Aug. 20, 2014
SAN DIEGO - Aztec Football with Rocky Long, a weekly show highlighted by player and coach features, behind the scenes footage, X's and O's with Long, previews of upcoming games, recaps of past games and much more, will debut on Thursday, Aug. 21, on FOX Sports San Diego beginning at 10:30 p.m. PT, or immediately following Padres Live.
This week's premiere edition will include Coach Long sharing how to build a championship team, how this year's seniors will make a difference on the field, and a breakdown of Coach Long's 3-3-5 defense. In addition, there will be sound bites of assistant head coach Jeff Horton during training camp, as well as sit-down interviews with quarterback Quinn Kaehler, defensive back J.J. Whittaker, wide receiver Ezell Ruffin and linebacker Derek Largent to share their expectations for the upcoming season and what it's like to play for Coach Long.
The weekly show will give unprecedented access to the SDSU program and Long, the Mountain West's all-time leader in victories and two-time MW Coach of the Year. It will be hosted by Kris Budden and will feature former SDSU quarterback Kevin O'Connell as the analyst.
The Aztecs return 12 starters and 35 letterwinners from a team that finished 8-5 overall and 6-2 in Mountain West play a year ago, culminating with a victory over Buffalo, 49-24, in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. With its bowl game appearance, SDSU became one of only 29 teams in the nation, and one of just five non-BCS schools, to play in a bowl game in each of the last four seasons.
SDSU kicks off the 2014 season on Aug. 30 at 4 p.m. PT, when it welcomes Northern Arizona to Qualcomm Stadium. San Diego State was picked to finish second in the West Division of the MW with 172 points, just two points behind back-to-back champion Fresno State (174). Both teams had 15 first-place votes apiece.