I can't help but smile but we desperately need a rival. Since BY Who left we've been devoid of a true rival. It just isn't as easy to hate New Mexico.

At 0-3 in conference I think they should fire Dave Rice. He's obviously not going to take them to the next level. Oh wait, they'll now probably reel off 15 in a row now that I shot my mouth off.

He was fired by UNLV today!!!

He was fired today

UNLV has decided to wait no longer, and fired Dave Rice.

Assistant coach Todd Simon has been named the Interim Coach.

Coach Simon's bio:
http://www.unlvrebels.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/todd_simon_856483.html

Fired from UNLV today

Oceanside (Calif.) El Camino linebacker Spencer Katoanga is very close to pulling the trigger on San Diego State as he's well aware that scholarship spots are running out on montezuma mesa.

Currently, the local middle linebacker has an official visit scheduled for SDSU on Jan. 29 but there's a good chance he will commit to the staff (Arnett, Hauck) as soon as this Sunday. He regrets not scheduling his official visit to SDSU sooner but, for whatever reason, his visit schedule currently looks like this:

Dec. 7th Wyoming
Jan. 8th Air Force (this weekend)
Jan. 15 UC Davis
Jan 22 Army
Jan 29 SDSU.

All of those schools have offered. Navy and San Jose State have also offered. But SJSU's defensive staff was let go and Katoanga said Navy is filled up at the linebacker position for this recruiting class. That's part of the reason why he's feeling the pressure to commit to the Aztecs - which are clearly the favorite based on my conversation with him - at the end of this weekend. My guess is that he will commit to SDSU soon but will still take his other visits to UC Davis and Army regardless.

Kataoanga has been to SDSU games this season, at SJSU (while on an unofficial visit) and vs. Wyoming for homecoming, and really likes the defense. He said Arnett has compared him to Jake Fely because of his instincts and aggressive play recognition.

Here is his senior film:
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Team Stats - Through games 01/02/2016
Stat Rank Value
Total Offense 85 375.3
Rushing Offense 14 233.3
Passing Offense 118 142.0
Team Passing Efficiency 35 142.10
Scoring Offense 46 32.1
Total Defense 5 287.3
Rushing Defense 7 108.7
Passing Yards Allowed 11 178.6
Team Passing Efficiency Defense 11 108.71
Scoring Defense 7 16.4
Turnover Margin 1 1.57
3rd Down Conversion Pct T-43 0.417
4th Down Conversion Pct T-4 0.800
3rd Down Conversion Pct Defense 9 0.289
4th Down Conversion Pct Defense T-77 0.524
Red Zone Offense 5 0.941
Red Zone Defense T-45 0.806
Net Punting 75 36.97
Punt Returns 46 9.92
Kickoff Returns 2 29.06
First Downs Offense T-67 260
First Downs Defense T-15 220
Fewest Penalties Per Game 75 6.36
Fewest Penalty Yards Per Game 83 58.07
Time of Possession 17 32:43
View Complete Ranking Summary

It is always exciting during football recruitment anticipating how the new recruits will help the team. It all culminates in signing day and we can't wait to see how much better the team will be. But more often than not, these new recruits are red shirts, and I, for one, tend to forget about them as we never hear about them.

So, my question to those of you in the know, is do we have any potential impact players in our current class of redshirts?

I was wondering if the asst. oaches new and reassigned make a major difference in this years results.
Thank youi.

Terrell Burgess has set a late decision date which I think only helps SDSU. The staff has to bring him in for an official though if they want to stay in the running.

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I wanted to recognize our special teams coach I believe is coach Hauck? Just a few years ago our special teams was down right embarrassing. Now they are one of our strengths. He has been a great addition to our staff. I know he is a former head coach from UNLV. I hope we can keep him.

he just posted on Twitter that he's staying for his SR year to finish school and he said it was a family decision

SJSU comes out with a 2-3 zone and Hemsley pulls up for three on the first possession to start 3-0. On the second possession Hemsley pulled up from three again and got a foul call.

SDSU up 5-0.

IE recruit Robert Awunganyi is a 6-foot, 170-pound prospect that Tony White seems to be very intrigued with. I mentioned him back when he was a junior but his recruitment never seemed to pick up at all. He ended up getting an offer from UTEP and he committed early during his senior year because he didn't think more schools would show interest. But more schools did, and now he's considering UC Davis, Colorado State and San Diego State as well. Cal is also a program that is keeping a close eye on him and may be a late offer depending on need.

SDSU likes him as a CB/returner. CSU likes him as a returner/athlete. UTEP just wants him. He likes receiver but he's completely fine with playing any position colleges need him at.

His visit schedule:
UC Davis this weekend.
CSU Jan 15
UTEP Jan 22
SDSU Jan 29

He's still a soft commit to UTEP. It's worth mentioning that one of the factors/reasons in taking all these visits is to make sure he likes the campus and that it's not 'run down' (his words). Weather also plays a bit of a role too. That makes me think SDSU is the leader at this point and UTEP is probably in third behind CSU. He does have some family near El Paso though and he's familiar with the area so maybe he thinks more of UTEP than most would.

Coach White has also used the Damontae Kazee pitch to Awuganyi, not to mention that there will be two starting positions open at corner this season.

Film: http://www.hudl.com/athlete/5661265/highlights/285929465/v2

Yasir Durant is an east coast offensive lineman that Tony White has been quietly pursuing hard since November and it makes sense considering his size and potential upside.

He's 6-6, 340 lbs and hopes to get down to 320 before college. Right now he has visits scheduled to SDSU on the 22nd and Texas Tech on the 29th.

Rutgers is the only other school to be worried about as of now (maybe Temple, too) but with their coaching staff changes I'm not sure if that program is still recruiting Durant - at least it doesn't sound that way.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2869227/highlights/291343376/v2

It's worth noting here that Aztecs OL commit Kevin Staton is considering a visit to Norfolk State in late January so SDSU likely has a plan on deck should Staton and the staff part ways.

Still waiting on Parrish and CBS to issue an apology. Yeah, that's going to happen.

HACK job cost the Aztec program dearly!

I probably missed the memo, but just curious as to why posts referencing a potential recruit are titled with the recruits initials as opposed to their name?

Apologies if this has already been addressed.

Keep up the good work!

Riverside Notre Vista RB Freddie Holly let me know tonight that he decommitted to Arizona State and hasn't cared enough to announce it publicly but he's fine with it being out there at this point. He also said he's very interested in San Diego State.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/3117341/highlights/130393375/v2

For all of us who wonder whether an SDSU education is on par with the P5 schools ...

I received an SDSU alumni newsletter this morning, and was surprised to learn that over 83,000 applications were received in the last reporting year. I believe that places us right at the very top of the heap among public universities. Last I heard, we trailed only UCLA in the % of applications rejected ... which I suppose is a back-handed compliment of sorts.

* We're now up to #79 in the US News and World Report ranking of public universities. If we were a recruit, that's probably 3.5 stars.

* Of the universities that might be considered for inclusion in the next round of P5 expansions, only U of Cincinnati (#71) is ahead of us.

* We're behind many of the biggest names in college sports, but we're ahead of schools like West Virginia (B12), Louisville (ACC) and Maryland (B10).

Not sport-related, but for what it's worth ...

* The top 5 were Cal, UCLA, Virginia, Michigan and North Carolina.

* All of the UC campuses are in the top 60, and UCSB and UCI joined Cal and UCLA in the top 10.

I believe strongly that there is great synergy and direct correlation between the success of our high-profile sport programs and the over-all prestige of our university.

As I've posted previously (I'm sort of a broken record on this point), we'll be sharing in the wealth of the Power Conferences within 5 years. Either one of the conferences will pull us up, or we'll be part of a new Power Conference.

He's on his way back home but I was able to get him on the line. Boise, Cincy, Purdue, Southern Miss and SDSU all got in the mix with him very recently after he decommitted to Iowa State.

He was planning to visit Boise but then decided to wait and see what other schools were looking to host him this weekend, the last weekend before JuCo signing day Wednesday.

Achayo still couldn't decide on what school he would visit and asked Coach Tony White if he can have a couple days to think it over and let him know on Wednesday. He was feeling pressure from a lot of schools. White, going the other direction, responded by telling Achayo you can let us know by Thursday. Achayo appreciated the patience from White and it went along way.

SDSU then really keyed in on Achayo. Zach Arnett cancelled one of his flights to have an in home visit with him on Wednesday to meet with Achayo and his mom, which was huge because his mom ended up playing a big role in his choice (staying close to home).

Achayo was then hosted by Austin Wyatt Thayer during the visit, his former teammate. Thayer talked highly of the school and Achayo knew it was a good program because of how different Austin looked.

"He relied on his athletic ability in junior college but he's a real football player now and he looks like one."

Achayo, who entered JC at 240 lbs, played this past season at 280 after adding weight on his own. He's currently 265 but thinks he can get up to 295 next year with the help of Coach Hall.

"I want to be a clean 295," he said, not a sloppy 295.

He had breakfast with Coach Schmidt this morning and was told that his uber athleticism will allow him to play any position on the o-line. Achayao was receptive to that because while he enjoys tackle, he's willing to help out the team in any way. He described the o-line as 'a bunch of dogs' and he just wants to join the pack.

A lot of things went into this and it's safe to say SDSU handled it perfectly with a home run.

Ruben----I now see that he's a "soft" commit. What's going on?

Unbelievable.

http://www.cbs8.com/story/30878397/burglars-ransack-sdsu-basketball-stars-apartment

Malik Smith will return for his senior season at SDSU.

How would you rate this years talent level compared to prior years. I'm not talking about quantity of players but the potential talent level of the players.

From the outside from someone who doesn't watch HS football or care to try and evaluate their skills, it looks as if there are less quality level players that have committed compared to prior years. That evaluation is just based on the rivals score of the kids. This surprises me as I would have expected SDSU to cleanup on somewhat better talent just based on how they finished the year.

What do you guys think? I know this could be a contentious topic so keep it civil please.

Same starting five: Hemsley, Kell, Shepard, Cheatham and Spencer.