SAN DIEGO - The question on the table for the 1998 San Diego State footballteam comes down to whether last year's 5-7 record was a mere detour, aftertwo eight-win campaigns, on the highway to a Western Athletic Conferencetitle. Can the Aztecs steer back onto the road as a league contender thisyear? The answer, for the time being, could come down to whether one isan optimist or a pessimist.
The "glass is half-empty" crowd will look at the 5-7 mark of a yearago and see only three starters back on offense and four on defense.Missing on offense are four of the five offensive linemen that started theseason including two NFL draft choices in Kyle Turley and Ephraim Salaam.Standout receiver Az Hakim will also be playing on Sundays, not Saturdays,in 1998. On the defensive side, three of the starters are gone from thefront four, the team's top tackler in middle linebacker Andy Osborne hasgraduated as well as outside backer Julius McChristian and two startingdb's also will not return. The quarterback position remains inexperienced,there is no obvious "superstar" at wide receiver, the placekicking isunsettled and the defense still showed a propensity to give up the bigplay. Now, for the optimists in the crowd, it's no problem making a casefor SDSU to immediately resume its winning ways and again be a factor inthe Western Athletic Conference race. First of all, the team finishedstrongly after a 1-5 start, winning four of its last six games. In thefinal four games of 1997, there were 20 players who were freshmen orsophomores seeing significant playing time. Of those, 17 were listed on thetwo-deep chart and 10 were starters. That standout sophomore group includedhigh-impact players like defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, safety RicoCurtis, running back Jonas Lewis, and offensive linemen Mike Malano andAndrew Kline. Freshman qb Spencer Brinton was thrown into the fray inmid-season but his performance provided some hope for the future.
Also, figuring to make their presence felt this season are threetransfers from other four-year programs who redshirted in '97. Brad Elmore(Mississippi State) and Clarence Martin (Texas) figure to make an immediateimpact in the offensive and defensive lines, respectively. Brian Russell, apart-time starter at Penn, could push Brinton at quarterback. Tollner willalso look to freshmen redshirts for help as well as a recruiting classranked among the top two in the league. The defense achieved its bestnational ranking in 11 years and could field the Aztecs' best front sevenin recent memory.
Offense
The San Diego State offense struggled, uncharacteristically, duringthe 1997 season. Only twice did the Aztecs score 30 points or more,compared to 21 times in the previous three years combined and eight timesin 1996 alone. In six games last year, SDSU failed to reach the 20-pointmark, a plateau it had fallen short of just half-a-dozen times over theprevious three seasons combined.
Plaguing the team's production was inexperience at quarterback, thedelay in the development of a solid running game until mid-season, theinjury that sidelined Hakim for the last third of the season, a demandingschedule and season-long shifting in the offensive line due to academicmatters, injuries and suspension. However, opportunities were created foryoung players to step up and prove themselves in each of those areas thatnow provide rays of hope for the coming year.
Quarterback
Highly-regarded recruit Spencer Brinton was jolted into theforefront following a mid-season injury to starter Kevin McKechnie. Insteadof a freshman year spent casually absorbing the offense on the sidelines,the 6'5" Temecula, California product got his education on the field,becoming the first true freshman to start at qb in the program's history.While the lefty's efficiency may have been lacking (45.1% completions;6-to-10 TD/interception ratio), his raw ability, poise and leadership shonethrough. The team went 4-2 with Brinton at the controls.
"Spencer's performance was encouraging and he's worked very hard inthe off-season," acknowledges Tollner. "But he has to show he can improvehis production to enable us to win at that position. He came a long way inhis understanding of the mental part of the game last spring. Brian Russellhas the capability to challenge him and he had six or seven games ofexperience at Penn. He has an ability to make good things happen off brokenplays that isn't evidenced in an intrasquad scrimmage."
Russell spent much of his redshirt season with the scout team aftertransferring from Pennsylvania but Tollner likes his ability. In August,Dusty Harris will return for his redshirt freshman year following his LDSmission. The Aztecs also signed one of the state's top prep quarterbacks inLon Sheriff of nearby West Hills High School. Of the four candidates torun the offense in '98, all are freshmen or sophomores other than juniorcollege walk-on Jon Geisler.
Running Back
No one surfaced as the heir-apparent to former Aztec George Jonesuntil the mid-point of the season when sophomore Jonas Lewis kicked thedoor in. The 5'9", 205-pounder became the sixth Aztec back in the lastseven years to rush for 1,000 yards, netting 1,021 on the season despitenot starting until the final seven games of '97. In those seven contestsalone, Lewis gained 992 yards, an average of 141.7 yards per game,including a 253 yard effort against Fresno State. His 167 yards in theseason finale vs. Colorado State was the most given up by the Rams allyear. "The situation at running back is a lot like quarterback," notesTollner. "Jonas is coming back at number one but Larry Ned showed lastspring that he will be a factor for us there. Both of them were impressivein spring drills and both will play."
Ned caught everybody's eye last spring by consistently breakingtackles and showing enough speed to make the big play. The 5-11, 210pounder who sat out last year after rushing for 2,356 yards his senior yearat Rancho Verde HS in Moreno Valley, California. The running back corpswhich will be bolstered by highly-regarded juco transfer Mike Williams. Itwould not surprise many people to see freshman James Truvillion from nearbySan Marcos High School assert himself upon his arrival this fall.
Offensive Line
The loss of four players, each of whom started at least three yearsand each of whom achieved some level of All-WAC recognition in theircollegiate careers, will be difficult to overcome. All-American tackle KyleTurley, the number-seven pick in the NFL Draft, is among the O-Line quartetthat last year completed its eligibility. Throw in the departure ofoffensive line coach Ed White for the NFL's St. Louis Rams staff and youhave what, on the surface, looks like a major rebuilding year for the frontfive. However, on closer inspection, prospects for the Aztec front maynot be as bleak as they may first appear. Mike Malano returns after twoyears as a starter for his junior campaign. He is an All-WAC candidate whocan play any position on the line but seemed to settle in at center in thespring. Rick Austin, a transfer from Washington State, had asserted himselfas the starting tackle last September until a broken ankle sidelined himfor the season. He returns for '98 looking more fit than ever. ReservesAndrew Kline and Greg Spillane received opportunities to start in '97 andperformed well. Brad Elmore is a 6-3, 305-pound prospect who transferred toSDSU last year from Mississippi State after a juco all-American career atRicks College. Chris Williams and juco transfer Ted Printy are youngsterswho could challenge this year.
"Everything's up for grabs in the line but I like the nucleus,"says Tollner. "There's going to be a lot of good battles for startingspots. We came out of the spring essentially with seven guys contending forthe five starting positions. We still need to work out the best combinationbut I'm comfortable with our talent here."
Taking over coaching duties is Damon Baldwin, not necessarily aneophyte working with the Aztec linemen. The former SDSU lineman served asa graduate assistant with the group last season and coached the linemenover the latter part of the campaign when White was on leave of absence.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
For the first time in many seasons, the Aztecs will enter the yearwithout an acknowledged superstar at wide receiver. In addition to Hakim,Taj Johnson, the Aztec receiving leader with 44 catches last year, hascompleted his eligibility. That doesn't mean that Tollner has lowered hisexpectations of what this group of pass catchers can achieve.
"I like the people we have coming back even though their experienceis limited," says Tollner. "We won't have a star but we'll have a lot ofcapable guys contributing. I kind of like that."
Leading the returnees is diminutive, speedy Jesus Reyes. The 5'7",170 pounder came on strong after Hakim's injury to finish the '97 seasonwith 31 catches for 462 yards. Sixteen of those catches came in the lastfour games. In addition, youngsters like Damon Gourdine, Sean Pierce andLonny Mitchell proved in 1997 that they can be counted on in '98. Gourdineand Mitchell alone accounted for six touchdowns among their 29 combinedreceptions.
On the other hand, San Diego State may have its deepest, mosttalented stable of tight ends in years, despite the departure of starterChad Flick.
"The position is as healthy as it's been since I've been here,"says Tollner. "We have more depth than we've had and we have more guys thatcan get down field in passing situations than in the past. We'll continueto make an effort to get the ball to these guys more."
Veteran Ben Mecham is back after knee surgery shortened his seasonlast year and is joined by Giovanni Toccagino, who started at San JoseState as a frosh before transferring, and junior college transfer Jim Ange.Gray McNeill adds the experience he gained playing as a true freshman in'97. The Aztecs can employ many more options in double and triple tight endpackages this fall.
DEFENSE
San Diego State finished last season ranked 72nd in the nation intotal defense. That may not seem like much to hang your hat on except forthe fact that it was the highest ranking in that category for an Aztec teamsince 1986 when the school won the WAC title with a defense ranked 48th inthe country. Add the fact that the SDSU defenders had to facenon-conference opponents like Washington, Wisconsin, Arizona and Navy. Atleast the coaching staff feels strongly that the long-suffering defensiveunit is heading in the right direction.
"We're getting closer to playing the kind of consistent, aggressivedefense we need to play to be successful," Tollner indicates. "At timeslast season, we played outstanding defense. The big play continues to hurtus...especially, the big play with the pass. But I really believe that wehave the tools to be the best defense we've had since I've been here. To dothat, we're talking about a lot of improvement from our existing players."
Defensive Line
As is the case with their counterparts in the offensive line, atfirst glance, the unit appears to be devastated with the loss of regulartackles Cameron Chance and Dan Dorsey and defensive end Charles Gatlin.However, there are solid candidates to replace them and join all-Americahopeful Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila to meet and surpass last year's performance.
"Our defensive front starts with Kabeer." says Tollner. "He'sgetting bigger and stronger and he has quickness. He can be a trulyoutstanding player. We need to find someone to line up opposite him. Attackle, we have experience in Darryl Jones. We'll be as big and as strongas we've ever been inside. Clarence Martin is also a talent. We'reexpecting good things to happen with him up front but he was really setback last spring with his injury. He hasn't played in nearly two years."
In just his sophomore season, Gbaja-Biamila lead the WAC inquarterback sacks with 12 and his 82 total tackles were the fourth-highesttotal ever for an Aztec defensive lineman. He was the only sophomorenon-kicker named by league coaches to the all-WAC team a year ago.Part-time starter Antwone Young and Mark Scott finished the spring one-twoat the other defensive end position but neither solidified his hold on astarting job. This could be an area where a newcomer could make inroads onthe depth chart.
Of the top returning candidates vying for the vacated tackle spots,three weigh in at 300 pounds. Jones saw some playing time a year ago asdid juco transfer Matautia and David Neal (he's the "lightweight" at 270lbs.). Martin redshirted last season after transferring back to hishometown area after a year at the University of Texas where he was apart-time starter as a true freshman. Redshirt freshman Jerome Haywoodcould make an impact.
Linebackers
The Aztecs lose leading tackler Andy Osborne at middle linebackerand outside linebacker Julius McChristian but four other returnees have allgained experience as starters. Senior Joe Jackson has been a fixture atoutside linebacker for the past two seasons. Senior Joe Tuipala has startedboth inside and outside during his career and juniors Michael Duran andScott Johnson are experienced players who have been part-time starters.
This area will be further buffered by youngsters like MartinChlumak, Kevin Miller, Pitt transfer Darius Wesber and Mac Cleary. Juniorcollege transfer Joey Mayo could make an immediate impact at middlelinebacker.
"I think this is the best group we've had in terms of qualitynumbers, but we'll just have to let it sort itself out," says Tollner."Scott Johnson and Joe Jackson solidified their hold on the startingpositions at outside linebacker last spring but Tuipala, Chlumak and Mayoare still fighting for the job in the middle. We've got people withdefensive ability. We've just got to put the pieces of the puzzletogether."
Defensive Back
It was a good news-bad news season for the secondary which came onstrong in the latter half of the year. The team registered 11 interceptionsin the last six games after securing just one in the first six. However,the susceptibility to the big pass play continued to haunt the defenders.
Jason Moore is gone after four years as a starter leaving the freesafety position wide open. Rico Curtis and Aazaar Abdul-Rahim return asstarters at strong safety and cornerback, respectively. Curtis provedhimself as one of the outstanding young defenders in the conference,earning second team all-WAC honors from league coaches. The coaching staffexpects Eric Lewis to bounce back from a subpar '97 season and again viefor the starting spot at cornerback, but sophomore Tairou Smith has shownpromise as a reserve corner. The coaches will get a better read on redshirtfrosh Wesley Ace, now that he is healthy.
The finalization of the secondary picture won't come until the fallwhen junior college safety Stan Bogard, juco corner Kevin Burton andfreshman safety Ricky Sharpe report for duty. Curtis saw some time in thespring at free safety and could end up playing either spot.
"Rico has matured physically and mentally and can assert himself asa dominant player this year at safety," notes Tollner. "Where he ends upplaying depends upon what Bogard, Sharpe, James Stewart and Matt Thorne doat free safety in August. We know we have experienced depth at strongsafety with Scott Auerbach and he could start if we need to move Rico tofree."
Special Teams
Both kickers and the long snapper return for San Diego State forthe 1998 season after the trio's debut a year ago. After an uneven start,Don Copeland came on to be one of the stronger punters in the WAC, sportinga 43.0 yard average per punt and steadily improving on his directionalkicking. Long snapper Jason Asbury was steady all year in his freshmanseason. Fellow frosh Nate Tandberg was automatic on extra points butstruggled through a season where he was 13-of-27 on field goal attempts.
"I think Copeland can get even better," observes Tollner. "He has abig leg, improved his kick time and his athletic ability comes through. Hehas a chance to be one of the better players in our conference. Areas weneed to improve on are the depth and height of our kickoffs and to be moreconsistent in our field goals. Nate was as disappointed as anybody lastyear. You have to consider that he was a freshman but I expect Nate to pushhimself this year to perform up to his capabilities."
Aztec coverage units limited the opposition to 8.8 yards per puntreturn while SDSU ranked second in the WAC and ninth in the nation in puntreturns. Eric Lewis was the league's second leading punt returner at 11.7yards per runback. Tollner will look for improvement in the kickoff returnand cover areas.
SCHEDULE
A large part of the equation of last year's finish had to do with aschedule that included four of the first five games on the road - a stretchthat included travel to Washington, Wisconsin, Air Force and Arizona. Thatevolved into a 1-5 mark out of the gate.
"We felt we were ready to take on the challenge of playing teamslike Wisconsin, Arizona and Washington, but having to play all of them, inaddition to Air Force, in consecutive weeks on the road, proved to be toodifficult," says Tollner. The combined regular season record of the seventeams that beat the Aztecs last year was 55-25 (.688). Five of thoseopponents played in post-season bowl games.
Although the non-conference competition is still stiff, Wisconsinand Arizona must come to San Diego this season in addition to a short tripfor the Aztecs up the freeway to USC.
In conference play, SDSU switches its quadrant pairing to thedivision including BYU, Utah, New Mexico and UTEP in addition to PacificDivision regulars Fresno State, Hawaii and San Jose State.
"I'm looking forward to this season optimistically but withuncertainty," says Tollner. "We're still a young, sophomore-junior basedteam that is untested at some key positions. But I also think we're bigger,stronger, faster and deeper than we have been in past years. If we can getefficient production at quarterback, not give up big plays defensively, andget through the non-conference schedule with our confidence and our healthintact, I believe we can contend for our division championship this year."Spoken like a true optimist.