It’s a rare day when San Diego State Aztecs coach Sean Lewis veers from his trusty cliches and cites a line from “Peaky Blinders.”
But that’s where the Aztecs are after a humiliating 66-14 loss to the Oregon State Beavers that left them gasping for air in the sprint to the championship in the inaugural season of the reborn Pac-12 Conference.
Lewis was discussing inconsistencies in the Aztecs’ standards and preparation when he pivoted to a line by Thomas Shelby from the Netflix series about British gangsters in post-World War I Birmingham.
“I was talking to a group of our players this morning,” Lewis said Monday during his weekly news conference. “There's a great scene in ‘Peaky Blinders’ that really resonates with my soul where he's like putting his jacket on. He's getting ready to walk out and his helper is like, ‘Hey sir, I wish that you could get some more rest.’ And he looks back and he's like, ‘I’ve come to the conclusion that there will be no rest for me in this lifetime.’
“That’s the reality of what we signed up for, right?” Lewis said.
And that’s where the Aztecs (2-4, 1-1 Pac-12) stand after a loss that left Lewis saying he was “embarrassed” and apologizing to the fan base.
And here come the longtime rival Fresno State Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1) and the battle for the Old Oil Can, a relic of a trophy that carries with it bragging rights that will last for a year.
Could San Diego State make a quarterback change?
Oh, and there’s also the chance for a quarterback change after Lewis said that “everything’s on the table,” and mentioned the QB position specifically as having “significant inconsistency” after he pulled senior Jayden Denegal for redshirt freshman Draiden Trudeau as the Aztecs were being blown out by the Beavers.
But there could be a new entrant in the QB sweepstakes after Lewis name-checked redshirt freshman Stone Saunders, unprompted.
What Sean Lewis said about Stone Saunders
Lewis was running through an injury update, saying that it was good that Javion “Chop” Kinnard and linebacker Tano Letuli returned from injuries, and that senior running back Lucky Sutton “continues to progress and we’re hopeful that he'll be able to contribute this week.”
And then this: “Stone continues to progress as well. We'll see where that goes as we move forward.”
Saunders didn’t play at Kentucky last year before transferring to SDSU as a redshirt freshman. He broke his collarbone in a season-opening, 53-20 win against Portland State.
“We’re going to evaluate everything as we go with it. We haven't gotten back out to the field, but everything's on the table for all positions across the board,” Lewis said.
Asked about the health of his three QBs, he said: “I mentioned Stone is progressing, (Trudeau) obviously played and you know, Denny's battling through some things that every single starting quarterback in the country is probably dealing with right now at this point in the season.”
“Denny” is Denegal, and Lewis didn’t offer specifics. The quarterback did have shoulder injuries last year.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Saunders returned to practice and was in pads last week, and that Lewis has said he’s structurally sound. He would still need to be cleared, the newspaper reported.
Asked if Saunders was close to being ready to play or if it was a process, Lewis said: “He's closer than he was yesterday.”
Lewis said the deciding factor at quarterback will be “the work that gets done this week.”
Asked if he’s in denial that Denegal is deficient, Lewis said: “No, I'm aware of deficiencies. I'm aware of the strengths. I also know what else is there, what else we have, right? And so change for the sake of change, if it's not warranted and doesn't give the team and the program the best opportunity to be successful, that's not the right thing to do.”
What comes next for San Diego State against Fresno State
Lewis will have to decide on his quarterback before the Aztecs and Bulldogs go at it starting at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Snapdragon Stadium.
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