San Diego State football takes on Cincinnati in the Hawai’i Bowl in Honolulu on Dec. 24, and head coach Rocky Long doesn’t believe his team will be distracted during the tropical getaway.
“I don’t think there’s any issues,” he said Thursday. ” I’ve been the head coach for quite a while now and every football team has different personalities. The last three years I’ve had fewer issues with young men in this program than any others I’ve ever coached.”
Long said that this year’s team has fewer “knuckleheads” than in years past, and a lot of that has to do with the senior leadership on the team that’s getting prepped for their last game with SDSU.
“I think our seniors have done a great job of leading by setting an example and standard for all of us. As younger classmen, (we can) look up to them for what’s right and what’s wrong,” junior defensive back Na’im McGee said.
The team will use a different practice method for the bowl game than in past years, as they will focus less on trying out new players and will stick with the regular practice routine.
One thing still left to be determined is who will be starting at quarterback for the Aztecs. Senior Maxwell Smith injured his knee in the team’s win over Nevada on Nov. 28.
Redshirt-sophomore Christian Chapman took over and led the team to a win over Air Force in the Mountain West Championship game.
Long pointed to the team’s success this season as the reason he didn’t want to mess with the practice schedule.
“They’ve done things that haven’t been done around here for a very long time,” he said. “They have a chance to do something else that hasn’t been done here in a very long time – they have got a chance to win 11 games.”
The Hawai’i Bowl kicks off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN.
