SAN DIEGO – It’s Wednesday, with the San Diego State football team taking advantage of their second bye week of the season and preparing for what is arguably the toughest stretch of games on their slate.
As the Aztecs (3-3, 2-0 Mountain West) look to build on their two-game winning streak, next week features homecoming against Washington State (5-1), followed by a trip to Boise State (5-1, 2-0) and a visit from New Mexico (2-4, 1-1) before traveling to UNLV (5-1, 2-0).
“It’s more intentional focus to our purposeful process of not just wanting to survive, but to be able to dominate and our mindset and our approach each every single week and every single moment we get,” said head coach Sean Lewis.
“(It’s) do I know and do I obsess about the details of my job and my craft and do I have the urgency and immediacy to get it done and corrected today so then I can go out and I can perfect my craft and refine my skill because I’m practicing good habits…
“It’s something that’s near and dear to my heart and it’s a mindset that is going to be cultivated since we got here all the way through and that job is never done.”
While the team has been working towards that further refinement and fine detailing this week during practices, over the weekend the coaching staff will be back on the recruiting trail.
Here are some focal points from this bye week:
White leading front that’s hungry for more
Before the season Trey White wrote the number ‘10’ on his whiteboard as a goal for sacks this season.
After four straight games with multiple sacks have him leading the nation with 11.0 sacks and 15.0 tackles for loss, he’s since updated that number – the program-record 21 sacks set by Mike Douglass in 1973.
“I’m not worried about leading the country or anything, I’m just worried about my goals for sure,” White said.
Boise State (29) is the only team with more sacks than SDSU – the 25 scarlet and black sacks have already surpassed three full season totals since 2014 and is tied with the 2018 squad’s output. The Aztecs are also tied for 18th in the country with 42 tackles for loss.
White credits the chemistry for the unit’s success thus far.
“Every day we show up, we show up with the right energy and we're just a really close group,” White said. “I love the way we come and show up to work every day — those are like my brothers, so they can ask me about anything. I feel the same way about them, so I feel like we're really close.”
At the Monday press conference Lewis noted the importance of supporting the AztecLink collective, a point that reminds of how college football functions in the NIL era and the likely interest White will receive with the numbers he has put up.
“I ’m not really worried about that right now,” said White, a San Diego-native and graduate of Eastlake High.
“The grass isn't always greener on the other side… I just want to have my best shots and make it to the league and wherever that is.
“I know SDSU can get players out to the league, so wherever that is, that's where I'm going to be at.”
Maybe White can talk with the next player he’s set to pass on SDSU’s single season record list about that — Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, who recorded 12 sacks in 1997 and 1999. SDSU’s career sacks leader with 33.0 earned a Pro Bowl selection and a spot in the Green Back Packers Hall of Fame over his nine-year NFL career.
Sharpening special teams up and down
While Tyler Pastula had previously punted in an FCS quarterfinal at Idaho while playing for the Albany Great Danes, the experience at Wyoming on Saturday was unlike anything he’d experienced before.
“That was definitely the extreme of the extreme… It was very fun, that warmup was by far one of the most fun times I’ve had,” Pastula said.
In a game where the senior punter booted a 75 yarder — which he expressed disappointment at hitting so far that it went into the end zone — it was Pastula’s 29-yard kick that pinned the Cowboys at their own 7-yard line with 21 seconds remaining that helped SDSU seal the deal.
“It was crazy to see how much my natural swing can go in elevation,” he said. “I just feel like me putting that in the corner when putting that backswing, but also making sure that the first and foremost, getting the ball off was the most important part there.”
For a punter that has been asked to move the pocket some amongst additional new things, t’s that kind of attention to detail which associate head coach and special teams coordinator Zac Barton is looking to hone in on for the second half of the season.
“I tell the specialists all the time, the snapper, the punter and the kicker, they can be so good on reps that nobody else matters,” Barton said. “(But) I think schematically, everyone understanding things – our punt protection can be unique at times…
“Understanding that it can change based off of someone's alignment and then be able to pick that up on their own.”
Barton also had praise for kicker Gabriel Plascencia, whose confidence the coach said has never waivered and has had “practice repetition become reality” by making all of his kick attempts and had seven touchbacks over the past two games.
Additionally, the kick coverage units have allowed an average of 15.27 yards on the 11 kickoff returns as well as an average of 5.9 yards on 10 punt returns. Efforts from Brady Anderson, Jelani McLaughin, Jatavious Magee, Max Garrison and Josh Hunter were all mentioned amongst the group of players that have made it happen.
“If we keep doing that, if I keep doing that and my coverage team gets denting down there, it’s going to be hard for (opponents) to sustain long drive after long drive after long drive,” Pastula said. “Hopefully I can do my part, and away we go.”
