 104

2nd TeamMarqueze Coleman, Nevada, Sr. – 95
Winston Shepard, San Diego State, Sr. – 80
Patrick McCaw, UNLV, So. – 72
Cameron Oliver, Nevada, Fr. – 61
Antwan Scott, Colorado State, Sr. – 47

3rd TeamJalen Moore, Utah State, Jr. – 44
Chris Smith, Utah State, Sr. – 43
Jeremy Hemsley, San Diego State, Fr. – 40
Trey Kell, San Diego State, So. – 36
Mikey Thompson, Boise State, Sr. – 23

Honorable mention: Hayden Graham, Air Force; Anthony Drmic, Boise State; Emmanuel Omogbo and Tiel Daniels, Colorado State; Cullen Russo, Fresno State; Skylar Spencer, San Diego State; Stephen Zimmerman Jr., UNLV; Jason McManamen, Wyoming.
Player of the Year: Josh Adams, Wyoming (7)
Coach of the Year: Steve Fisher, San Diego State (7)
Newcomer of the Year: Elijah Brown, New Mexico (6)
Freshman of the Year: Cameron Oliver, Nevada (7)
Defensive Player of the Year: Skylar Spencer, San Diego State (5)
Sixth Man of the Year: Tyron Criswell, Nevada (5)

Others receiving award votes
Player of the Year: Marvelle Harris, Fresno State.
Coach of the Year: Eric Musselman, Nevada; Rodney Terry, Fresno State.
Newcomer of the Year: Tim Williams, New Mexico
Freshman of the Year: Jeremy Hemsley, San Diego State.
Defensive Player of the Year: Cameron Oliver, Nevada; Patrick McCaw, UNLV.
Sixth Man of the Year: Brandon Clarke and Princeton Onwas, San Jose State; Cullen Russo, Fresno State.

They're about to lose to San Jose St. The only reason I see this happening is they don't want to play UNLV in the 1st round of the tournament.

Just watched the OL vs DL drills that Ruben. Based on that I'm thinking we're going to like
# 77. I'm also suspect alex Barrett was thrilled to go up against Siragusa and Pope.

When do the results come out? I know sometime next week.

Would like to thank our seniors for their amazing efforts on behalf of SDSU basketball. It is so easy to see deficiencies, attitudes and the like from afar, but the changes from game to game and year to year, you can't help but be appreciative of Winston and Spencer! Angelo has done everything asked of him since his transfer, but he too has his limitations. Congratulations to all three of you and thanks for wanting to be an Aztec for Life! You've represented the school, city and fans with great aplomb!
Specifically, thank you Winston for always sharing you time and smile with us at Aztec football games. The joy you appear to have signing autographs or taking pictures with young and oId have endeared many of us to you now and into the future. We so enjoyed the ride with you three! Go Aztecs!!!