San Diego State football coach Brady Hoke pronounced himself pleased after a weekend scrimmage in Carson ahead of his team’s Sept. 4 season opener.
The Aztecs ran 75 plays in the closed 87-minute scrimmage at Dignity Health Sports Park. The team also conducted situational to prepare for their early season clash vs. New Mexico State.
“There was some good physicalness. I was impressed with both sides to some degree. That’s a good thing. I’d rather be impressed with both sides,” Hoke said.
The Aztec offense put up 10 points on the first three drives, initiated by a 27-yard field goal by junior Matt Araiza. Moments later, on the first play of the third series, redshirt freshman Jaylan Armstead burst through a gaping hole on the left side and darted 62 yards for a touchdown.
Two additional drives resulted in 50-yard field goals – one by Araiza and another by sophomore transfer Jack Browning.
Late in the scrimmage, freshman quarterback Will Haskell connected with classmate Josh Nicholson on an apparent 10-yard touchdown pass; however, the score was nullified by a motion penalty.
On the ensuing play, freshman safety Jatavious Magee intercepted Haskell at the 5-yard line to extinguish the threat.
Armstead was the leading rusher for the day, gaining 78 yards on six attempts, while freshman Cam Davis finished with 39 yards on six carries.
Senior Elijah Kothe led the receiving corps with four catches for 36 yards. Fellow senior BJ Busbee had two receptions for 50 yards, including a 45-yarder from senior Jordon Brookshire on a third-down during the second drive of the day.
Brookshire and Haskell were two of four signal-callers utilized by the Aztecs on Sunday, along with senior Lucas Johnson and sophomore transfer Jalen Mayden.
Brookshire was 7-for-12 passing for 109 yards and no interceptions, while Mayden was 4-for-7, passing for 56 yards, while displaying mobility. He scrambled six times for 34 yards.
“In the kicking game we got a lot of work done,” Hoke said. “We’ve got some dynamic guys who can return kicks for us, and I was happy to see the effort that they all put in … We (also) didn’t turn the ball over today and that’s a good thing.”
Sophomore lineman Dylan Taylor and freshman safety CJ Baskerville paced SDSU’s defensive efforts with five tackles apiece. Baskerville led all players with four solo stops.
In addition, senior Andrew Aleki and freshman Pa’a Ewailiko each recorded a sack, with the latter resulting in a loss of 18 yards. A pair of cornerbacks, sophomore Noah Tumblin and freshman Noah Avinger, got into the act with three solo tackles apiece.
In all, the Aztec defense registered nine tackles for loss and tallied four pass breakups.
San Diego State plays seven of its 12 games during upcoming season in Carson due to ongoing construction of the new Mission Valley stadium.
The Aztecs’ home slate features high-profile games against Utah, Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada.
