SAN DIEGO — For a season that will likely see several firsts for the San Diego State football team, it’s only appropriate that the program will see its first true freshman start at quarterback for the season opener.
Aztecs head coach Sean Lewis announced on Monday that Danny O’Neil will be the 49th quarterback to start for SDSU since the program ascended to Division I in 1969.
“Danny was the most accurate and the most productive all through camp,” Lewis said.
“He went about his business day to day the right way and (we’re) excited to see the team respond and rally around him while we continue to build the identity of this club in all three phases, not just in him.”
O’Neil will become the ninth freshman to earn a start in the DI for the Scarlet and Black and the first since Carson Baker in a 13-3 win against BYU in 2019. Just two other true freshmen have made starts for SDSU, with Spencer Brinton the first to do so at Hawaii in 1997 and Nick Bawden most recently at Fresno State in 2014.
“It's been a goal of mine my whole life to be a Division I starting quarterback,” O’Neil said. “So, it was awesome to hear, but then it was kind of like the next thing, which is now week one and being the best offense we can be moving forward.”
The true freshman from Indianapolis, Indiana beat out redshirt sophomore Florida State transfer AJ Duffy and redshirt freshman Javance Tuopou’ata-Johnson for the position.
While O’Neil appreciated the history that his winning the starting job carries at SDSU, he has his focus elsewhere.
“It's cool to hear, I guess, but it doesn't really mean anything unless I go out there and perform,” O’Neil said. “I'm just trying to lean on my guys, lean on my friends… my circle and then being able to provide juice for the offense and just trying to do my part.”
According to Lewis, the backup quarterback role as well as several others will be determined as the team finishes training camp.
Monday was the final camp session open to the media, and the team will begin its week one preparations for Texas A&M-Commerce on Aug. 26.
Building consistency and connection with WRs
O’Neil made the decision to graduate from Cathedral High early, becoming the first in program history to do so, to be on The Mesa for spring practices. It was a big part of him getting a jump start on learning the playbook and getting to know his teammates.
“Getting through the install one time before spring ball, getting all the 15 practices during spring ball and then just repetitions all over the summer and then all, all the way through camp… It's been super beneficial for not only me but all the receivers, all the o line making all the calls, just things like that,” O’Neil said.
That has been particularly important, as the wide receiver room has dealt with minor nicks and knocks that has kept the unit from being fully available for much of fall practice.
“It gives them an opportunity to get out on the field and there are more reps,” said wide receivers coach Lanear Sampson. “I always talk about opportunities.
“One guy goes down, it’s next man up mentality, so we’ve just got to continue to bring up the other guys and they're all battling for position right now.”
That has meant extended looks for senior Portland State transfer Nate Bennett and freshman UCLA transfer Jerry McClure. Each brings their own flavor to the receiver group.
“I would say competitiveness every day in leadership and when it comes to contested catches as well, I think that's somewhere I excel,” Bennett said. “I know I can use my leadership ability to help the guys, when they deal with the same things that I dealt with when I was younger.”
Meanwhile for the Coronado native McClure, he has been “joyful” at the opportunity to return home to play football at SDSU.
“I think my skill set is (that) I can adapt quickly to hard situations,” McClure said. “I feel like if I don't do quite as well the first time, all the time I can get used to it and make that a big part of my game as well.”
The quarterback position battle has helped build cohesion between the wide outs and the signal callers.
“Me and the guys have had some pretty good friendships that have been built and honestly just the, yeah, the trust that we have for each other,” O’Neil said.
“Knowing where they're gonna be there, they've been in their playbooks, they're all smart guys, they're all gonna make a lot of the right decisions most of the time and just trusting in that, trusting in who they are as people just, it makes it easier for me.”
The Aztecs open their 2024 season against Texas A&M-Commerce on at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31.