HONOLULU -- A trip to Pearl Harbor highlighted San Diego State's busiest day of the Hawai'i Bowl week Wednesday in Honolulu.
The day began in early Hawaii Standard Time with national early signing day, where the Aztecs signed 18 student-athletes to either National Letters of Intent or Grant-in-Aids.
"We're very happy with what we have been able to accomplish in recruiting," head coach Brady Hoke said. "Our recruiting department has done a good job, we are excited about who is coming to be an Aztec. (Keeping the San Diego kids home) is exactly what we wanted to get done. We wanted to keep the guys, and great players in the community, home here in San Diego, and I think we did a nice job with that."
SDSU then practiced in the nation's 50th state for the second time of the week, this time at Kamehameha Schools Kapalama on the beautiful 600-acre hillside campus, home of former San Diego State linebacker Andrew Aleki. San Diego State practiced for a little over an hour in its final hard practice of the season under a glaring sun and temperatures in the low 80s.
"The last few days have been good for us," senior linebacker Michael Shawcroft said. "Today was the main practice to really prepare us for the game and finish up the fine details. I thought we had a good practice and got to work in a great facility."
In arguably the most important event among all the bowls each season, the Aztecs then visited Pearl Harbor. The team walked around the grounds, remembering those who perished on that day of infamy on Dec. 7, 1941. SDSU also watched a touching a video on the Pearl Harbor bombing and visited the USS Arizona Memorial.
"It's important for the student-athletes while they are at the bowl site to see the local culture and today we got to see the USS Arizona Memorial," San Diego State director of athletics John David Wicker said. "It's an important part of the history of our United States and it was a great opportunity for them to learn about the sacrifices of our military. We live in San Diego and we are a military town, so we are very excited they got that opportunity today (at Pearl Harbor)."
"It was great coming here and learning a lot about our history," senior specialist David Delgado said. "It was just great to be a part of it. I had never been here before, so it was a good experience to learn about (this history of Pearl Harbor). We had a great time here and it was an awesome experience."
San Diego State's evening finished with a visit to Waikiki's only oceanfront luau and dinner show at The Royal Hawaiian, which commemorated Hawaiian culture with entertainment alongside a delicious and traditional Hawaiian meal.
The Aztecs will practice Thursday for the final time of the year save a Friday walk-through.
San Diego State (7-5) will play Middle Tennessee State (7-5) in the 2022 EasyPost Hawai`i Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 3 p.m. HST (5 p.m. PST). The Aztecs are in a bowl game for the 12th time in the last 13 seasons after withdrawing from consideration in the shortened 2020 COVID season.