Nov. 25, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
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)
Washington now has Room to Roam (March 21)
Peer Pressure? Not for Chapman (Aug. 8)
Penny is Worth Every Cent to Aztecs (Aug. 18)
Football has Never Been More Fun for Siragusa (Aug. 19)
Nobody is Perfect, but Barrett is Closing Fast (Aug. 28)
Aztecs Force Future with a Premium on Past (Sept. 1)
Chapman Earns More than Passing Grade (Sept. 4)
Aztecs Have Put Critics in Their Corner (Sept. 9)
College Football Makes Comeback in San Diego (Sept. 11)
Veteran Leadership is Treasured Commodity (Sept. 15)
SDSU Shuns Fence in Favor of Fortress (Sept. 22)
Life is neither Necessarily Easy nor Fair (Oct. 7)
Pumphrey, Penny and Pick your Poison (Oct. 9)
For Hauck, Teach Outweighs Turbulence (Oct. 13)
Aztecs' Defense in State of Denial (Oct. 22)
Aztecs Taking no Prisoners in Homestretch (Nov. 6)
Block Party Rages on for O-Line (Nov. 18)
McGrane: Seniors Can Savor Lasting Legacy
By Mick McGrane, GoAztecs.com Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
Donnel Pumphrey was in his second day of fall camp in 2013 when former San Diego State and current New York Giant Nat Berhe introduced himself.
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- Kickoff: 6 p.m. PT
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To be sure, it was far less a hi-how-are-you than a collision of magnitude, a scout team freshman running back meeting a menacing senior strong safety with little but mayhem in mind.
"He gave me a pretty good lick and knocked my mouthpiece out," Pumphrey recalled last season. "But he was a guy who never gave less than 100 percent in practice, and it just made me want to succeed even more. After that, they put me in with the starters."
And sent him on his way to stardom.
On Saturday, in the regular-season finale against Colorado State, Pumphrey and 17 of his senior teammates will make what will likely be the final appearance of their collegiate careers at Qualcomm Stadium.
For some, Pumphrey included, the fortune of an NFL future awaits. For others, the fame will soon fade.
But know this: For all involved, the senior class of 2016 won't soon be forgotten.
"I'm going to miss them when they're gone," said head coach Rocky Long. "They have great pride in what they've done. We had our senior meeting (earlier this week) and the question they had was if they could become the winningest senior class that's ever been here. They don't remember the (success SDSU had in the) '60s, but in the last 39 years there have only been four teams on this campus that have had nine or more wins and all four of them have been since 2010. They should take a lot of pride in that."
Pride in forever burying a past littered with losing seasons. Pride in extending a series of seven straight bowl appearances. Pride in seizing at least a share of three straight MW West Division titles and giving the Aztecs a shot at consecutive conference crowns for the first time since 1973-74.
Pride in knowing they've done their part.
"I think we've set the bar pretty high," said senior Malik Smith, who anchors one of the defense's two Warrior positions. "People expect a lot of things now. When I first got here, we lost some games. People hoped you would win, but it wasn't highly expected. Now you lose two games and it's like it's the end of the world. But we've definitely set expectations high the last couple of years, and they're going to have to keep reaching that bar every year after we're gone."
Their reach will require matching their resolve, something this senior class will never be accused of lacking. Since the beginning of 2012, the Aztecs rank 20th nationally in win percentage with a mark of 44-20 (68.8 percent). SDSU, the only MW team to win three straight division titles, needed just five league contests to clinch a spot in the Dec. 3 championship game.
But it's more than that. It's the impact the 2016 class had on image, on elbowing its way into the Top 25, on peddling prosperity to potential recruits. Of the Aztecs' 24 signees in February, more than one-third (nine) spurned offers from Pac-12 schools. That's not merely slugging it out, that's coming away with a win never witnessed in SDSU's history of slugging it out.
"I think the players we sign now are completely different than the ones we signed the first year I was here (2009)," Long said. "Now we're getting players who buy into our system on offense and defense. They buy into our system of off-season workouts and they buy into our system of how we expect them to act.
"The first couple of years, you're just trying to get more talent and you're still trying to establish your system. Now we have an established way of doing things and we get kids who like the way we do it. I don't think it's dramatically changed the talent level. If you look back at some of the teams that didn't win many games (before his arrival at SDSU), those teams had a lot more players drafted than we have. But we would also beat those teams by 50 points."
Team over individual talent. Camaraderie superseding self-worth. An unwritten code enforced by Long's senior classes stipulating that you're either all-in or on your way out.
"The program is in a position right now where everybody expects us to be competitive and everybody expects us to compete for a conference championship," Long said. "And that's good; everybody's in this business to be successful. So if the expectations are that way, your program usually continues in that vain because the kids coming into the program realize that those are the expectations. And I think these (seniors) came in when those expectations were starting to develop. They came here wanting to embrace it and to try and continue it."
Pumphrey, behind an offensive line whose five starters include four seniors, not only embraced it, his pursuit of former SDSU great Marshall Faulk's rushing record put it back on the map. A finalist for the Doak Walker Award, presented annually to the nation's top running back, he is 271 yards removed from passing ex-Wisconsin standout Ron Dayne to become the all-time leading rusher in NCAA FBS history.
"It's just crazy that it's our last game," Pumphrey said. "I never thought it would come this fast, and it's just been an incredible four years being part of this program.
"My family has always been one of the first ones there for the Warrior Walk, and knowing it's my last time there, I know I'm going to cry. We just want to leave Qualcomm with a bang."
History would suggest chances are on their side. The Aztecs, who have won 10 straight home games (14 straight at home against Mountain West opponents), are bidding to become the program's first team in 20 years to finish unbeaten at home.
But for 18 seniors, who prior to last week's loss at Wyoming were part of 17 straight league wins, who were part of the team's best start after 10 games (9-1) since 1977, the curtain is far from closing. While losing at Wyoming likely cost the Aztecs a chance to host next week's MW title game, they're also guaranteed an opportunity to win it for the second straight year.
And no MW team can lay claim to that accomplishment.
"It's going to be pretty emotional," Smith said. "I love this place; I've dedicated four years of my life to this place. There have been ups and downs, but I have so many great memories here, all of the great people I've met. I know it's going to be pretty emotional for a lot of our seniors.
"I think it's really going to hit me before the game starts. The last Warrior Walk, the last time you run onto the field. Then you just play ball. But after the game, I'm sure it's going to hit me again. Probably even harder."
It's Senior Day. It happens. After all, success still comes with a price.