The final week of SDSU’s spring football season is here. From March 11 to April 19, the Aztecs under new Head Coach Sean Lewis & staff, focused on implementing new systems and cultures in preparation for the upcoming 2024 season.
The culmination of all that hard work will be put on display when San Diego State’s Aztec FAST Showcase takes place. The showcase is set for this Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. inside Snapdragon Stadium’s Bashor Field.
Tickets for the event are free and can be purchased by visiting goaztecs.com/AztecFAST.
AztecFAST, the trademark style offense by Coach Lewis, is no stranger to the big stage.
Last season Sean Lewis, in the role of Offensive Coordinator, installed his ‘FAST’ offense at the University of Colorado. Undoubtedly they made waves within the college football world when the Buffalos came out hot out of the gates with his brand of football against some of the top opponents in the Nation.
Working alongside Head Coach and NFL Hall of Fame player Deion Sanders in the final year of PAC-12 play, Lewis’ creation was placed under the brightest spotlight for praise. It was also subsequently critiqued under the strongest of microscopes as the year slipped away from the Buffaloes.
“Every situation that you go into has its different strengths & weaknesses to it.” said Coach Lewis this week as he addressed the local media.
In preparation of his first season at San Diego State, media outlets were limited to viewing only the first 45 minutes of each practice this Spring.
This may have created a certain air of mystery to this years AztecFAST team. By all indications over 5,500 tickets have been claimed by Aztecs fans hoping to catch a glimpse of all the excitement.
“Every year one is uniquely different as you’re implementing your systems and schemes as you go through it. And the relationships with the people in the staff are different in each spot.”
Uniquely different indeed. Last season’s Colorado team featured 53 transfers to the roster. This years Aztecs team currently sits around 23 and should be expected to climb with the portal now open again—beginning on April 16 and closing April 30.
Drastic turnover on team rosters may prove to be a year-in-year-out reality in this new world of NIL & transfer portals. But it was the sudden changes within Lewis’ coaching staff, just a few short months into his hiring, that stresses the new relationships he’s having to build on-top of with his player roster.
But for a program that’s hit the reset button altogether coming into this 2024 season, Lewis is making the most out of that situation.
“Its been a great challenge & opportunity. It’s given us an opportunity to really establish the physical identity that we want to have and that works never done. We’re gonna continue to work through all the different ways we can get that done through development and talent acquisition.”
With over 600 players jumping into the portal Coach Lewis knows he will have to be AztecFAST in his decisions on adding players. With several areas of need especially on the offensive line, his stated priority is that they don’t disrupt from the hard work with the newly built culture in the locker room.
Lewis has a few scholarships in his back pocket still to give out. It’s the ‘flash’ of his offense that is the attraction to getting good players to consider SDSU. But it’s two main factors that will sustain those players into making their decision to be an Aztec.
“Our offense is probably a mut that you found at the pound, that you end up bringing in your home and love forever and ever and ever. It’s not a pure blood of any one thing—but man its ours and we absolutely love it.” – SDSU Head Coach Sean Lewis
Fun & Knowledgable Football
“You got some run & shoot, some veer, some two back Badger principles,” Lewis lists off the many formations that comprise of what Aztec fans can expect to see this season. “Some more with coach Schmidt’s background to it … its gonna be a little bit of everything.”
The SDSU program has tried to take strides in this direction the last several years. A more open offense to captivate the young players in the way the game has been trending.
“I think thats what makes it fun for our kids to grab ahold of as they’re trained & developed in it. There won’t be an element of the game, when they sit with an NFL decision maker, that they don’t know about.”
“They can talk about ball at a very high level and conceptual understanding of West Coast principles, inside zone, outside zone, screen game, flood concepts, high low concepts, crossers, shallows … You have it, we got it in our system.“
High Energy
Sounds like a whole lot of teaching going on. And where there’s teaching, you hope there’s learning.
These young Aztecs are college men after all. With distractions all around and in many forms—highly educated, physical, and disciplined football takes a whole staff to ensure it is being done effectively. In year one, it will be a steep learning curve. Having the highest of energy to match the depths of complexities in his schemes is one constant that has been there all Spring and we’ll see come Saturday.
“I think its our job as coaches—particular as the head coach—if I don’t embody all the things we ask the kids to do—these kids are smart—if coach says XYZ about ABC, but then he comes out here and he doesn’t have any juice or energy, they’ll look at me like coach is a hypocrite.”
Coach Lewis ‘gets it’. And he knows he needs more than himself to be successful.
“So simply put, I want our kids and I … to be around people in our organization that love what they do. That have a passion for this game, that love to compete, love pouring into other people. So I’m gonna do that, because I’m passionate about those things.”
Conducting himself in this passionate manor has gotten Lewis to this point and he knows it. With only a limited amount of time Lewis holds himself and this program to being able to create an environment that allows his team to maximize their abilities and time on the Mesa.
“I’m never gonna take that for granted.”
What To Look For At the Spring Showcase
Creating an environment on the football field has been addressed by the SDSU Athletic Department with the hire of Coach Lewis. This Saturday will indicate if the mentality is shared by the whole of the University when it comes to creating the same fun and high energy environment for the fans who pay their hard earned dollars inside of the stadium.
The hottest day in San Diego’s Mission Valley kicked off the beginning of SDSU football at Snapdragon Stadium and thus began a series of calamities. Poor performances on the field, miscalculated ticket prices, led to dwindling crowd attendance and drops in season ticket renewals.
It all manifested a lack-luster game day experience in what is otherwise one of the state of the art college football facilities in the nation. New attitude on the field, should lead towards a new attitude in the game day production for the displaced alumni & football fans seeking a team to latch onto.
“I think if you’re not pressing limits, pressing boundaries, you’re just kind of living in that status quo things get boring for the kids. It gets boring for me.” Lewis explains when it comes to his mad science labeled mentality.
Snapdragon Stadium we all know is merely two seasons old. It will need the alumni and athletic department’s guidance to truly make the stadium feel like home. New rituals, traditions, chants, production, involving all of the senses, take time to conceptualize and implement. But it’s the allowance of the traditions of old Aztec football in Mission Valley that will need to be cherished and not feared, if Aztec football is ever able to truly grab this city’s attention as it did in the days of Air Coryell.
“We want to challenge ways that we’re doing things. We can get some inspiration from things that other people are doing but we want to make it uniquely our own. So if that makes us a little crazy and we get the label as a mad scientist, cool. So be it.”
With no other football game in town that can match SDSU, the days of apathy should be no more.
What NOT To Look For At the Spring Showcase
For fans hoping to see this AztecFAST offense on full display, this is not the day.
When asked wether this spring showcase was in any way more important than the other practices throughout the spring, Lewis ensured it was just 1 practice out of the last 15.
It will be more of an open practice than it is per se a game. Create some one on one situations to get the juices flowing. 7 on 7 throw game. We’ll do some different sections of open field, red zone.
There will be game like situations for the players to get adjusted to their first time being in Snapdragon. But it will be more of an open practice. Some 7 on 7 drills, situational drills, etc. The main idea is to get some butts in the stands—but its not the final that accounts for 80% of their grade. Its another opportunity to compete and play.
Neither will there be a public depth chart after the Spring showcase. Lewis indicated that will be saved for much closer to media day.
So how do you determine if the spring is a success? According to Lewis, it’s already been a success. The installations, the kids work, and if they carry all that positive momentum into the summer.
“I love what I do—simply put. I’m very humbled to lead these guys.”
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