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Hacksaw’s Great Sports Weekend Super Bowl Podcast..Thursday..1:30pm
You Tube-Lee Hacksaw Hamilton
Hot Topics-Stay for Fans Forum
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“AZTECS FOOTBALL-NEW YEAR-NEW CHALLENGE”
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An awful first year. A very good second year.
Sean Lewis is about to embark on Year 3-of Aztec Fast football.
He still has search parties out there to find an electric offense.
He still believes he needs continuity to build the program, ‘finish the climb’ he says.
The year he replaced Brady Hoke, some 35-players jumped ship into the transfer portal. His (3-9) season was a rebuild on the run and it was painful.
Year two saw many players stay within the program, thanks to an NIL influx of money, and the end result was an impressive (9-3) finish and a bowl game.
But this off season was marred by 25-more defections into the transfer portal, including his key defensive stars. Add in those who are graduating, and Lewis is looking at putting another expansion type team on the field.
He has brought in 27-more transfers, and the revolving door at QB-seems to be continuing, a problem that plagued Rocky Long, Brady Hoke, both defensive whiz guys, but now has become an issue for the architect of Aztec Fast.
National Letter of Intent day has come and gone. More quarterbacks are in the mix. Last year’s starter is recovering from shoulder surgery, as are two top receivers.
The Aztecs coach brought in a unique mix of players, an SEC-QB…3-OL from the Big 10..some speed specialists from Oregon…and a cross section of players from 1AA-Division II and the JUCO ranks that they can coach up.
The surprise to me, of the 51-names on their recruiting list, only two from the hotbed of high school football in San Diego. Hard to believe no one in this once football made city was impressed by Lewis’ past track record of building programs, or last year’s hot season. Of course the so-called Aztecs-4-Life Alums must not be impressed either-they still don’t come to the home games at what has become ‘Soccer City Stadium’.
Alot more work to be done for sure.
Lewis had plenty to say on Signing Day:
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Coach Sean Lewis:
This staff did great job in December with high school signings
We retained a key group of players retention wise
We retained 21-of-25 key players
Bringing in 27-via transfer portal
8-from Power 4-conferences
6-from 1AA conferences
Group quality JUCO players
Added 22-high school recruits
We are in top 10-in retention rate nationwide
QB from Kentucky…OT from Indiana
Group from Oregon
We believe #2 in Portal Class in the new Pac 12
Interesting puzzle to come together…can they fit..can we afford them
We know where we have the most success..kids we can develop
New faces-new places-now make them fit
What we learned from year one was not enough quality-quantity
Our haul in transfer portal helped us alot
Continuity..No one has a handle on this chaos…it is changing so rapidly
We do some things well but we cannot keep them all
Cost of doing business is developing players-who move on
It is a win-win
Direction we are all going is really messy-monumental moment
Alot of things going on are good for the players
We navigate it well…doing it better than most
Players we developed made 3M-transferring.
I believe in the process and the people doing the job in the building
No spring portal so we have 9-weeks in a row with our players
This will be strong spring
QB-Jaden Denegal will be ready for spring-coming off shoulder surgery
WR-Jordan Napier will be a bit further behind rehab
WR-Donovan Brown coming back is huge
RB-Lucky Sutton-Christian Washington back is huge
First time since 2021 I am not breaking in a new QB
Jaden Denegal is a warrior-core culture is toughness-that is special..He was banged up..yet prepared to play as well as he could…Lost two of his top receivers halfway thru the season
Our needs, rebuild trenches and add to the secondary
Getting some kids to return from the portal..trusted us for last year of journey
We have alot of new coaches in this building..add more manpower-more wisdom…OL-LB-DE-bring alot of experience
Stone Saunders-QB-Kentucky..knew him from recruiting him in high school..he visited us at Colorado..came here by virtual of UK coaching change…Live arm..comes from coaching background…wired the right day…More throw than run
WR-Justius Lowe-Oregon…has more muscle mass about him
WR-Aldrich Doe-Bryant…Physical-caught alot of balls
WR-Marshall Sanders…Sequoias-accomplished alot at smaller level
OT-Evan Lawrence-Indiana..Played in 7-games
Our schedule-adding James Madison and UCLA will be fun
Alot turnover in Pac 12-new staffs at Oregon State-Washington State
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