The San Diego State Aztec football team Fan Fest and scrimmage Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium is not just for the fans to get a glimpse of this year’s team, it will also be the last chance for a pair of redshirt offensive linemen to show off for coach Rocky Long before he decides on the starter for the Sept. 2 season opener.
Both the redshirt freshmen Tyler Roemer and Keith Ismael have been listed as starters, but Long won’t commit on the lineup until he sees them play Saturday.
“We are pretty comfortable that we have two redshirt freshmen that are going to play pretty well,” he said. “I’m not going to tell you which ones they are until after I watch them on Saturday because that’s going to be our biggest scrimmage and they are going to get a lot of reps.”
In addition to the pair, other young players are hoping to make an impact to secure a backup position, including a pair of redshirt freshmen wide receivers, Isiah Macklin and Tim Wilson Jr., and redshirt freshman safeties Will Stricklin II, Dwayne Johnson Jr. and Keoni Stallworth.
“I just know that there are some guys that people might be seeing only for a few snaps and some guys who they don’t even know who they are that will be out there for a lot of snaps,” Long said. “Hopefully, someone steps up and singles himself out so people wonder who he is.”
Long said he will release the depth chart Wednesday, 10 days before San Diego State faces the UC Davis Aggies.
SDSU is coming off an 11-3 season, knocking off Wyoming, 27-24, in the Mountain West Conference Championship game and Houston, 34-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl, to finish with a No. 25 ranking in both the Associated Press and the Amway Coaches polls. It was the second time in the program’s history the team ended the season ranked.
Fan Fest begins at 4:30 p.m. on the Qualcomm Stadium concourse. The players will warm up at 5 p.m. and the scrimmage will start at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free.
