A day late and a dollar short.
That was the story of the 1999 San Diego State football team. Itwas a squad that appeared destined for success but failed to live upto expectations.
At times, like in the third quarter of the USC game, SDSU appearedunstoppable. At others, like in the fourth quarter of the Utah game,you wondered if this team should be competing at the Division Ilevel.
So much talent. So much experience. So much disappointment.
“It’s been really difficult,” said senior wide receiver LonnyMitchell. “There are a lot of expectations when you have 27 seniorson your team.”
Saidtight end Jim Ange: “This team had so much talent. It’s kind of sadthat the season had to go the way that it did.”
The ’99 season had more highs and lows than a drug addict. Low:The 38-10 loss to Illinois. High: The 41-13 blowout of Kansas. Low:The disappointing home losses to Air Force and New Mexico, by acombined four points. High: Overcoming the snow and chillytemperatures to win at Colorado State. Low: The completeself-destruction that occurred in the fourth quarter at Utah. High:The season ending blowout of Wyoming on national television.
Here is a rundown of how each position fared in 1999:
Offense
Quarterbacks — It is impossible to overestimate the importance ofthis position. Without a consistent quarterback a team won’t prosper– and the Aztecs found out the hard way. Jack Hawley was 4-5 in thegames he started. In the four wins, he turned the ball over justonce. In the five losses, the ball was thrown or fumbled away 14times.
The junior did show flashes of brilliance. Take his 19 of 24 for343 yards passing performance at Kansas. In the season finale hethrew for 232 yards and three touchdowns. The talent is there. What’sneeded is consistent execution.
“Jack is going to be one of those star players,” Mitchell said.”He has the arm, the mind, and with a little more development couldturn into a good quarterback.”
At the end of the season, head coach Ted Tollner said that therewill be open competition for the job between Hawley and Lon Sheriff.The redshirt freshman saw extended action in both the BYU and UNLVgames and could claim the starting spot next spring.
Runningbacks — The dynamic duo of Jonas Lewis and Larry Ned will be brokenup for the first time since 1997. Together they rushed for more than1,700 yards and were both named second-team All-MWC. However, thedeparture of Lewis could actually be good for the Aztecs because itgives Ned an opportunity to be the primary ball carrier. Had Nedaveraged 25 carries a game, which is the norm for a featured back, hewould have rushed for more than 1,500 yards — easily tops in theMWC.
Wide receivers — Not exactly a blistering year when you considerthat Damon Gourdine, the team’s leading receiver with 38 receptions,missed the final three-and-a-half games of the season. However, thereis potential at this position. Sophomore Derrick Lewis showedtremendous explosiveness, scoring on touchdowns of 87 and 62 yards,along with two Hail Mary grabs. Freshman J.R. Tolver developed nicelynear the end of the season, catching a touchdown in each of the lasttwo contests.
“Next year is going to be big,” Lewis said. “We have experience atquarterback and in the receiving corps, so we’re going to be bigoffensively.”
Tight ends — Gray McNeill came on strong in the second half ofthe season and became the first Aztecs tight end since Rob Awalt(1986) to be a first-team all-conference selection. It seemed likesenior Jim Ange disappeared at times, but he came through in theseason finale, dragging three defenders into the end zone for atouchdown.
Offensiveline — Sophomore Mike Houghton will be the lone returning starternext season from a line that put three players on the All-MWC team.The line struggled at Illinois and USC but dominated at others,especially against Kansas and UNLV. All-American Mike Malano startedevery game in his career (46) and led the way, along with guardsAndrew Kline and Ted Printy.
Defense
Defensive line — The most dominant unit on the team. Threeplayers (Scottie Nicholson, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila and Jerome Haywood)made either the All-MWC first or second team. Gbaja-Biamila ended hiscareer as the team’s all-time sack leader, registering 33, with 12coming in ’99. Nicholson was the emotional leader of the defense andfinished with six sacks, while Haywood fought his way throughdouble-teams all year to end with 35 tackles.
With only Haywood returning, whichever coach inherits thedefensive line position has his hands full. Candidates to fill thevacated positions include Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Amon Arnold, JaredRitter and George Heather.
Linebackers — The good news: The linebacking corps wasoutstanding in 1999. The bad news: Almost no one returns next season.Junior Brian Berg will be the most experienced backer next year, andthe coaches expect big things from redshirt Beau Trickey.
In ’99 Joey Mayo enjoyed a solid season, leading the team with 87tackles — good for a spot on the All-MWC second team. Martin Chlumakwas the unsung hero of the defense, clogging up the middle to thetune of 78 tackles, including four sacks and a safety.
Secondary — First team All-MWC safety and SDSU Most ValuablePlayer Rico Curtis played up to expectations and was the impactplayer in the secondary. He finished his career second on SDSU’sall-time tackles list.
The cornerbacks had the most trouble from this group. AazaarAbdul-Rahim was solid most of the season, but the other corner spothad its share of problems. Tairou Smith and Kevin Burton were beatfor touchdowns often enough to get benched at times. Smith returnedto the lineup toward the end of the season and acquitted himself,ending with 48 tackles.
There is a solid group of returners next season in Bishop Miller,Ricky Sharpe, Will Demps and converted quarterback Brian Russell.Demps and Russell each started a few games when safeties Stan Bogardand Jermaine Watkins went down with injuries.
Special teams — Most predicted that punter Justin Sisco, a juniorcollege All-American, would do good job in taking over for thedeparted Don Copeland, who averaged 41.3 yards per punt. They werewrong. Sisco struggled for most of the season and finished seventh inthe MWC with a 37.5 average.
Placekicker Nate Tandberg did a 180-degree turn from 1998 when hemade just 8 of 14 field goals. This year he was 13 of 20 and made allbut one of his point-after attempts.
The Aztecs had problems with the return game, with Sean Pierce andDamon Gourdine together averaging a mere 7.3 yards per return. Onkickoffs five players combined to average 21.5 yards.
Analysis
Take a look at the Aztecs’ five wins: 41-12, 41-13, 17-10, 37-7and 39-7. Notice anything? Four of the five were by 28 points ormore. What does that mean? It means that the Aztecs, on more than oneoccasion, proved that they can dominate an opponent.
Consider this: Three of the team’s six losses were by three pointsor less. What does that mean? SDSU didn’t execute when it matteredmost. Of the four games decided by a touchdown or less, SDSU won onlyone. With a team of 28 seniors, that result is unacceptable.
New defensive coordinator Ken Delgado will have his hands fullnext season, having to replace nine starters on a defense that rankedfirst in the MWC. However, a core of solid players return, includingHaywood, Russell, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Miller and Sharpe.
Although finding good defenders is of the utmost importance, thekey for next year is to begin the season with a legitimate No. 1quarterback, whether it be Hawley or Sheriff. Lewis and Tolver mustcontinue to develop, and repeat Wyoming performances wouldn’t hurteither.
“If we could have played like this (Wyoming) all year,” Dempssaid. “we would have been unstoppable.”
Woulda, coulda, shoulda.
