The San Diego State football team certainly kept their hopes for a positive 2025 season alive, bringing edge Trey White and linebacker Tano Letuli back for another year.
After finishing fifth in the nation in sacks (12.5) and earning All-Mountain West honors, White would have been projected as a premier edge to many of the top programs in the country. Despite the enticement that the portal gives to college athletes across the nation, White decided to stay at SDSU for his junior year.
“Last season didn’t go the way we wanted it to, we’re not even close to being happy with that,” said White. “We got a lot of stuff to prove to ourselves next year.”
Despite establishing himself as an elite player in the country, finishing 3-9 and 2-5 in conference play has left White unsatisfied.
“I want to bring a conference championship here,” said White. “I want to make others around me better. I believe in what our coaching staff is preaching and I’m proud to be an Aztec.”
White, a San Diego native, is not new to change, having to switch from an off-ball linebacker to edge after his freshman year. With defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt taking the head coaching job at North Dakota State, White will now be playing under Rob Aurich, his third defensive coordinator in three years.
“Coach Rob was my position coach last year so that’s been a really comfortable transition,” said White. “Right now we’re just learning his style of defense but I already know most of the verbiage and terminology.”
Being named a captain is a prestigious title that few get the privilege of experiencing. Even though White is already a captain and leading by example, there is always room to improve. Teammates are looking at White during this era of change and White is learning to step up vocally in the locker room.
“I have never been a vocal leader. I’m starting to talk more, relating to my teammates, bonding and building that chemistry,” said White. “I want to play to the best of my ability while being the best leader I can.”
Letuli, a transfer from Army who became a captain at SDSU and led the team in tackles last year, spoke on his decision to stay as well
“I love the people here, I love our staff and I love coming in here every morning. It makes me happy,” he said. “And I’m from San Diego, it was really cool to stay close to home and be next to my loved ones.”
Becoming a captain after being in the building for less than a year is a testament to a players character, Letuli has a voice in the locker room the players respect. He used this voice to give a harsh, but realistic message for those looking to come suit up alongside himself and join the family.
“Don’t come here if you don’t want to earn it,” he said. “If you come here and think you deserve a spot, this isn’t the place for you. We’re going to do things the right way, it’s a family environment and we earn everything we get.”
With one last run coming in the Fall, the linebacker has his goals in his mind as he prepares.
“I mainly want 100 tackles, last year was tough since I missed two games,” he said. “I also want to win the Mountain West and make it to a bowl game.”
In year one under head coach Sean Lewis, the program handed the reins to true freshman quarterback Danny O’Neil, this was the first true freshman to start for SDSU in their division one history. Despite the glimpses O’Neil showed, the Aztecs are back at square one, as the haunting realities of the transfer portal era came into fruition when he took his talents to the University of Wisconsin.
The transfer came as a surprise. O’Neil was viewed as Lewis’s “guy,” having flipped his commitment from Colorado to SDSU when Sean Lewis left Colorado and accepted a head coaching job in the Mesa.
In light of the contrasting opinions on O’Neil’s decision to leave, according to his interview with The Athletic, the decision was about family.
“Family is the No. 1 thing to me,” O’Neil said. “Just being able to have their support and allow them to be able to come see me play, that was a huge reason why I wanted to come back a little bit closer. I wanted to be able to play in front of loved ones.”
O’Neil wasn’t the only newcomer to depart after just one year and opt for comfortability. Wide receiver Louis Brown IV announced his decision to transfer back to Colorado State, the school he originally left to come to play for the Aztecs.
The decision from Brown leaves SDSU’s offense searching for a new quarterback-wide receiver duo, as Brown led the team in yards (620) in the 2024 season. The quarterback search became a difficult one, as the top options behind O’Neil packed their bags and headed to new programs. Quarterback Javance Tupou’Ata-Johnson followed former defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt to North Dakota State, and third string AJ Duffy went to the University of New Haven.
With Brown leaving, wide receiver Jordan Napier, who led the team in receiving touchdowns with four, is returning for another season in the AztecFAST offense in an expanded role.
All questions on the state of the roster will be answered when SDSU takes the field for their season-opener on Thursday, Aug. 28 at Snapdragon Stadium against Stony Brook, kickoff time is TBD.
