San Diego State football season-ticket holders, whether they’ve held seats for seven days or seven decades, were invited Saturday afternoon for an exclusive glimpse of the 2026 SDSU football team.
An hour before the event, traffic on Interstate 15 backed up three miles from the Friars Road exit to Snapdragon Stadium. Renewed interest in the Aztecs coming off last year’s 9-4 finish? Maybe not. Signage indicated road construction, though crews appeared to be on an indefinite break.
An 80-foot crane rose from the Orange Lot just west of Snapdragon, its long arm drawing attention to where vertical construction is underway for the first phase of residential/retail development on the SDSU Mission Valley site. That served as a metaphor for the Aztecs, who are a work in progress for the 2026 season that begins Sept. 5 against Portland State.
A few observations from the scrimmage:
The quarterbacks
Returning starting QB Jayden Denegal came out with the first offense for his most extensive work since returning from offseason surgery to his left (non-throwing) shoulder. Even limited last year with injuries to both shoulders, Denegal was able to throw a beautiful deep sideline ball. More interesting, then, was seeing what he could do with short passes to the sidelines and over the middle.
The senior from Apple Valley was inconsistent, especially early, in that regard. It didn’t help that a couple on-target throws were dropped by receivers. One tipped off the hands of tight end Jackson Ford and was intercepted by linebacker Cameron Cooper.
Denegal’s best throws came in the second half of the workout. He hit senior wide receiver Nate Acevedo for a 36-yard gain and senior transfer wide receiver Justius Lowe (Oregon) in the corner of the end zone for a 25-yard touchdown.
Sophomore backup QB Stone Saunders, the Kentucky transfer, appeared very comfortable behind center. He made quick reads, was decisive with the ball and on target a good deal of the time. His biggest completion was a 44-yard touchdown pass to quarterback-turned-receiver Bert Emanuel Jr. in the middle of the end zone.
Saunders also impressed with the ability to make something happen with his legs when receivers were not open as well as designed runs, like a 5-yard keeper for a TD late in the workout.
Emanuel drew two pass interference penalties well downfield during the workout, indicating that the 6-foot-3, 230-pound senior from Houston could be a matchup nightmare this season for opposing defenders.
The running backs
Senior starting running back Lucky Sutton proved what he was capable of last season, when the Cathedral Catholic High School graduate rushed for 1,297 yards and 10 touchdowns.
His participation has been limited in the spring — and will be in the summer as well — to avoid potential injury until the carries that count. Sutton did start in the backfield, but wore a “hands off” red jersey around his neck over his black No. 7 jersey. He had a couple of carries early, then watched the proceedings from the sideline.
Senior Christian Washington also got in some work. He, too, is a known productive quantity. Of greater interest was seeing whether sophomore transfer Javion Kinnard can be a playmaker for the Aztecs. He can.
Kinnard took a handoff from redshirt freshman QB Draiden Trudeau on the fourth series of the afternoon, was briefly swallowed up at the line of scrimmage, then burst through the middle and outraced everyone on the field to the end zone for a 64-yard touchdown.
Kinnard, who had more receptions (18) than rushes (12) for the Rams last season, also showed he will be a threat catching balls out of the backfield. He makes defenders miss with quick cuts and spins and keeps his legs moving to for extra yardage. Kinnard was most of the offense on one late drive that ended with his 5-yard TD run.
Specialists
Kicker Gabe Plascencia attended the scrimmage. Unfortunately, he was watching from the sideline. Plascencia’s eligibility was exhausted last year after two-plus seasons in which he became the most accurate kicker in school history (36-for-41, .878).
Those auditioning to replace Plascencia left something to be desired. They each had half a dozen attempts — nothing longer than 47 yards — and combined to miss more in the scrimmage (six) than Plascencia did during his career (five).
Junior transfer Lane Garner (Butte College) missed a 37-yard attempt in the second half. Senior transfer Cooper DiLeva (Arkansas) had misses of 43 and 37 yards in the first half. Sophomore Nick Clegg, who had the inside track for the job coming into the spring, had misses of 37, 39 and 46 yards in the second half.
The 46-yarder hit the top of the right upright and spun away while two officials below waved their arms “no good.”
A long whistle thereafter indicated the scrimmage was over.
Spring Game
This was the ninth of 15 scheduled spring practices, which culminate with the Spring Game on May 2 at the SDSU practice fields on campus. The event is expected to include a family fair with games and other activities. The event begins at 1 p.m. and the scrimmage is schedule for 2 p.m.