{"id":491231,"date":"2026-10-10T05:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491231\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T05:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T05:56:12","slug":"san-diego-states-injury-concerns-leave-key-positions-unsettled-ahead-of-oregon-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/491231\/","title":{"rendered":"San Diego State’s injury concerns leave key positions unsettled ahead of Oregon State"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just five games into the season, the two-deep roster that the\u00a0San Diego State Aztecs<\/a>\u00a0include in their weekly notes package is a mere suggestion.<\/p>\n

Injuries and an outbreak of mumps have affected the locker room to the point that the Pac-12 availability report is a better indicator of who will trot out onto the Reser Stadium field when the 15.5-point underdog Aztecs face the explosive Beavers in a Pac-12 showdown at 3 p.m. Saturday.<\/p>\n

But even that report isn\u2019t a tell-all, because, as fans found out last week, the final availability report issued two hours before kickoff included 14 players in the \u201cgame-time decision\u201d category.<\/p>\n

So, to invoke an old coaching cliche, when fans look out on the field and see a certain player, they\u2019ll know he\u2019s available to play.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, here\u2019s a look at some key positions and who might man them when the Aztecs (3-2, 1-0 Pac-12) take on the Beavers (3-2, 1-0).<\/p>\n

Will Josiah Lucas lead SDSU’s backfield again?<\/p>\n

The Aztecs have been forced into the \u201cnext man up\u201d scenario twice this season, both with eye-popping results.<\/p>\n

When senior Lucky Sutton, last year\u2019s Mountain West rushing champion with 1,297 yards, couldn\u2019t go against James Madison due to a high-ankle sprain suffered at UCLA a week earlier, sophomore transfer Javion \u201cChop\u201d Kinnard stepped up and rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns, while adding four receptions for 70 yards in a losing effort.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Both Sutton and Kinnard were injured at Toledo the following week and had to be helped off the field in a wipeout loss for the Aztecs.<\/p>\n

Then came the Pac-12 opener against Texas State, when true freshman Josiah Lucas helped spur a second-half comeback when he scored twice in a 21-0 outburst fueled by big plays by the defense and special teams. He finished with 111 yards as the Aztecs held on to beat the Bobcats 31-29.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s availability report lists Sutton and Kinnard as questionable, an upgrade for both players from last week\u2019s report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But most indications are that it will be Lucas who trots onto the field when the Aztecs are on offense for the first time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cameron Cooper could see an expanded role<\/p>\n

Another guy who stepped up big-time was linebacker Cameron Cooper, who went from being a rotational player to an every-snap player after senior Tano Letuli, a three-year captain, left with an injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cooper responded by blocking a field goal attempt midway through the second quarter and then had a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown in the closing minutes to help the Aztecs stay ahead.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Letuli is listed as questionable, and odds are pretty good that he\u2019ll be a game-time decision.<\/p>\n

Either way, Cooper likely will see a lot of action against a high-powered offense that features the nation\u2019s leading passer,\u00a0Braden Atkinson, and receiver, Jesse Legree.<\/p>\n

SDSU could get a boost up front<\/p>\n

Guard Mikey Watkins, who missed the last two games, was upgraded from questionable to probable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Center Isaac Lucas, who missed last week\u2019s game after starting the first four games, is listed as questionable, meaning there\u2019s a 50% chance he can play.\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to watch San Diego State vs. Oregon State<\/p>\n

The Aztecs-Beavers showdown will be carried on San Diego Sports 760 radio and USA Network.<\/p>\n

\"\"Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Just five games into the season, the two-deep roster that the\u00a0San Diego State Aztecs\u00a0include in their weekly notes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-491231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}