Feb. 9, 2016
SAN DIEGO -
Past Mick McGrane Features
2014
Kaehler: A Thinking Man's Game (Aug. 5)
Whittaker: Long Time Gone, Never Forgotten (Aug. 6)
Life in the Weight Room: Hall's Strong Suit (Aug. 15)
Roberts: A Career Comes Full Circle (Aug. 21)
The Season's in Session, Take Your Seats (Aug. 29)
How Quickly we Forget (Sept. 7)
Looks can be Deceiving (Sept. 19)
O-Line has Aztecs' Running Game in High Gear (Oct. 23)
Falling Short is no Longer an Option for Aztec Football (Nov. 29)
Winds of Change: "Rise To 25" Fuels New Direction for Football (Dec. 23)
Pumphrey in Need of a Playing Partner (Dec. 24)
2015
Football no Longer Needs Sun to Sell Itself (Feb. 4)
Aztec Football is Flush with Experience in 2015 (Feb. 20)
Regardless of Road, Whittaker's Future is Flush with Success (July 23)
Gordon no Longer Wrestling with Football Future (July 30)
Kazee has the Corner Covered in Aztec D (Aug. 5)
Hageman has Given Boot to Aztec Kicking Woes (Aug. 14)
Life is a Snap for Aztecs' Overbaugh (Aug. 21)
Munson Shines upon Emerging From Shadows (Aug. 28)
Pumphrey Prioritizes Winning in Rush to Stardom (Sept. 2)
Aztecs Positioned to Take Next Step in '15 (Sept. 4)
Aztecs Look to Get Offense in Gear (Sept. 6)
Penny's Stock Rising on Rate of Returns (Sept. 7)
Sorry, No Apologies Forthcoming (Sept. 11)
Seeking a Solution at Quarterback (Sept. 18)
Aztecs, Hauck Have Something Special (Oct. 2)
Aztecs Positioned to Make Statement (Oct. 22)
Aztecs Deliver Message to MW (Oct. 24)
Aztecs' O-Line Removing All Doubt (Oct. 30)
Aztecs' Offense in High Gear (Nov. 15)
Long has Razed, Resurrected Aztecs (Nov. 20)
Aztecs Have Taken the Long Way Home (Nov. 27)
Aztecs Roll with Punches --- and Pumphrey (Nov. 29)
A Future Flush with Fortune (Dec. 2)
A New Dark Side Dawns at SDSU (Dec. 4)
SDSU's Potential Packed with Promise (Dec. 6)
For Aztec Fans, the Fun has Just Begun (Dec. 12)
2016
Continuity Makes a Comeback (Jan. 15)
SDSU Hits Its Stride in Recruiting Race (Feb. 4)
Aztecs Knock Down Doors on Recruiting Trail
By Mick McGrane, @GoAztecs Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
It was often promised but seldom practiced, San Diego State football coaches vowing to keep local talent at home, to break new ground in regions of the country where no Aztec recruiter had gone before.
In theory, it was noble. In the end, it was much ado about nothing. Highly-decorated players from throughout San Diego County were signed, sealed and delivered to points east, west, north and south before SDSU finished knocking on the door. As for exploring new territory, let's just say that a day's drive was daring.
If you never know another thing about Rocky Long, know this: He has little fear of closed doors and even less of flying, just in the event distance may dissuade a potential recruit.
Is there any other reason for an offensive tackle from inner-city Philadelphia to cast his lot with a program 2,700 miles removed, as 6-foot-7, 345-pound Yasir Durant did?
Is there any other reason why a two-time all-state linebacker from Oregon would rebuff offers from three Power 5 schools to come to San Diego State, as Kaelin Himphill did?
Is there any other reason why Long and his staff were able to sell four San Diego Section All-CIF players on staying rather than straying?
Winning fixes plenty, but so does grinding.
"I will say that our coaches did an outstanding job," said Long, the first coach in 15 years to last longer than five seasons at SDSU. "They worked extremely hard. They were all over the country. They recruited against, in my opinion, people we haven't recruited against much in the past. We are getting in a lot more homes of more highly-recruited players than we have in the past. Our coaches did a nice job of getting in there and slugging it out with some of those other schools."
Consider: Of the Aztecs' 24 signees in the Class of 2016, 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. That's a statement, a shout-from-the-highest-hill and damn-the-torpedoes statement. A statement proclaiming that whatever passed for football here in the past is forever buried 'neath the sod, never again to rear its unsettling and unsightly head.
Incoming freshman Chase Jasmin, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound running back from Westlake High, may never see the field next season. With Donnel Pumphrey on the verge of becoming the school's all-time leading rusher, and talented redshirt freshman Juwan Washington entering the mix, Jasmin is joining a running back corps with the depth of an abyss.
Nonetheless, Jasmin turned down offers from no fewer than five Pac-12 schools, including Arizona, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State, to join a program that last season finished four spots removed from the AP Top 25.
"Some people couldn't believe I (turned down) that many offers from Pac-12 schools, but I think San Diego State is really starting to prove that it can be on that same level," said Jasmin, who also drew interest from USC. "This is an up-and-coming program that's probably going to be in the Top 25 to start the season next year, and I can't wait to get there and be a part of it. Players around Ventura County are really starting to notice what San Diego State has done and how successful it can be."
Other 2016 signees who received offers from multiple Pac-12 schools but opted to play at SDSU include Carlsbad High linebacker Troy Cassidy (Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Washington State); defensive back Tayler Hawkins (Arizona State, Colorado, Washington and Washington State); and the aforementioned Himphill (Arizona, Oregon State and Utah).
In all, nearly half (11) of SDSU's signees spurned offers from Power 5 schools, including Philadelphia's Durant, who also had the option of signing with Arizona State, Illinois, North Carolina and Texas Tech.
"I see a team that's ready to compete with the top teams in the nation, and I'm super-excited about this opportunity," Himphill said. "A lot of people questioned why I picked San Diego State over a Power 5 team, but it was definitely the best fit for me. I see it as a program where I can really maximize my potential as a football player and as a student-athlete.
"I think San Diego State is ready to move onto the same level as the Pac-12. I see them ready to compete with the major conferences year in and year out. I think it also shows that San Diego State can compete with those schools recruiting-wise."
Compete and win. Imagine that.