Feb. 24, 2004
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State football team, with 16 starters returning from last season's 6-6 team, returns to the practice field Monday when the Aztecs open spring drills.
Forty-nine lettermen return to the squad as the Aztecs return eight starters on offense and seven on defense, along with a returning starter from the 2002 defense who is coming off a redshirt season.
"The Dark Side" will be looking to replace Jeff Shoate at cornerback and both starting defensive ends (Ryan Iata and Brandon Rager). Seven defensive starters return, including All-America selection and Mountain West defensive player of the year Kirk Morrison, and Matt McCoy, who led the Mountain West with 125 tackles in 2003. Back in the fold up front is tackle Freddie McCutcheon, who was a part-time starter in 2002 when he was healthy. He could step into the middle of the defensive line where Brook Miller has departed.
San Diego State returns eight starters on offense with all three losses coming up front in offensive linemen Brendan Darby, Shawn Dickie and Gerald Sykes. Darby was an all-conference selection.
"We're excited to get back on the field," said head coach Tom Craft. "You are always eager to see the younger players after a year on the scout team and you want to gauge the progression made by the upperclassmen."
Spring drills run March 1-12 with the major scrimmages scheduled for March 6 and March 12. This spring marks the second straight in which the Aztecs will be among the first schools in the country to return to the practice field.
"We like having the early spring practices," Craft said. "It gives us a chance to help our players with what they will need to be doing on their own in the off-season and it gives us more time to evaluate our needs before we go out on the road to begin looking at 2005 prospects."
The practices are open to the public with all of the workouts scheduled for the SDSU practice facility, located behind the Sports Deck at 55th and Montezuma.
Practice Dates are scheduled for March 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11 and 12. Every practice begins at 3 p.m. with the exception of the March 6th scrimmage scheduled for 9 a.m. The Aztecs will conclude spring drills with a March 12 scrimmage that will begin at 3 p.m.