San Diego State 2005 Season | Team Page	Select Conference ACC Big East Big Ten Big 12 Conference USA Independents MAC Mountain West Pac-10 SEC Sun Belt WAC Select Team

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The Lowdown 2006 Schedule Coach: Chuck Long (First season) 2005 record: 5-7 MWC finish: 4-4 (t-4th) 2005 I-A offensive rankings: Rushing: 54th (147.5 ypg) Passing: 45th (231.6 ypg) 2005 I-A defensive rankings: Rushing: 95th (185.3 ypg) Passing: 61th (220.8 ypg) Date Opponent Aug. 31 UTEP Sept. 16 at Wisconsin Sept. 23 Utah Sept. 30 at San Jose State Oct. 7 at BYU Oct. 21 Air Force Oct. 28 Cal Poly Nov. 4 at Wyoming Nov. 11 UNLV Nov. 18 at TCU Nov. 25 at New Mexico Dec. 2 Colorado State Depth Chart: Offense 4 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. WR 1 Chaz Schilens Jr. 18 Roberto Wallace Fr. WR 15 DeMarco Sampson So. 2 Ramal Porter Sr. WR 16 Brett Swain Jr. 10 Marcus Montgomery So. LT 59 Nick Smith Sr. 76 Will Robinson Jr. LG 77 Mike Schmidt So. - Whitley Fehoko Fr. C - Peter Manuma Jr. 75 Patrick Justman Sr. RG 62 B. Dombrowski Jr. 67 I. Aken-Moleta Fr. RT 70 Mike Kravetz Jr. 71 Eric Rouser So. TE 86 Waika Spencer Fr. 81 Steve Schmidt Sr. QB 7 Kevin O'Connell Jr. 4 Darren Mougey So. RB 22 Lynell Hamilton Jr. 37 Brandon Bornes Jr. Depth Chart: Defense 7 returning starters in red Ps. No. Player Yr. No. Player Yr. DE 93 Antwan Applewhite Jr. 47 Kwan Howard Sr. DT 99 Jonathan Bailes Sr. 91 Ornan Nwansi Jr. DT 96 Frederick Amano Jr. 56 Jonathan Soto So. DE 94 Nick Osborn Jr. 92 Siaosi Fifita So. SLB 45 Andrew Schantz So. 58 Marc Hull Jr. MLB 51 Joe Martin Sr. 35 Luke Laolagi Fr. WLB 46 Russell Allen So. 36 Brett Martin Jr. CB 3 Donny Baker Sr. 43 Aaron Moore Fr. CB 9 Terrell Maze Sr. 10 Josh Walker Fr. SS 31 Reggie Grigsby Sr. 37 Matt Barbier Sr. FS 12 Brett Sturm Sr. 13 T.J. McKay So. Special Teams Ps. No. Player Yr. Ps. No. Player Yr. K 14 Garrett Palmer Jr. KR 85 Justin Amaral Sr. P 17 Michael Hughes Jr. PR 35 Atiyyah Henderson Fr.

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San Diego State dipped into the junior college ranks to hire Tom Craft as coach five years ago and all he did was continue the program's longstanding pattern of losing, in a big way. Of the 12 people who have coached the Aztecs for three or more seasons, Craft's .396 winning percentage ranks as the second lowest in school history. Little wonder, then, that the Aztecs, who have suffered through seven consecutive non-winning seasons, fired Craft after four seasons.

The university is now taking the hot-shot coordinator route. Chuck Long spent the past six seasons at Oklahoma, the final four as offensive coordinator, and his 2003 offense set Sooners' records for points scored (601) and touchdown passes (43). This season will be his first as a head coach at any level, but the 1985 Heisman Trophy runner-up commands respect because Oklahoma played in three NCAA title games, winning one, during his time with the Sooners.

"We needed a person to lead us and guide us to the promised land and he knows what it takes," senior defensive tackle Jonathan Bailes says. "Not that Craft didn't, but coming from [junior college] and coming from Oklahoma and winning a national title [are two different elements], to be honest."

OFFENSE

Junior Kevin O'Connell enters fall camp atop the depth chart, but Long stopped short of proclaiming him the starting quarterback. Though O'Connell has started 17 consecutive games over the past two seasons, Long says he still has to earn the job in August over sophomore Darren Mougey and redshirt freshman Kevin Craft.

The Aztecs figure to run the ball more under Long, and it will be much easier to do so if junior Lynell Hamilton is back in top form. Hamilton rushed for 1,087 yards as a freshman in 2003 but missed the '04 season while recovering from a broken leg. He returned last fall but struggled with hamstring woes for most of the season. If he's back to his old self, he will be one of the top backs on the West Coast.

Replacing star receiver Jeff Webb is a must, and nobody stepped up to fill the gap during spring drills. Junior Chaz Schilens showed signs late last season of possibly filling the role. Sophomore DeMarco Sampson is another receiver with big-play ability who could fill the void.

The offensive line is loaded with question marks after the departure of four starters and a spring in which the team's top returning lineman, junior guard Brandyn Dombrowski, missed most of the four-week session with a knee injury. The hope is that junior college transfer Peter Manuma, a center, will have an immediate impact.

DEFENSE

The Aztecs return some solid talent, most notably in a secondary that will be one of the best in the Mountain West. Senior strong safety Reggie Grigsby is one of the top defensive players in the league, and senior cornerbacks Terrell Maze and Donny Baker also are coming off solid campaigns.

Senior Joe Martin, a former walk-on, will move to the middle after playing well on the strong side last season. Martin showed signs in the spring of becoming the defensive leader.

The defensive line featured some veteran talent, but this unit must get more pressure on the quarterback after ranking eighth in the MWC last year with 17 sacks.

The Aztecs have a new defensive coordinator in Bob Elliott, who formerly had success running defenses at Kansas State and Iowa.

SPECIALISTS

SDSU returns two of the top specialists in the league, punter Michael Hughes (44.8-yard average) and kicker Garrett Palmer (15-of-17 field goals).The Aztecs desperately need to improve their return game after averaging 16.4 on kickoff returns and 6.3 on punt returns.

FINAL ANALYSIS

San Diego State has as much potential as any non-BCS program in the nation, but the Aztecs have been mired in mediocrity for years. Now, it's up to Long to pump some life into the program. His offenses at OU were known more for their passing attacks, but the Aztecs' path to success in 2006 will be a ball-control offense that minimizes mistakes.

TCU, Utah and BYU appear to be the class of the league, but San Diego State could make a move up the Mountain West and finish as high as fourth place in Long's first tour of duty.