When Sean Lewis took over as football coach at San Diego State, every player and coach was given a survey that asked them to share their music preferences.
Count that as the first, unexpected signal that things were about to be different.
“I put down Metallica,” said former Aztecs star Ryan Lindley, the team’s senior offensive analyst, explaining the team’s raucous practice playlists. “That’s what gets me cranked up a little bit. I figured that’ll keep our guys on their toes.”
So much about the debut of Lewis has revolved around “AztecFAST,” his offense designed to pile up snaps until defenders’ lungs cry out.
That’s only part of the alchemy at work as the Aztecs accelerate the pace after a dismal 4-8 season led to the departure of old-school coach Brady Hoke and a bored, fleeing fan base.
It’s also the energy, cranked up to 11 on the volume nob.
At practice on Friday, the rapper Drake boomed at practice. It was jarring after the tenures of veterans Hoke and Rocky Long. When a closed-practice drill ended, the roar sounded as if the Aztecs had stiff-armed Alabama for the national title.
“Shouldn’t matter if there’s 33,000 people at Snapdragon or just us in our own backyard having fun,” Lewis said. “If you get an opportunity to (compete), you’ve got to have fun doing it.”
This is part of jamming everything into a trash compactor and starting with a blank slate. A more colorful slate. A louder slate.
Lewis has succeeded in making the whole of it feel like a high-voltage reset. In the end, results will be the only thing that matters. That never changes.
If you listen, though, the landscape shift is clear.
“Music’s an amplifier of your mood,” Lindley said. “If that gets guys to go a little harder, good. It raises the excitement and energy at practice.
“There’s always philosophical differences. There’s places I’ve been, Coach (Mike) Leach (at Mississippi State) didn’t do a lot. Kyle Whittingham (at Utah) was here and there with it.”
In Lewis’ world, football cannot be limited to tackling and blocking schemes. Everything is interconnected, down to the practice playlists.
The Aztecs, a perennial MW title contender from 2015-21, were picked eighth in the 12-team preseason poll. It was the lowest the program has been slotted since 2009.
Big lifts demand big changes.
“When you hear the excitement, that’s what a great culture to me feels like,” Lewis said. “I don’t think culture’s a little thing. To me, culture’s the foundation.”
The recalibration extends to mindsets.
“Right now, guys are a little bit banged up,” Lewis said. “Guys are a little bit tired. Good. How do you respond when that’s the case? Everyone can do it when it’s easy. Energy’s great Day 1, right? It’s a horse of a different color now. You feel like the Tin Man a little bit. Gotta get the oil out to get going.
“It looks right, it feels right, that’s contagious. That’s going to snowball into some really good things.”
San Diego State has plenty to figure out, football-wise. The offense was 106th out of 130 major-college programs last season. The defense, generally one of the most stout in the game, slid to an uncharacteristic 69th.
Square 1 can be a messy place.
If you’re going to build a house from the studs, keeping the blood pumping along the way is the best path through the dust and debris.
Lewis thinks fast. He talks fast. He probably sleeps fast.
“It’s not just the players who feel that,” Lindley said. “The staff does, too. In the summer, there wasn’t a day he didn’t beat me to the weight room. I’m trying to get there early before we have staff meetings and he’s in there grinding.”
Energy? Yes.
Excuses or shortcuts?
“If you’re not practicing for one reason or another, like hey, I get that,” Lewis said. “But don’t tell me that you’re a gamer and you’re just going to show up and the lights are going to come on and you’re going to start making plays.
“I don’t believe in that. Those guys stand next to me on the sideline. I trust and I believe in the guys who do it day in and day out consistently.”
This is Camp Lewis.
Work hard. Play hard. Cheer like you won the national title, celebrating each and every step.
Go ahead and crank up the music while you’re at it.
