April 18, 2002
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State head football coach Tom Craft will put the wraps on his first spring session when the Aztecs conclude drills with a 3:30 p.m. scrimmage Friday afternoon at the SDSU practice facility.
The scrimmage is free and open to the public with parking available in Structure V located at 55th and Montezuma.
The Aztecs entered the spring looking to replace two safeties, four-year starter Jerome Haywood at defensive tackle and to establish depth at linebacker and in the offensive line. Craft was also eager to put the quarterbacks to work in his new system and to see his receivers first hand. Another rather important item was to find a replacement for All-America running back Larry Ned and his 1,549 yards.
"This has been a productive spring," Craft said. "We are further along and I do think we have some answers. We are trying to get the right combo at safety but I think we have improved our ball skills in the secondary and we have some talent back there and some help on the way.
"We are still concerned about depth at linebacker, but when you lose a big senior class depth is always an issue in the spring," he added. "Brook Miller and Jared Ritter played well in the interior and we have two quality defensive ends in Akbar (Gbaja Biamila) and Ryan (Iata). Akbar has played well down the stretch and Ryan was having a terrific spring before his injury."
The head coach was also pleased with the improvement at quarterback and likes the Aztecs' abilities to throw and catch.
"Adam Hall and Lon Sheriff have had solid springs and I think Danny Armstrong could make a bit of a run as well," he said. "I think part of our play at quarterback has improved because we did a good job with the receivers. Adam may have a slight advantage at this point but I think there are some things that Lon can do this summer to really improve his play."
Three running backs have also separated themselves from the pack with James Truvillion, redshirt freshman Michael Franklin and converted safety DeAngelo Nedd continually making big plays.