The San Diego State U. football team held its first scrimmage of training camp on Saturday, and it was the only chance for fans and media to see SDSU in anything related to real-game action before the season opener on Sept. 4 against Nicholls State U.
While supporters might have expected Ryan Lindley and Co. to come out slinging the ball all over the field, the scrimmage started out in a completely different way.
Burris, defense come out with a vengeance
On the very first play of the day, Lindley was lined up under center, with Brandon Sullivan and Ronnie Hillman in the backfield. After the snap, Lindley handed the ball off to Hillman, who was immediately wrapped up by junior linebacker Miles Burris for a three-yard loss.
The play represented the dominance of the Aztecs’ defense for most of the day. The “D” finished with 11 sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries and never really let the offense get into a rhythm. At times, it seemed like there was an extra defender on the field, with constant defensive pressure either leading to a hurried throw that was broken up or a run stuffed for zero-to-minimal gain.
“I think that we made some strides,” head coach Brady Hoke said about the defense. “I think that we’re more aggressive just in (our) mentality and that we’re a little more physical. Athletically, I think that’s showing up (in our play).”
Hillman’s hurdle
The offense, having been stopped for the first part of the scrimmage, didn’t have an “ooh-ahh” moment until about the fourth or fifth series.
It came on a simple handoff to Hillman. With several offensive and defensive linemen getting tangled up and going down, Hillman cut to the left side of the line and hurdled over the entire mosh pit, getting some serious airtime and drawing applause from the fans.
Hillman didn’t gain very many yards on the play, but he showed off the agility and speed that could complement Sullivan’s bruising running style and give SDSU a solid 1-2 punch in the backfield.
The freshman back also showed some moves on the Aztecs’ first play in the red zone later in the day. After taking the handoff, Hillman started left, but cut back to the right and was able to turn the corner for some solid yards before being brought down short of the first down.
Hillman is penciled in as the starting running back and finished with 11 carries for 49 yards.
Sampson goes up for it
On third down with the offense sniffing the goal line, an SDSU coach warned photographers to back up because “Sampson might run a fade into the corner of the endzone.”
Sure enough, senior wide receiver DeMarco Sampson ran a crisp fade route and leapt over freshman defensive back King Holder to catch a perfectly-placed Lindley pass for the only touchdown of the day.
Sampson was a bright spot for the offense, finishing with four catches for 80 yards and the touchdown. He looked like he was already in mid-season form and will be counted on along with senior Vincent Brown to give the Aztecs one of the best receiver tandems in the nation.
Offense finds success in two-minute drill
Having been shut down for most of the scrimmage, Lindley showed off his skills during the two-minute drill held late in the day.
On first down, Sampson ran past his defender along the right sideline and Lindley found him with a tight spiral for a 55-yard gain, easily the longest play of the day. The drive was capped off by a Bryan Shields field goal.
“We knew we started slow and we knew we needed to pick it up,” Lindley told reporters after the scrimmage. “We got together with the guys and picked it up, and you saw it at the end of the team period. We got in a groove and just carried that into the two-minute drill with that completion (to Sampson.)”
Defensive play of the day
Freshman defensive back Rene Siluano looks a lot like Pittsburgh Steelers’ safety Troy Polamalu with his free-flowing hair coming out from under his helmet.
On Saturday, he made a Polamalu-esque play as well, picking off a pass and taking it 50 yards for a touchdown.
Final thoughts
Although it’s only two weeks away from the season-opener, fans shouldn’t be worried about the offense only being able to score one touchdown against a defensive unit that allowed 30.5 points per game last season.
Hoke and the rest of the coaching staff seemed intent on seeing what they have with Hillman handling the starting tailback duties and how the run-blocking of the offensive line would hold up. And at times, it seemed like they forced the issue with the run. This is understandable, as the SDSU rushing attack ranked 116th in the nation last year, averaging only 78.3 yards per game.
The passing attack looked a little out of sync early, but that was mostly because of the constant pressure put on by Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 defense, which showed good penetration all day. By the end of the day, however, Lindley and his receivers found their groove, and it would have been entertaining to see the 11th-ranked receiving corps (according to Rivals.com) get some more catches.
On the other hand, the defense looked solid and should only get better in the second year of being in Long’s system.
Senior Andrew Preston, who plays the Aztec position (which is a focal point in the 3-3-5 defense) showed that he is adjusting well. Preston finished with two tackles, a forced fumble and even broke up a pass.