For the first 14 days of spring drills, the San Diego State football team’s defense was without a doubt the biggest standout of the 15-day spring mini-camp.
In the first two scrimmages, the defense dominated its offensive counterpart in all facets of the game, whether it was the new-found pass rushing presence of the defensive line or the solid play of the linebackers and defensive backs.
In the third and final intrasquad scrimmage on Friday, however, the offense turned the tables on the defense.
“If we could take the first 14 days and forget about today, then I’d say we had a good spring,” Aztecs defensive line coach Ken Delgado said. “Because today we didn’t play well at all defensively.
“I told the guys that the first and last impressions are the most important ones you can make.”
As for the SDSU defense, it can only hope the first impression outweighs the last one, because on Friday it was all offense and little, if any, defense at all.
“I was rather displeased with the lack of intensity the defense played with today,” head coach Ted Tollner said.
The offense wasted little time demonstrating just how explosive it can be and its ability to strike at any time. On the second series of plays, senior wide receiver Az Hakim lined up on the outside against junior Aazaar Abdul-Rahim.
The result was a McKechnie pass lofted down the sidelines into Hakim’s outstretched hands for a touchdown.
Because of precautionary reasons associated with his ankle injury, Hakim’s playing time was limited. Even though he was in for only 13 plays, he still managed to finish the day with three receptions for 88 yards and two touchdowns, 30 and 40 yards respectively.
“I didn’t get a lot of repetitions this spring because of the ankle injury,” Hakim said. “There’s some things I still need to work on for next fall, but I think I did all right out there today.”
Hakim wasn’t the only one igniting offensive fireworks as he was joined by junior running back Tyrone Evans. Evans saw extensive playing time in this last scrimmage because injuries sidelined Jonas Lewis and Marty Graham.
Evans finished the day with 10 carries for 97 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown run up the middle and an impressive 15-yard run down the sidelines, capped off by an elusive spin move.
Along with Evans’ big rushing performance came an equally impressive performance by the offensive line. Since the start of spring drills, the defensive line had been the center of attention but in this last scrimmage it was the other side of the scrimmage line who shined.
“(The offensive line) is a chain, and we set out to improve this spring and constantly get better, even it’s just a little bit, everyday,” offensive guard Ricky Austin said. “And I think that’s something we did all the way through (Friday’s) scrimmage.”
