Just clearing the air

It did not take long at Tuesday’s press conference for the topic of SDSU going for it on fourth down inside the opponent’s territory to come up.

Long recently made national headlines after saying the Aztecs will not punt or kick field goals inside the opponent’s 50-yard line, instead choosing to go for it on fourth down.

“I’m glad you brought that up because it has turned into that we are never punting,” Long said. “That is not what I said. What I said was we are toying with the idea of once we get across the 50- yard line, of going for it on fourth down. That’s exactly what we did in the scrimmage on Saturday.”

“The word has gotten out that we are never punting again, so that is not what I said and that is not what I meant,” he added. “Whether that’s going to happen in the first game or not, that’s yet to be determined.”

Offensive and defensive lines still concerns

With less than one week until the season opener, Long says his top concerns remain the same.

“The D-Line is the biggest concern, and then probably the offensive line is the next biggest concern,” Long said. “So when you have a concern at the line of scrimmage that makes you a little nervous because we have really good skill.”

No starters return to the defensive line, while the offense line has two starters returning.

“We are coming along,” senior center Alec Johnson said. “We are getting a lot of reps, which is good at our position, just to get consistency … We are not quite there yet, but we are making progress.”

“We have some talented guys up front, don’t get me wrong,” Long added. “But that’s where our immaturity is.”

Ex-aztec Vincent Brown breaks ankle

It was only a preseason game. Preseason games are supposed to serve as warmup games for the regular season, not cause injuries to a team’s breakout players.

Yet, that is exactly what happened to former SDSU and current San Diego Chargers wide receiver Vincent Brown.

As Brown made a leaping 18- yard touchdown reception against the Dallas Cowboys in the third quarter of San Diego’s second preseason game, he suffered a broken ankle, which is expected to sideline him for at least eight weeks according to U-T San Diego’s Kevin Acee.

“He’s had a great offseason, he’s in the middle of having an outstanding training camp, and he obviously is a playmaker,” Chargers coach Norv Turner said to the team’s official website.

Brown, who had 19 catches for 329 yards and two touchdowns, was San Diego’s third-round choice in 2011. He is still expected to make a contribution this season. Richard Goodman, Micheal Spurlock and Roscoe Parrish are expected to compete for Brown’s available position.