San Diego State football is widely considered to be in contention to win the Pac-12 championship this upcoming season. This Saturday fans get a first glimpse of the 2026 squad for themselves.
San Diego State football fans will get their first look at this year’s football team in the squad’s scrimmage event titled “First Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium” on Saturday, August 15. While admission and parking are free, fans must claim tickets in advance for the 5:30 p.m. scrimmage.
The parking lots at Snapdragon’s Yellow parking lot will open officially at 3p.m. and the actual stadium gates swing wide open at 4:30p.m.
Sons of Montezuma has five things followers of the Red and Black might look out for as the team takes to the Snapdragon Stadium turf for the first time in 2026.
1. Starting Quarterback Jayden Denegal
The Aztecs return seven starters on offense, and the most critical of these might be QB1 Jayden Denegal. The senior signal caller enjoyed a nice season with SDSU last year starting 12 games and throwing for 1,807 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. The Michigan transfer showed flashes of his ability throughout the season but was limited by a shoulder injury suffered in the first game against Stony Brook.
The 6’5”, 200-pound senior completed 58.8% of his passes in 2025 and demonstrated a nice touch on deep sideline passes. Where he struggled at times was on short and intermediate routes. The mobile QB only rushed 71 times last season for 109 yards as the playcalling tried to minimize shots to Denegal’s shoulder.
The QB missed the team’s bowl game and had surgery in the offseason.
Denegal has a year in Coach Sean Lewis’ offense under his belt and a wide swath of opportunity at his disposal. How he performs at the most important position on the field may largely dictate the success of SDSU’s season.
2. A Deep Receiving Unit
Let’s stay with the offensive side of the ball for item number two in our scrimmage preview. All three pass-catching starters return for the Aztecs in 2026.
Led by junior Jordan Napier, this is a talented crew of wide outs and slot specialists. Napier ranks as one of SDSU’s top offensive weapons as a receiver and returner. His 2025 season, despite ending early with a leg injury, resulted in Napier earning All-Mountain West first team honors as a punt returner and a second-team nod as a receiver. Napier finished his sophomore season with 48 catches for 629 yards and two touchdowns in his receiver role.
Joining Napier are seniors Jacob Bostick and Donovan Brown on the outside. Bostick, a Texas A&M transfer, made a splash before an injury cut his season short with seven games to go. Still, Bostick showed an ability to get open down the field and provides a great option for Denegal on post routes. The 6’3” wide out had three receptions for 48 yards against Washington State, including a season long 35 yard receiving touchdown.
The speedy Brown recorded six receptions of 40 or more yards on the season while starting all 13 games for the Red & Black. With Bostick and Napier, Brown rounds out a special group of receivers.
Looking to make a mark of his own is former back-up quarterback Bert Emanual Jr. The shifty running quarterback switched to receiver this offseason in search of more playing time. Other players in this position group to watch include senior Nathan Acevedo and transfer Justius Lowe.
For fans of San Diego high school football, one name to focus on is Will Cianfrini. The sophomore from Carlsbad High saw action in nine games as a freshman last season. He caught five balls for 40 yards. But anyone who saw this young man dominate on Friday nights in the North County knows this dude can ball. Let’s see if he can crack this talented receiving crew and make a splash in front of the hometown faithful.
3. All New Special Teams
Will SDSU’s special teams continue to be special is the question on the minds of many seasoned Aztecs fans. Last year the team enjoyed the luxury of two outstanding kickers.
Gabriel Plascencia set the standard as a placekicker for the Aztecs across his career in the Red and Black. The guy affectionately dubbed “The Hefty Lefty” was nearly automatic. I mean he established a school and Mountain West Conference record by connecting on 26 straight field goals spanning his junior and senior campaigns. He is the school’s career leader in field goal accuracy with an incredible 87.8%, making 36 of his 41 attempts.
At punter, Hunter Green racked up an impressive 46.97 average, ranking second in single season average at SDSU. The second team All-MW performer hit the transfer portal in the offseason and will kick for the Huskies of the University Washington in 2026.
So, who takes over now? The August 4 depth chart lists senior Tashi Dorje as the starting punter. Last year Dorje saw limited action, but his performance gives Aztecs fans reason for optimism. The Brentwood, California native punted three times for a cool 50-yard average. Can Dorje keep the trend going of excellent Aztec punters is a question that will be answered once games commence.
As for the placekicker spot, the news hasn’t been as positive. Several kickers have auditioned for the role but reports out of camp make it seem like the spot is still up for grabs. Look for a handful of transfers to get opportunities to win the job.
First on the depth chart is Noah Serna from Cal Poly. Last year he made 9 of 11 field goals and was good on 20 of his 21 PATs. After Serna is Arkansas transfer Cooper DiLeva. The former El Camino College product has a strong record of success on PATs but has not proven to be as reliable on field goals, to this point in his career. Transfers Lane Garner (Butte College) and Tyler Prasuhn (Arizona) are also competing for an opportunity to put points on the board for SDSU.
4. In the Trenches
Both the offensive and defensive lines will need to replace proven performers. Behind a deep and talented defensive line, the Aztecs finished the 2025 season ranked number 6 in scoring defense. The team’s EDGE rushers wreaked havoc on opposing offenses combining for 24.5 sacks and 35 tackles for loss. The group this year has a lot of work to do to measure up to those standards, but they appear ready for the challenge.
Leading the EDGE unit are senior Brady Nassar and transfers Djibril Rahman and Kai Wallin. Rahman followed new EDGE coach Colin Ferrell to Montezuma Mesa from Rutgers, while Wallin arrives from Oregon State.
According to Ferrell, these three have pushed themselves to the forefront in the hunt for effective pass rushers from the EDGE position.
“I think Kai Wallin, Jib (Djibril) Rahman and Brady Nassar, who’s been around here, he’s the leader of the group, and he’s talking to Coach Lewis,” responded Coach Ferrell when asked about standout performers among his position group thus far in fall camp.
“Some guys that have been around, he’s (Nassar) putting his best version of himself. He’s developing as we speak, so expect big things from Brady. So, between those three, those are the three that stand out.”
On offense, returning seniors Joseph Borjon and Kalan Ellis anchor an unproven but skilled offensive front. The pair started all 13 games for the Aztecs in 2025 and were a big reason why the team tallied more than 2,500 rushing yards for the season. The O-line only allowed 18 sacks on the season.
How quickly the team identifies the other members of the offensive line and how fast they gel as unit will be huge to the success enjoyed by Denegal at quarterback and outstanding running backs Lucky Sutton and Christian Washington.
5. Aztec FAST 3.0
Is this the year we finally see the Aztec FAST moniker take root on the field? Coach Lewis arrived two years ago talking fast about his mantra for the type of program and style of play he wanted from his team. To this point the offense has only hinted at what that might mean for fans of up-tempo, wide-open offensive football.
But with a returning quarterback, a stable of quality running backs, a deep and talented pool of pass catchers, and solid leaders among an untested offensive line, could this be the year Lewis unleashes the full fury of Aztec FAST?
We can only hope this Saturday’s scrimmage provides fans with a taste of the excitement to come in the 2026 SDSU football season.
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