Sean Lewis: Jayden Denegal—The ‘Thermostat’ of SDSU’s Offense

Sean Lewis has spent much of fall camp looking for signs that his offense is beginning to operate with the consistency and confidence he expects. After Saturday night’s scrimmage at Snapdragon Stadium, one player in particular appeared to provide Lewis with plenty of encouragement.

QB Jayden Denegal continued his progression as being one of the more important storylines of the Aztecs’ preseason. Lewis believes the senior is beginning to look more & more comfortable with his ability to operate the offense.

“I really like the way that Jayden operated,” Lewis said following the scrimmage. “Operationally, he was really clean. I thought he was making good decisions. He was decisive.”

That decisiveness may be the biggest part of Denegal’s development this year.

After dealing with a shoulder issue last season that limited his ability at times, Denegal returned to full-speed football activities after a much needed off season. Lewis suggested Saturday that the quarterback is moving beyond that memory.

“There’s this constant repetition right now that he’s having,” Lewis said. “There’s a command that he has, there’s a confidence that he has in the throws that he knows that he can make.”

Perhaps more importantly, Lewis believes Denegal is no longer second-guessing himself because of his shoulder.

“He’s probably not second-guessing pulling the trigger maybe a little bit the way that he was, just wondering, you know, how the shoulder was going to feel, how it was going to hold up,” Lewis said.

For a quarterback, that confidence in physically making a throw is big. It can influence the pace of an offense, the confidence of teammates and the willingness to make decisions without hesitation.

That is why Lewis has described Denegal as the “thermostat” of the team.

“Everyone’s got to adjust to him because he’s setting the temperature,” Lewis said.

And that’s crucial in this offense which is figured to be absolutely stacked with the weapons surrounding him. A sports car that has the ability to go Aztec Fast, can only accelerate as much as the driver can take it.

“He’s done a really nice job, you know, really owning the huddle, owning the operation, owning the decision-making process,” Lewis said.

The tricky part is the quarterback room as a whole. Coming into this season, backup QB Bert Emanuel Jr. hopped over to the receivers room, adding another weapon for Denegal to throw to in the arsenal. But while that opened up another roster spot in the qb unit, none of the additions currently have any FBS live game experience under their belts.

The addition of talented Kentucky transfer Stone Saunders, redshirt freshman Draiden Trudeau and true freshman Brady Campbell are all capable throwers with varying level of pedigrees, but it is a tricky situation when you factor a QB2 is always one play away from becoming the QB1.

The scrimmage was not flawless for Denegal or the backup Aztecs QBs. Lewis acknowledged a Stone Saunders forced a third-and-long throw that ultimately resulted in an interception and score. Rather than viewing the mistake as a major concern, however, Lewis appeared to view it as part of the learning process that comes with live repetitions.

“You know, pressing a little, right? But this is the time to figure out, okay, can I make that throw? Can I fit that window?” Lewis said.

That distinction is important with the season still approaching. Keeping the purpose of these practice opportunities is not to reveal perfection but really to put in the work—smart work. Identifying the decisions and situations that need to be corrected before they become costly in a real game.

And through all the work of those corrections, Lewis is staying positive and encouraging.

Denegal’s reps in operating the offense and his confidence growing in that shoulder is key, as San Diego State’s season opener against Portland State will be here quickly. The difference in getting Denegal to heat up at the right time could be the difference between a conference championship and a realistic college football playoff appearance.