2008 was known as year of the injury, with nearly everyone injured on offense and defense. Freshman and Sophomores were forced into playing time which resulted to their two win campaign.
New Coach Brady Hoke is looking to toughen up the team on both sides of the ball.
Not only were they bad the Aztecs were nearly the worst team in FBS. The Aztecs ranked 117th out of 119 teams in rushing offense last season and 118th in rushing defense.
Brady Hoke brings over his offense from Ball State which ranked 17th nationally in offense, in comparison to San Diego State who was 99th in total offense.
The defense looks strong as former New Mexico coach, Rocky Long, is now the new defensive coordinator. The new defense is the odd ball 3-3-5 which brings in misdirection and blitzing from nearly every position.
The premise of the defense is to cause misdirection and confusion against the opposing offense. During spring scrimmages the defense looked strong by continually getting sacks and tackles for loss.
The loan bright spot on the offense is quarterback Ryan Lindley who passed for 2,653 yards and 16 touchdowns. Most of those stats were from behind, but their is reason to be optimistic since Lindley was an accurate passer and had 9 interceptions.
The running game is wide ope with Davon Brown, Atiyyah Henderson and Brandon Sullivan all competing for the starting job. Henderson was the lead back last year, but managed only 490 yards however he did average 4.1 yards per carry.
To be successful the Aztecs must develop a solid running game, so opposing defenses need to be honest. The new offense that Hoke is bringing to San Diego State should eventually bring success to the only school that has not been to a bowl game in the conferences ten year history.
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