San Diego State Aztecs defeated the California Golden Bears Saturday, September 20th and now improve their record to 2-1 on the season. Below we give a complete read to all Sean Lewis had to say in his post game presser to the media.
How about them Aztecs? Yeah, that’s a good team that played well on a good night. I’m really freaking proud of them. A lot of great emotional toughness that they’ve showed over the past 14 days to respond to coaching, to respond to the situations, and to respond to an incredible opportunity that they had tonight that they really capitalized on um against a really good football team. So, you know, we’re a good team and uh it’s a great start. It’s early in the season, but man, that feels good. It’s good to be in the locker room with those boys and all the hard work that they’ve put in, the sacrifice and the discipline and the selflessness that they’ve showed to to have a night like that. Um, and be able to share it with our community. So, that’s pretty cool.
Coach, you mentioned response. You guys had to respond early defensively as CAL had a long drive to open the game. just how much of a difference did that make in just a game plan going forward getting you shot your zero?
Yeah, I mean we we’ve talked a ton about response about having emotional toughness right through the good, the bad, the ugly, and all the things that occur to respond properly and for those guys to to dig in and not concede—coming into this game when opponents have gotten into the red zone we’ve given up touchdowns 100% of the time we’ve given up touchdowns and for our guys to respond to the dig in and not concede anything there was huge right it it keeps momentum on our boundary and then for those guys to constantly do that throughout I was really really proud of that snap in and snap out from again really early on in the game to even hey in the back half didn’t matter who was in they recognized that we got a tremendous opportunity to throw a goose egg up on the board against a really talented team and to be able to do that in today’s day and age of college football like that’s that’s a big deal. So really proud of the effort and it’s a really big deal.
You talked about on Monday the confidence of their quarterback and how simple their offense is. What was the plan of attack defensively both the beginning of the game?
Yeah. I mean we wanted to make sure that we took away the layups. We we stressed a ton about the pre- snap movements that they had and to force them to work through a progression. Um, and that’s the mental toughness piece. Snap after snap, they tested their opponents. They tested us and our kids showed tremendous mental toughness to see what was going on, communicate with urgency, take away the the gimmies, and it allowed our our pass rush to really impact and, you know affect him. And I thought the staff did a tremendous job putting a plan together, disguising some looks, making him think through some things. And, you know, we wanted to to put him in some positions that he he hadn’t been in before. And, kind of pressure test some of the things that, you know, we knew about him coming into it. And I thought our kids did a really good job executing that plan again from the first snap to the very last snap regardless of who was in. Really neat to see.
We also spoke up to that during the by week you were going out and kind of you know quote unquote campaigning to get more people for the game here tonight. The whole team has won every single game in this series between you and Cal. How did how does one feel?
It helps with the momentum, right? I think momentum is a very real thing and to have the the stands filled the way that they were and to have the energy and you know to to have that support when our defense is out there on third down to make it difficult. I mean, there was one series right there where, you know, we got two false starts back to back. Like, that’s that’s the fans. Like, that’s the environment. They can have a tremendous impact on the game. So, I think, you know, everyone who showed up, like, this is a spot to be, right? Like, tell your friends, come one, come all. We got a few more of these opportunities to go and we need all San Diego to be here to to be with us and to create a tremendous home field environment and one of the greatest the greatest stadium, right, in all of college football. Like, this is the spot to be. And we need the whole community to show up and to support and be a part of this as we go.
Sean, you worked for so long on building this program and kind of a new image. How does it make you feel that this was the first shut out against the power five team since 1975?
Good. I mean, like success is always a lagging indicator, right? And there’s a whole heck of a lot of work that comes before a night like tonight. And it makes me feel good. And I just told the boys like, you got 24 hours to enjoy it, right? Because we haven’t arrived. there’s more work to be done. It’s a great, you know, probably defining moment that we’ll look back on as we go forward that we’ll be able to continue to recruit to with all these young men that are out here that I’m going to go talk to, right? As we go into a really bright future, but staying present in the here and the now, right? Like this was really, really good. But I mean, in this day and age, you’re only as good as your next performance, right? So, we got to we got to celebrate this thing the right way. And then again, it goes back to that word response, right? There’s going to come a time, you know, where on Monday we got to respond and there’s things that we got to clean up on this tape. And then go back to work, you know, because it doesn’t matter in seven days from now what this outing is quite frankly, right? Like we got to go earn the next one and build off this opportunity, but man, it feels good.
The defense played incredible tonight, especially in that third quarter where they had kind of building momentum off every single play. What does that do for not just the defense, but the offense where it seems like everything’s going wrong on the other side of the ball?
Again, I speak to momentum with that. And we emphasized the heck out of turnovers. We had our chance, you know, early on in in those first two opportunities where we came up short. It’s a game of inches, right? But just having confidence in the call and and trusting your keys and you know those those those balls that we had opportunities on where you know we didn’t punch at it or we were a step behind. Guys trusted their keys. They trusted the prep. They trusted their work. They played with confidence. They played fast. They were able to get their hands on it and then I mean shoot they go and score 14 points on their own defensively, right? Like that’s huge to to be able to have non-offensive touchdowns whether they come defensively or special teams. That’s huge. So to generate those turnovers again for our offense to continue to do a great job of valuing and protecting the football to win the turnover margin. Again testament to all the guys taking the coaching the staff doing a tremendous job of emphasizing that so we could change and we could flip the game and put a little bit more pressure on their boundary and keep the momentum on ours.
Talk about Jayden (Denegal) 15 of 18 today threw that long eight yard pass. Talk about the progress you see him?
Yeah. Wanted him to be efficient, right? Wanted him to start fast. Wanted to help him in that process. Felt like I hadn’t done a good enough job of that. You know, like a shooter can get in a rhythm by seeing the ball go in the hole. So, I wanted to create some easy completions for him early on. We knew that we were going to get challenged um with man-to-man coverage. It’s what they love to do. And obviously, what we did against Washington State in the way that we were challenged, you know, like you put some things down on tape, it’s going to get pressure tested, right? And so to have the long one early I think really kind of changed some things. We saw a lot more two high zone structure after that which allowed us to kind of simplify some things or be able to dictate some things. But again like good decision- making you know and I think what goes unnoticed on a lot of those completions is the work that’s getting done on the edge by the outside receivers blocking. you know, we were able to use some of our perimeter RPO game as relief against some of their field pressure in particular and spit the ball out for, you know, what whatever analytics says as, you know, a one- yard in the air, you know, uh, completion. But then because of the tremendous effort and the pride that our guys took in blocking which was really poor the previous time that we went out like they did a great job with it today. The outside receivers in particular and that was a a sense of pride that again like we wanted to test and we wanted to challenge and they did a great job with it. And then Jordan did a great job run after catch on a lot of those you know instances you know. So um he was efficient great decision-m and again his process has been pure you know as we’ve gone through and he’s been working really really diligently. I think it’s a testament to the amount of time that he spent in the building during the by-week. He made the choice to invest that time so that he could play cleaner, he could play more efficient, and we could play on schedule more often like we did tonight.
You know, I think winning’s a skill and we talked a lot about that over the past 14 days to where, you know, as a a winner, you have to figure out how to win and that looks a little bit different each and every single time that you go out, but it was a tremendous effort by the guys that we weren’t going to waste. So, I thought the staff did a really good job managing situations, managing the games as things went through and you know, the situations of the game changed. Um, and the kids did a great job again responding um to to each situation that was presented. You know, like the the defense in the third quarter, you know, it was funny like me and Rob are talking and you know, obviously they’re on the field quite a bit, but they’re doing tremendous work and it’s like, you know, he’s like, “Hey, we might need a timeout here.” here like, you know, we got guys obviously we get the pick six and Chris runs it back and then a lot of those same guys are run down on kickoff and you know there there’s a reason cuz we we value teams and all the things and he’s like hey like we might need timeout like yeah absolutely like we got it and then we get another pick and I’m like we don’t need a timeout like good job when you get off the field like you know you earn a rest get another turnover right so but again like it’s our program—celebrating the 2015 team tonight. There’s a winning strand in our DNA that we’re not entitled to that this team has to learn how to win. And I feel like a moment like tonight to the preparation that they had and then within the moment hearing the guys champion and parrot the things that we believe that hey it’s not done. Hey, refocus. We have to respond to the good and the bad. That’s the maturation process of this team as this team grows uniquely in their own way to reinstate and reestablish that that winning trait that this prideful program has.
Coach, you mentioned Jordan last year as a freshman, 40 catches, 440 yards. Coming into this game your leading receiver in terms of receptions—he added another nine for 154 yards. What can you credit his contributions and how is he building on this moment going forward?
A lot of things. He’s an unbelievable young man that hasn’t been given anything in his whole life. He’s committed to getting better and still needs to practice consistently better. He’ll be the first one to tell you that. But he has the courage to empty the take. And he’s starting to find his voice as a vocal leader, which is really cool. And the only way you get to do that is by walking the walk each and every single day before you can start talking and being vocal about it. So, he’s got a superpower in run after catch because of his strength and his natural contact balance. He’s becoming a more refined route runner and just the nuance and the craft of being a wide receiver. And I say this in a very exciting way, like there’s still so much growth and there’s still so much potential that’s in there, you know, like I I think to his second target where his feet are kind of underneath him and, you know, his feet get outside his Madden circle, so he slips and he can’t make the contested catch and he’s like he’s coming to the boundary like, “Hey, my feet got wide.” You know, it’s like a golfer who’s out on the course and he’s able to correct his own swing without having a swing coach there. Like that’s awesome growth. That’s awesome, you know, maturation. And then again, like being on the tablet with him and getting to coach him personally, like he’s the same dude each and every single day, which is really, really cool. And he’s got a great competitive spirit and excited to continue to lead him and the work that he’s going to do. And I know how he’s going to show up each and every single day, which is a lot of fun.
Coach, what can you say about Mr. Williams stepping in for your captain, middle linebacker, and and helping the defense do what you guys did?
Yeah, I mean, such a productive player. a reason that we went out and got him. Um, obviously, you know, that that inside linebacker position is a is a physical spot. And one of the things for our style of play is that we always want to have the the depth that is needed throughout the duration of the season. And so, having him to to step in and be as productive and not miss a beat is everything. I mean, he’s a physical kid. He’s a smart kid and uh, man, he loves putting his pads on things and that’s the way the game’s meant to be played. And so I think you know the guys feed off that and um you know again like you talk about next man up like again coach’s cliche right but like next man up there it is in practice like there it is in a real world rep to where you know Tano is a warrior and Tano is going to bounce back and again having the depth of talent that we do is going to allow us to go deeper and as we continue to climb harder and things get more challenging. You know it’s going to require all of us. It’s going to require a full group effort and the number of guys who got game reps and in game snaps today is is crucial and Mr. being able to do that at a high level is again great to see.
Coach, individually, Lucky and Christian didn’t get big yards, but cumulatively, I mean, they average five yards a carry. Can you talk about their performance and then the offensive line and the job they did and how it fit into the overall complexion of the game?
Yeah, I mean it it’s where the game is won, right? And again, it kind of goes to the way that we’ve revamped the offensive line, the tremendous job that Coach Schmidt has done in coaching and leading and and guiding and challenging the boys up front. Um, it speaks to the tremendous work that Ly’s done while he’s continued to to get better has been well documented and we’ve talked a ton about, but like we knew going into this that that’s a really good defense, right? like they were the number one defense in the ACC coming into this game and we knew that the yards were going to be hard to come by, but we felt like if we could establish ourselves on base downs against their base structure that that that would lead to an advantage as we move through the game, right? Like kind of like a a boxing match where there was going to be some body-blows, right? If we could just keep landing those body shots that eventually, you know, that would progress and the levy would kind of break and to be able to go on a 13 blade drive when again there’s a tremendous effort in special teams. There’s a tremendous effort by the defense is being made and it’s like again challenging those guys up front in particular. Hey, we’re going to lean on you. Because at this point in the game, it’s not so much about them over there as the opponent shifted to how can we possess the ball, take time off the clock, get more points, and like mathematically put this game to bed and to be able to go on, I believe it was a 13play drive, you know, where the bulk of it we were leaning on the boys up front and getting hard dirty yards and then be able to finish that thing with a tough physical run with two gap power like we should probably run power more often. It’s a good football play field
In that third quarter with those big plays that defense was coming up. It was awesome, right? I mean, it’s really cool. We’ve been talking about it for a long time, right? Like the the potential that this team has had and to see them close that gap. It’s a tremendous job by our coaches. more importantly, it’s a tremendous job by the kids, right, of again responding appropriately. Really kind of putting the blinders on, insulating themselves within our football world and tuning out the external noise. And now all you guys are going to write all this great stuff about how awesome we are and I’m going to have to insulate them from that so they don’t listen to, you know, the proverbial rat poison and everything, right? But you know the for them to man just commit to our process, recommit to the process, right? And detach from the results and to see them again like before we came out of the locker room was like hey again hey it’s zero zero like it’s zero zero. Don’t look at the scoreboard. Go play each play for what it is. Like the kids saying that you’re like we got them. We’re building something special and we got him. And then for them to not only say it and to think it, but more importantly go do it and to finish it. We got him. Really cool.
Trey White gathered his first sack of the season tonight. How important is it to get him going and how much does that impact the confidence of this defense?
Yeah, I mean stats are easy to point to when it comes to sacks in particular. Trey does an unbelievable job of impacting the game in a lot of ways. Really simply put, Trey’s one of our best players and we expect him to play at a really high level and he did that tonight. And again, even though it’s one sack, like when you go back and you look at it, especially in our third down cheetah package when we have four defensive ends on the field, there’s so much attention that’s paid to Trey, it allows August, it allows Jared or Hendo, you know, to go to work as well, right? So, you know, Trey plays with a relentless motor and the impact that he has on the game is far greater than just one line on the stat sheet of sacks. He’s been playing at a high level. Most importantly, he’s been practicing at a high level. And again, he continues to grow as a vocal leader as well. But yeah, it sure helps when your good players play really good.
August getting those two sides in this three and a half season as teams game plan for Trey, how nice is it to have somebody else step up as people are focusing on?
Yeah, again, it goes to the depth of the talent, you know, that we’ve been able to accumulate here on the Mesa, right? And it goes back to the work that the kids are putting in and the positions that our staff are putting them in. And yeah, I think it speaks to how unselfish Trey is. Like Trey could care less. There’s one stat that Trey cares about. Did the Aztecs win? Yes, Trey’s happy, right? And so having a guy like Trey who has that mindset, who works really, really hard, brings all those other edges along. Coach Manny’s done a great job leading those guys. Coach Har has done a great job with those pressure packages to be able to create some havoc with four so that we can flood zones with seven and make things hard for a young quarterback like we did tonight. And again, as we continue to develop those guys’ crafts, you know, hopefully be able to apply as much pressure as possible with three to four and be able to flood some zones and that creates the math to swing in our favor.
Owen Chambliss also led with 8 tackles on the team. What’s your thoughts on him?
Owen’s been playing at a really high level and I’ve done a really poor job of promoting him to you guys. Like he’s been playing some of the highest quality ball through these three weeks and has been doing a tremendous job. Like he’s a guy again like when you talk about consistently good, not occasionally great, he he’s been doing it and doing it since ball has started. And he’s just such a great kid and kind of soft-spoken, you know, like I I take him for granted at times, but man, he shows up in a big- time way. He’s got great traits and more importantly, he’s got a great heart and he competes like a warrior each and every single time that he goes out and has battled through injuries, you know, since we’ve been together last year and all the way through. And yeah, he does a great job for us and he he really makes us go and he’s a physical football player and you know loves to play the game and loves to compete and so we can’t have enough guys like him. His competitive spirit, his competitive maturity and he really brings the other guys along.
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