Three Concerns after San Diego State’s Fall Camp FanFest Scrimmage

The Aztecs hosted their annual FanFest scrimmage Thursday night. The game signals the end of regular fall camp and the transition to game week preparation for the season. It was a great time for fans to scratch that itch a little bit. Of course, not having football in San Diego will give that to you sometimes.

There were some big plays like Myles Kitt-Denton’s long catch & run. There was a big pass breakup & hit by Max Garrison (when there wasn’t supposed to be hitting). Josiah Cox had a tremendous pass breakup in the endzone to not allow a touchdown. Mikey Welsh earned a scholarship at the end of the night and the whole team celebrated him.

It was all a nice night of good vibes, good will, and good foot… . Well let’s slow down—this 2025 SDSU Football team has a lot to prove this season. I have a lot of concerns about this team, but I’m already a skeptic by nature. So I boiled it down to just a few that really stand out. Here are 3 concerns after SDSU’s Fall Camp Scrimmage.

INJURIES

The scrimmage gave the opportunity for most of the family and fans in attendance to preview this team for the first time. But let’s be honest, the coaches have been with the guys day & night over the last two weeks. At this point they know what they have and have to work on.

The decision was made together by the staff and players to eliminate tackling. Why? Because in the last week both CB Jelani Whitmore and Michigan State transfer Dallas Fincher were both declared out for the remainder of the season due to non-contact injuries.

“Not to belittle them, but we’re in a really good spot.” spoke Coach Lewis in the post scrimmage presser. “They were both guys that would be crucial contributors for us. That led us to the decision tonight and to do what’s best for the team. (Non-tackling) That won’t be the reason why we won’t be a physically or mentally tough team.”

No tackling sucked a lot of the energy out of the scrimmage. The name of the game is tackle football after all. Not having that toughness element makes things a bit more difficult in evaluation for us fans. But it’s very understandable.

Last season in the first quarter of the opening game, big Left Tackle Joe Borjon suffered his season ending injury and the line never fully performed at it’s best. Reports are that Joe Borjon is nursing an ankle sprain this Fall Camp, but is expected to be good by the season opener.

The last thing this team needs is another severe offensive line injury, especially with Fincher out before he began. The unit came into the season with only 3 returning starters and as coach says, they’re in a good spot right now with the depth they acquired in the off season. But one more loss and they could be cooked again.

QB DEPTH

QB1 Jayden Denegal looked solid in leading the offense. His quickness evading the pass rush and scrambling for first downs looked as if it could translate very well even against a tackling defense.

His quick passing game was successful driving down the field in short yardage gains. The offense was able to get into scoring position multiple times. Kicker Gabriel Plascencia knocked down a 57-yard boomer for a field goal on his first attempt, but missed a somewhat chippie in his second try. Both of his scoring opportunities came on Denegal’s drives.

Overall Denegal made some connections, but also should have been picked off by linebacker DJ Herman. The redshirt Junior out of Las Vegas, Nevada had a noteworthy scrimmage on the defense. Flying to the ball and being involved in several break ups of quarterback passes made an impact.

For the offense though, it wasn’t an overly impressive night for the first team. The defense is always a ittle ahead in these type of scrimmages for sure and I don’t believe we truly saw the physicality that Lewis will be dedicated to. Running backs Lucky Sutton and Byron Caldwell Jr. should be able to move the chains in the ground attack and set up more short passing yard situations for Denegal.

But I believe these next two weeks should pose a potentially difficult position for Sean Lewis in how the backup QB spot should be filled. Bert Emanuel Jr.’s potential for being worked into packages, where his playmaking can thrive, is something yet to be seen. As a passer his development is one that may take a bit longer than expected in this AztecFast offense.

Though Emanuel Jr. was also able to move the chains at times with a few completions and pass interference calls—his passes found the opposition too often. His first INT was picked off by Deshawn McCuin for a definite pick six. Somehow that play was mysteriously whistled before he could cross the wide open end zone ahead of him. Later, another pass should have been intercepted on a play that took too long cycling through the targets.

Noteworthy was senior Kyle Crum’s night of action. Not a lot of snaps have been seen for the QB since his freshman season where he delivered his first touchdown pass on the road in a hostile game against Utah. Though his performance in the scrimmage wasn’t mind blowing, he really showed a veteran pose under a fierce pass rush.

Minus one errant screen pass, Crum was active in finding his open receivers often extending passing routes. Surprisingly in the RPO game, he lead the team down field and executed a touchdown pass. Crum may have the moxy to be that change of pace decision maker if the team were ever in a tough spot.

There’s no denying the playmaking ability of Emanuel Jr. and how it deserves to get opportunities in the offense occasionally. However, if the Aztecs were ever to find themselves in that tough spot this season due to injury, I wouldn’t be against Crum getting a chance to make an appearance and work some magic.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE

Let’s face it, this SDSU football program has to win and show flashes of exceptional execution if they want to draw the casual San Diego football fan back to Mission Valley. But what about the alumni or faithful fans that have somehow stopped making the trip as well?

With the play on the field still being a work in progress, the production around the stadium in this iteration of Aztec football just ain’t gonna cut it for the fan who wants to have a stellar sports entertainment experience.

There was new music for the team’s entrance, new giveaway operations around the concourses, and a personal attempt by Coach Lewis at a new 4th quarter traditional song & hand gesture. Coach and the home team are definitely trying to get you interested and engaged to create a home-field advantage. You’ve got to respect that. But if this was a dress rehearsal for what’s to be worn during the season, I’d question where SDSU is shopping for their clothes.

Consider this your outfit check.

There was no showmanship, no effects, no lights, smoke, or even mirrors to dress up the only football team in town in their brand new state of the art stadium—just a few years removed from it’s grand opening mind you. School is not in session yet, so there is a void of that youthful energy —no doubt. But one can only hope there are some surprises in the wardrobe, ready to make an appearance come opening Thursday night, August 28th.