Saturday was all smiles at SDSU’s new “Aztec Fast Showcase.” The event served as a fun look into the culture-building the program has embarked on since coach Lewis’s hiring.
Coach Lewis and his staff’s event represented their pledge to break away from the mold and do things their own way. Many teams still participate in a standard “spring game” in which offensive and defensive players battle in a usual full-pad, scrimmage-style game. Coach Lewis assured that the new spring transfer portal did not influence the choice to stray away from the standard spring game. Instead, he marked the event as him assessing, “What is our need to take the next step to improve?”
The showcase gave fans a different look at the team they watch every Saturday. The competition was still there, with six different stations in which teams would battle each other. However, the stations were a lot less strenuous and serious than standard business. They featured: dodgeball, tic tac toe, move the mountain, quarterback accuracy, punt catching, and a relay race that included dizzy bats.
After team “No Sutton Movements” took home first place in the skills showcase, earning a steak dinner, the 7-on-7 period began. Despite a much more football-centric event on the agenda, the laid-back fun continued. The period was a highlight, featuring receivers playing quarterback, coaches lining up out wide, and big men getting some reps in at the skill spots. Junior quarterback Kyle Crum stole the show during the period, picking off two passes while playing defensive back. He jokingly marked his two picks as an opportunity to “get a little get back on the guys that get after us in practice.” Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Kodi Cornelius also got himself a pick, one that sent the entire SDSU sideline into a frenzy during big-man 7-on-7.
Despite the fun, the period also gave some guys opportunities. Senior corner Chris Johnson mentioned the importance of the showcase, mentioning how “a day like today, where people who don’t usually get in, or don’t play all that much, get in, it’s really exciting for the rest of the team.”
The event also demonstrated a conscious effort for the new coaching staff to conjure up interest in SDSU football moving forward. Opening the door to player relationships and giving the fans a fun event to attend is all a representative of Coach Lewis and his staff is making an attempt to reach out to a fan base that has been lacking in the past.
The overarching theme from players and coaches was a commitment to building a culture of chemistry and love for one another, while also bringing fans in and making them feel like a part of the process. Saturday’s Aztec Fast Showcase was just a stepping stone into getting these players bonded and prepared for the long season ahead.
