SDSU’s March to Fall Camp – #5: One Week Away From Turning It All Around

SDSU Football’s Fall Camp begins Tuesday, July 29th. This week Sons of Montezuma takes a closer look at a few select storylines that will take place in the competition fueled time to shaping the depth chart.

The final second ticked away on the scoreboard as the Snapdragon Stadium crowd was nearly all gone from the stands. Both the home Aztecs and visiting Air Force team were all nearly inside their respective locker rooms already.

The 2024 SDSU football season had finally come to an end that Saturday night late in November. Only one official member of the Aztecs coaching staff lingered around until all others were clear off the Bashor Field grass. It was head coach Sean Lewis.

Standing tall, yet visibly dejected, Lewis fixed his gaze staring around at all the empty seats for a few minutes, making sure to take it all in. There was nothing to be said in that quiet moment. A 31-20 loss to cap the season with a six game losing streak will do that to you.

One could only imagine the self-talk taking place inside the mind of a coach who had been hailed as a miracle-worker just a few short years earlier. Turning a lowly Kent State program around from the bottom of the Mid American Conference to actually consistent winners absolutely qualifies as miraculous in my book.

And that’s exactly what coach Lewis had done.

Now we may not know all of what Sean Lewis has learned since his first season on the Mesa ended that night—but we do know that he’s realized, that he’s not at Kent State anymore.

Or has he?

We are just days away from the start of a new season. The 2025 SDSU football Fall Camp begins in one week from now and with it comes all the work, preparation, and opportunities to turn it all around. By the early looks of things, it appears Lewis and staff are up to the task.

The off-season saw much of the offensive stars move on from the program. Wether to graduation like Marquez Cooper, or transfer portal like Danny O’neil, Lewis’ offense is certainly to look different from his opening act last season.

But it also saw the large majority of the team return. Included in the list is Mountain West Preseason Special Teams player of the year, Gabriel Plascencia.

The defense also returns all 11 starters from a year ago, including Mountain West Preseason Defensive Player of the year, Trey White and Mountain West Preseason first teamer, Tano Letuli.

And what of the offense, you might ask? The offensive line is bigger, deeper, and more experienced. The wide receivers are young & talented led by standout sophomore Jordan Napier. The running backs are versatile, hungry & homegrown like redshirt junior Lucky Sutton (Cathedral Catholic), Christian Washington (Helix), and Byron Cardwell Jr. (Morse).

Two transfer quarterbacks from the Great Lakes state of Michigan have arrived in Jayden Denegal (Michigan) and Bert Emanuel Jr. (Central Michigan) immediately upping the physicality & maturity of the position.

Coach Lewis promoted QB coach Matt Johnson to OC—shouldering the load that may have bogged him down previously from handling head coaching duties more effectively. And let’s not forget the hiring of SDSU’s first ever GM, Caleb Davis to help structure this team in a way that plays more cohesive on & off the field.

Does all of this mean the Aztecs program instantly improves? Have they cemented their chances of being on top of the mountain for one last ride in the conference? Absolutely not.

Just as much as all the additions and returnees add optimism, the flipside of the coin remains with real question marks in areas of proficiency offensively, the defenses ability to get stops in crucial moments, and can this collection of players stick together til the end of a long conference season.

They say you never get a second chance to make a first impression. That still rings true. But it won’t stop Lewis from trying all he can to make sure his post game view of his team and it’s supporters isn’t a deja vu at the end of this season.

The San Diego State Aztecs begin their 2025 Fall Camp next Monday, July 28th. Sons of Montezuma is dedicated to our 8th season of covering Aztecs football and will continuing with Fall Camp storylines as we get closer to season opening kickoff. SDSU is scheduled to take on the Stoneybrook SeaWolves on Thursday, August 28th at Snapdragon Stadium. Kickoff time is TBA as is television schedule.