San Diego State football is back as the Aztecs begin spring practices under the direction of third-year head coach Sean Lewis, who remains as enthusiastic as ever about his program.
"It's been great to see the growth and the progress of the program, right? To know as we take the field today, and even as the guys started to come back to work in January, we've gotta to keep going back to -- the program is in a really healthy spot," Lewis told ABC 10News after Monday's opening practice.
There is no denying the Aztecs took a huge leap forward last season. After going 3-9 in 2024, Lewis led San Diego State to a 9-4 record and a narrow bowl loss to North Texas this past season. Lewis was also successful in keeping some key performers out of the transfer portal, including senior running back Lucky Sutton.
"We had nine long weeks of winter conditioning that prepared us for this moment. It's a blessing to be out here and it's really exciting today," Sutton said.
The biggest change for the Aztecs in 2026 is a new conference as the team joins the reformed Pac-12. Senior offensive lineman and left tackle Joe Borjon said winning a league title is only a starting place for the Aztecs.
"We believe in the vision. We believe in where we can take this. The standard is not just winning the Pac-12, it's getting to that CFP and not just winning a game there, but going beyond," Borjon said.
Whether that is even possible in the big money NIL era of college football remains to be seen, but Lewis and the Aztecs continue to set the mark as high as possible.
"Every year is the unique challenge of building a brand-new team," Lewis said.
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