Past 2025 Fall Camp Recaps
Coach Lewis Press Conference - July 28
Practice No. 1 - July 30
Practice No. 2 - July 31
Practice No. 3 - Aug. 1
Coach Lewis Post-Practice - Aug. 4
SAN DIEGO -- Following their first day off from camp on Sunday, the San Diego State football team returned to practice on Monday morning.
After morning meetings, the Aztecs participated in a walk-thru, warm-ups and stretching, before practicing for over two hours on the on-campus facility. SDSU practiced in shells for a third consecutive practice under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the low-70s with a slight breeze with rap and hip-hop music from the early 2000s playing in the background.
Utilizing both the turf field and grass field, San Diego State did position drills, special teams drills, individual drills, team compete, 1-on-1s, team execution, tempo skelly and team play-it (play out drives) to end practice. The defense remained undefeated in camp in the team compete drills, earning popsicles after practice.
Head coach Sean Lewis has been happy with fall camp so far.
“We had a great first day of the second quarter of camp and brought some really good energy,” said Lewis. “We got in some situational work with third down, normal down and distance, and we are starting to layer situation concepts. The guys handled it great. (We had) really good competitive spirit, really good competitive maturity. Now we need to be able to sustain it as we go, but I’m please where we're at.”
With a lot of turnover from last year, especially on offense, Lewis has leaned on former Aztec men’s basketball head coach Steve Fisher. Fisher spoke to the team yesterday.
“We wanted to be really purposeful and really intentional about the people that we put in front of the guys through the first three quarters here at camp,” said Lewis. “And so when you have a living legend who has reached the mountain top of winning the national championship, taking over the program here 25 years ago, and going from what they did year one in the 1999-00 season to obviously where the program is now. And within that tenure, there's only been Coach Fisher and Coach Dutcher. Obviously there is that connection and continuity throughout. Just getting a chance to visit with Coach Fish a little bit and getting a chance to visit with Coach Dutcher a little bit, there's just a lot of parallels. There's a lot of similarities. To bring in an outside voice, regardless of sport, (talking about) what it takes to win, establishing a culture, building a program, building a team, having those connections. There's no one's got more wisdom than him.”
One of the more intriguing competitions in the fall is at the wide receiver position. Jordan Napier is the top returning wide receiver with 43 catches for 440 yards and four touchdowns, but no other current wide receiver has a catch in an Aztec uniform. Gone from last year’s squad are Ja’Shaun Poke (50 rec., 459 yds., 1 TD), Louis Brown IV (38 rec., 620 yds., 3 TD), Nate Bennett (22 rec., 314 yds., 1 TD) and Mekhi Shaw (15 rec., 160 yds., 2 TD).
SDSU has added transfer wide receivers Myles Kitt-Denton (Northwestern State and Central Arkansas), Donovan Brown (Syracuse), Jacob Bostick (Texas A&M) and Nathan Acevedo (Fresno State). Kitt-Denton has totaled 33 career catches for 596 yards and six touchdowns, while Brown’s last Division I season at Syracuse in 2023 was 27 catches for 321 yards and a touchdown. Acevedo had nine catches for 65 yards last year for the Bulldogs, while Bostick had a 14-yard catch in his time at Texas A&M.
“It's just time on task,” passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Lanear Sampson said. “You have them in a meeting room and you take time to explain the plays; you take time to explain the why behind it and explain the whole concept. It's good to have them in meetings talking through the plays, but actually get out on the field is the best way. Coming out to the walk-thru’s we have and all the plays we run and the type of offense we have, that helps them learn the plays faster.”
One of the things that drew Kitt-Denton to SDSU was the culture.
“This team has great culture and we really mesh together,” said Kitt-Denton. “It was easy to hit the ground running when everybody's hanging out outside of football practice and we're going out and doing stuff together. The offense is really fun right now, because of that unity that we created on your own over the summer.”
“Myles got here in January and he's picking (the offense) up and playing well,” added Sampson. “You know the type of player he is. He's here for a reason. So obviously we expect a lot of things from him and he’s going to be able to give us that.”
Redshirt freshman Will Cianfrini has also stood out early in practice. Cianfrini redshirted last year after playing one season at nearby Carlsbad High School and two years before at Ball High School in Galveston, Texas. In his lone season at Carlsbad HS, he had 24 catches for 425 yards and five touchdowns. He mentions last year as a good time to learn from the veterans.
“I felt like (last year’s redshirt season) was a good opportunity for me to learn from everybody ahead of me, especially the older guys that kind of took me under their wing,” said Cianfrini. “Coach Lewis and Coach Sampson are doing a great job developing me, and (strength & conditioning) coach Jeff Sobol has helped me in the weight room. I just put on weight and tried to gain as much knowledge as I could from all the older guys. That has put me into position where I am today.
“I'm a competitor at heart, so I'm always going to work hard. I'm not going to back down from anybody. I’m going to go 100 percent. It’s really just putting my best foot forward and just doing the best I can.”
Sampson echoed Cianfrini’s hard work on and off the field.
“Will was on the scout team last year and the way he worked on the scout team was incredible,” said Sampson. “He gave us great effort and gave the defense looks every day. Then he comes out in the spring and comes out in fall camp, and is having a good showing right now. I'm proud of him, and he's matured a lot over the year.”
Sampson said that there is more depth in this year’s receiving group.
“The competitive depth is amazing and that's the best thing,” added Sampson. “When you have competitive depth in your room, everybody's game rises and it's been great to see. They push each other in a positive way. Obviously it's only three to four guys on the field, but the way they go about it, the way they lean on each other and learn from each other and the connection that we have in that room is outstanding. If they continue to do that, we’ll be OK.”
The sixth of 24 fall practices before the opener against Stony Brook on Thursday, Aug. 28 at Snapdragon Stadium is set for Tuesday morning.
San Diego State also has home games vs. California (Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. PT), Colorado State (Oct. 3 at 7:30 p.m. PT), Wyoming (Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. PT), Boise State (Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. PT) and San Jose State (Nov. 22, time TBA).
Fan Fest Information
The San Diego State football team will host its annual Fan Fest on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Snapdragon Stadium.
Admission to the Aug. 14 Fan Fest is free, but all fans will need to claim their ticket in advance at https://am.ticketmaster.com/sdsu/buy/AztecFanFest. Fans may claim up to four tickets. If you need additional tickets, please call the Aztec Ticket Office at (619) 283-SDSU (7378). Parking is $10 and can also be purchased at the same link.
The parking lot opens at 5 p.m. PT with the gates opening at 6 p.m. Kickoff is set for 7:05 p.m. PT.
The team store and select concessions will also be open.
Ticket Information
Season Tickets
Season tickets for the 2025 campaign start at just $200 ($175 plus $25 Aztec Club Membership), only $33.33 per game. Fans are encouraged to purchase season tickets with benefits featuring interest-free payment plans, pre-sale access for most third-party events, and discounts on merchandise at the team store, additional single-game tickets and food/beverage. Additionally, season-ticket members will have the ability to purchase discounted season parking, access to a personal account representative and the ability to transfer and resell tickets digitally.
To purchase, or renew, your season tickets, visit goaztecs.com/sports/football-tickets.
Mini Plans
For the first time, fans can now build their own three-game mini-plan completely online. Fans can choose from any of SDSU’s six home games and save on single-game fees. Fans can also leverage their three-game mini-plans into becoming a season-ticket member. For example, purchasing an Orange Mini-Plan puts you just $39 away from becoming a season-ticket member. Contact the SDSU Athletics Ticket Sales Office at (619) 594-9834 to discuss other ways to save money while enjoying San Diego State football.
Single-Game Tickets
Single-game tickets can be also purchased Monday for as low as $23, which includes all fees.