{"id":470747,"date":"2026-09-21T10:04:27","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T10:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470747\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T10:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T10:04:27","slug":"san-diego-state-may-have-found-something-special-in-javion-kinnard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/470747\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego State may have found something special in Javion Kinnard"},"content":{"rendered":"

The\u00a0San Diego State Aztecs<\/a>\u00a0knew Javion Kinnard was versatile when he transferred in from Colorado State, and he proved it with a big-time performance in place of injured running back Lucky Sutton in a dismal 26-13 home loss to James Madison on Saturday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The sophomore from Nashville carried 33 times for 181 yards and a 3-yard touchdown for SDSU\u2019s first score, in the third quarter. He also caught four passes for 70 yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His performance was one of the few bright spots for the Aztecs, who trailed 19-0 at halftime after another slow start.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Why Javion Kinnard was thrust into a bigger role<\/p>\n

Sutton was held out of practice last week and coach Sean Lewis said it was \u201cveteran\u2019s rest\u201d and indicated that he\u2019d be good to go to face the Dukes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sutton went through pregame warmups but didn\u2019t set foot on the field during the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lewis said only that Sutton \u201cgot a little dinged\u201d in a 28-10 loss at UCLA the previous Saturday and that it was game-time decision that he wouldn’t play against JMU.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lewis said Sutton \u201chopefully\u201d can play this Saturday at Toledo.<\/p>\n

What Javion Kinnard said after his breakout performance<\/p>\n

Kinnard said he knew \u201ckind of early in the week\u201d that he\u2019d have to be ready to step in for Sutton. \u201cHe was out all this week trying to get better on limited practice. He didn’t do a lot of contacts, so I’ve been getting a lot of runs. I’ve been prepared for moments like this. Early in the week, I was trying to get myself in that game mindset: I got to take a load for the running backs tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did he ever. He carried the load for the whole offense as quarterback Jayden Denegal continued to struggle, throwing two more interceptions that led to nine points for JMU, and just one touchdown pass.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI can say (JMU) started off faster than us,\u201d Kinnard said. \u201cWe had a lot of corrections. I had a couple corrections. I had a lot of different looks that I haven’t seen all season. This is my first real game actually having to step up. We just started off slow, but we started to pick up as I got runs. We\u2019ve got to start off faster, and that’s been our thing as a team. Got to start off faster than the other team.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Sean Lewis saw from Kinnard<\/p>\n

\u201cChop is a heck of a player,\u201d Lewis said. \u201cHe works extremely hard. He\u2019s a very explosive playmaker and I thought he had some good plays where we got him in space. I thought he did a really nice\u00a0job fighting and turning for dirty yards inside as well. I thought he did a really nice job, one-cut, getting downhill on some of the<\/p>\n

inside run scheme, staying square and having patience for those things to develop.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo yeah, pleased with his effort, obviously carrying the full load, not having Lucky tonight.\u00a0I think the two of them when they’re both healthy is a pretty tremendous one-two combo that we can lean on pretty heavily,\u201d Lewis said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Up next<\/p>\n

Kinnard and the Aztecs travel to Toledo for a 9 a.m. PT Saturday showdown in their final non-conference game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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