Sept. 1, 2016
2016 Mick McGrane Features
Continuity Makes a Comeback (Jan. 15)
SDSU Hits its Stride in Recruiting Race (Feb. 4)
Aztecs Knock Down Doors on Recruiting Trail (Feb. 9)
Ernie Lawson Comes Home to New World (March 17)
Juwan Washington now has Room to Roam (March 21)
Peer Pressure? Not for Christian Chapman (Aug. 8)
Penny is Worth Every Cent to Aztecs (Aug. 18)
Football has Never Been More Fun for Nico Siragusa (Aug. 19)
Nobody is Perfect, but Alex Barrett is Closing Fast (Aug. 28)
McGrane: Aztecs Force Future with a Premium on Past
By Mick McGrane, @GoAztecs Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
GAME CENTERGameday Times & Broadcast Info
- Opponent: New Hampshire Wildcats
- Kickoff: 5:30 PM PT
- Radio: ESPN 1700 AM, 105.7 MAX FM
- Online: Live Stats
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There was a time when the names faded as fast as the forgettable seasons, their careers ultimately littering the desolate intersection of Anonymity and Irrelevant.
Senior Nights became less a moment of distinction than an insignificant sendoff, another San Diego State player who had dreamed of making a difference and discovered the foundation to be straddling a far-too-active fault line.
There was nothing to build upon, no tradition to trumpet. For a decade it was like watching Moe anoint Curly with a frying pan so many times that you ultimately laughed not out of humor but hysteria, knowing full well that next year would be no different.
Times best forgotten, times that begged being forgotten. And, mercifully, times that in 2016 have been buried in the proverbial bone yard.
As expectations swell and the Aztecs' season opener nears, a practice has developed that is common to programs of stature and forever lacking in those that struggle: An iron-clad bond between those currently toting the torch and those who handed it down.
"We don't have guys coming back (to campus) very often, because they're all trying to start careers," said head coach Rocky Long. "But you get a lot of text messages from them. And when they are in town, they'll just wander into (the football offices) and bust right into meetings.
"The guys who have been in this program over the last five or six years feel very excited to be part of this. And they want to remain part of it as long as they can. What has changed dramatically is the guys from the old era who maybe weren't as comfortable when they were here. Now they want to be part of it, too. They're comfortable now and they feel proud."
Perhaps that's why only moments before addressing the media earlier this week, senior offensive lineman Nico Siragusa received a call from former teammate Pearce Slater. An undrafted free agent signed in April by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Slater started 27 straight games at right tackle for the Aztecs the past two seasons.
"I just think about how much I learned from the seniors that I've been around, the offensive linemen like the Terry Pooles, the Bryce Quigleys, the Pearce Slaters and the Darrell Greenes," Siragusa said of a program that enters Saturday's game against New Hampshire ranked No. 24 by Sports Illustrated, No. 25 by ESPN and sporting a 10-game win streak. "I give them a lot of credit. Those guys are one of the main reasons why we're here.
"What was it, six years ago, when those guys went to their first bowl game (SDSU had been absent from the postseason for 11 years)? Those seniors never would have started the winning tradition or even given us the chance to sit here now and talk about going undefeated.
"So, it's not just last year's seniors. It's the seniors who go all the way back to 2010. They're the ones who are responsible."
Responsible for a winning percentage that, in Long's first five seasons, has jumped to .683 after plunging to .213 prior to his appointment.
Responsible for advancing to a school-record six bowl games, a feat matched by only 25 schools nationally and just three from Group of 5 conferences (Boise State, Northern Illinois).
Responsible for 52 wins over the past six seasons, the most in a six-year period at SDSU since 1972-77 (55).
And, more importantly, responsible for resurrecting respect for a program that always had potential but sorely lacked for pride. No more. Last season's record of 11-3 marked the first time the Aztecs posted 11 wins in a single season in 46 years. That's not merely righting the ship, that's setting sail for the horizon with the throttle wide open.
"They've set the bar high," senior linebacker Calvin Munson said of the 15 seniors who bid adieu following the 2015 season. "We had a rough start last year (1-3), but they always kept us going and we finished with a great season. We're trying to keep that going and have not only a great start, but a great finish, as well."
While likely drawing rapt attention from former players who no longer need cower when crowing about their school. One of those former players, Chester Pitts, will serve as the team's "Honor Warrior" at Saturday's game. A walk-on who never played high school football, Pitts became a two-year starter at left tackle for the Aztecs, yielding just one sack. He ultimately earned first-team All-Mountain West and third-team All-America honors and developed into a standout pro, starting 119 of 121 games in eight years with the Houston Texans.
Yet like many Aztec players who never enjoyed a winning season from 1999 through 2009, Pitts (1999-01) left SDSU having endured campaigns of 5-6, 3-8 and 3-8. Now, 15 years after his exit, the Aztecs are being recognized as a Top 25 program and enter 2016 as the defending MW champion, having leveled their past 10 opponents by an average of 23.7 points.
Wake up the echoes, indeed.
"The guys that came before us always led by example," said senior linebacker Calvin Munson. "They were great players and great leaders who were the same way on and off the field. We're just trying to follow in their footsteps and remember how they motivated us to get better."