The water glistened Thursday evening as the sun set on the Pacific Ocean while San Diego State players and coaches, family and friends, boosters and supporters gathered on the deck of the USS Midway Museum.
It was some setting. They even threw in a lunar eclipse during SDSU’s 2026 Aztec Football Kickoff event. It was a picturesque place, where one could imagine that anything is possible this season, which begins Saturday against Portland State at Snapdragon Stadium.
In that regard, SDSU chose the right person as its special speaker.
Former Aztecs offensive tackle Ephraim Salaam stepped to the stage to share some motivational words with the audience. Salaam is living proof that anything is possible.
“I want to tell a quick story,” Salaam said. “Super Bowl XXXII (in 1998) was here in San Diego. I was a senior at San Diego State. I lived right over here in Talmadge … and I remember standing on my balcony during the Super Bowl and watching the fireworks from the stadium.
“And I thought, man, I hope I get an opportunity to play in the NFL, because the draft was coming up. And then I hope I get an opportunity to play in the Super Bowl at least one time. Three hundred sixty-five days later, I was starting in the Super Bowl (for Atlanta against Denver).”
Former San Diego State offensive lineman Ephraim Salaam speaks to those gathered at the 2026 Aztec Football Kickoff event. (Kirk Kenney / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Salaam, a seventh-round pick by the Falcons in the 1998 NFL Draft, spent 13 years in the NFL with six different teams. From there, he transitioned seamlessly into an entertainment career, as a radio host, TV broadcasting, reality show contestant and a Hollywood screenwriter and producer.
“I’ve gone on, and I’m a TV writer, write screenplays and all that,” Salaam said. “I couldn’t even come up with that (Super Bowl story). Right? But the thing that I knew was, if I set a goal for myself, there’s no one that can stop me from reaching that goal.”
Salaam looked out at the SDSU players in the audience. He had spoken to many of them beforehand.
“I’m talking to them like I talked to myself when I was in their position,” he said. “I say, if you want to go to The League, then go to The League. … We had six freshmen come in together, and our sole purpose was to go to the NFL.
“And we all went — from San Diego State. Not Alabama. Not LSU. Not Cal. Not UCLA. San Diego State. We all went. We all played. Had tremendous careers. But it starts here. It started when we got on campus, and we found like-minded athletes and people.”
Salaam, who skipped two grades in elementary school and arrived at SDSU as a 16-year-old, encouraged the Aztecs to chase greatness.
“If you just want to be good, OK,” he said. “I mean, I tell my kids, I have a 12- and 15-year-old, ‘Hey, look, the world is full of average people. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s more average people than above average. But nothing in my life that I have done has been average.’
“And it’s unacceptable. Don’t just be good. Good doesn’t get you there. Great gets you there. OK? You have to want to be great. … You have to normalize greatness, so it doesn’t seem impossible.”
Ambitious goals
SDSU coach Sean Lewis used the gathering to touch on what the Aztecs accomplished on and off the field last year — a 9-4 record and 3.0 cumulative team GPA — setting out some goals for the future.
“We have stabilized the program and advanced the program,” Lewis said. “We built a connected team on a strong foundation. We became co-champions of our conference during the regular season and returned to postseason play in 2025. … We’re proud of our progress, but we’re not satisfied. Not even close. We did not take on this challenge simply to become respectable. We did not work this hard to reach one summit and admire the view of where we are. Our climb never ends. San Diego State is entering the new Pac-12, and we are not entering it quietly. We’re not simply joining to participate. We intend to become the dominant force of this conference.”
Lewis said the challenge will will require more than winning on Saturdays.
“It will require us to lead in how we modernize a college football program,” he said. “How be build it. How we operate it. How we’re connected. And how our fans experience our culture. We must continue to innovate, deepen our relationships with our fans and partners, using technology improve performance and engagement and create new ways for alumni and supporters to invest in this mission.
“The Pac-12 should not be simply a conference we join. It should be a platform we help define. We’re hungry to compete for Pac-12 championships. We’re obsessed with building a program capable of earning a College Football Playoff berth. And we believe we can accomplish more at San Diego State than has ever been accomplished here ever before.”
Questions and answers
Voice of the Aztecs Jon Schaeffer had some questions for SDSU quarterback Jayden Denegal, running back Lucky Sutton and defensive lineman Malachi Finau when they came up on stage.
Denegal was asked, how do you grow on and off the field in your second year as the starting quarterback?
“Being more confident within myself (after) dealing with the injury and everything like that last year,” he said. “Ultimately, mastering my craft. The more reps you get, the better you get at it. With all the reps I get through the weeks of practice and that I got this offseason, with two healthy shoulders, it’s going to be amazing for me this season.
Sutton was asked, after last year’s success, what would he consider to be success as a team and individually this season?
“Winning a Pac-12 championship, that first one, for sure, and getting into that College Football Playoff,” Sutton said. “The individual success is built off that team success. That’s all I look for and what I’m aiming to do this year, focus on the team, the team, the team.
Finau was asked, how is SDSU going to replicate its success with so many new players (nine starters) on defense?
“Our mindset here with this year’s defense is ‘make your own history,’ ” Finau said
Lewis, assuming the persona of a talk show host, asked a few questions of special teams coordinator Zac Barton, defensive coordinator Demetrius Sumler and offensive coordinator Matt Johnson. Lewis saved the best questions for last.
For Barton, if all your kickers disappeared and you needed someone to make a game-winning kick, which staff member are you sending out?
“Coach Ryan Lindley,” Barton said. “I feel good about that.”
“He could drop kick,” Lewis said.
Of course, Lindley, now SDSU’s tight ends coach, made an impact with his arm. As Aztecs quarterback from 2007-11, Lindley passed for a school-record 12,690 yards. Who knows what kind of leg Lindley has? Then again, the way college eligibility is right now, maybe we can find out.
For Sumler, what animal best represents the personality of a defense led by you?
“A lion,” Sumler said. “Stalk our prey.”
For Johnson, what fictional character would make the best quarterback in the AztecFAST offense?
“My 2-year-old son would want me to say Lightning McQueen (from Cars), who likes to go fast,” Johnson said. “I’m also going to have to go with Ricky Bobby (from Talladega Nights) because Ricky Bobby like to go fast.”
“If you ain’t first, you’re last,” Lewis said. “Shake and bake. … We’re out of here. I’m not going to quit my day job.”