There’s something fresh about Aztecs’ annual QB competition — athleticism

San Diego State will open the 2025 season with its eighth starting quarterback in the past eight years.

The competition has come down to a pair of junior transfers — Jayden Denegal (Michigan) and Bert Emanuel Jr. (Central Michigan) — who played sparingly at their former schools but have shown plenty of promise for the Aztecs.

The 6-foot-5 Denegal had the edge coming out of spring camp after displaying a strong arm and the ability to process things quickly in SDSU’s coach Sean Lewis’ uptempo offense.

Denegal continued to get first-team reps when fall camp began this week, though the 6-3 Emanuel continues to compete and impress as well. Emanuel’s dual-threat capacity has kept him in the mix. Lewis called the QB’s running ability his “super power” earlier this week.

A decision on the starter is expected to come shortly after the Aztecs’ Aug. 14 scrimmage at Snapdragon Stadium.

What will be the determining factor in Lewis’ decision? The coach said it will be the guy “who gives the offense confidence.”

“The quarterback is the one who gives the offense personality,” Lewis said. “The quarterback is the one who instills confidence in the offense.”

He’s the guy, Lewis continued, “who when he has the ball in his hands, not only the offense but the whole organization goes, ‘Yeah, that’s our dude.’ ”

He is the guy who, no matter if the offense is starting a drive on the opponents’ side of the field or from its own 5-yard line, there’s a belief that, Lewis said, that “we’re going to put the ball in the end zone.”

“That guy,” Lewis said, “who ultimately injects that confidence and that swagger, if you will, into the program. That’s the guy who is going to get the ball.”

SDSU’s recent quarterbacks were game managers. At best.

Denegal and Emanuel, brought in after starter Danny O’Neil transferred to Wisconsin, have been held in higher regard since arriving on the Mesa in January.

The word “athleticism” has been dusted off and used in connection with the position for the first time in more than a decade.

Denegal spent the past three seasons as a reserve quarterback for Michigan, appearing in six games during the Wolverines’ 2023 national championship season. He didn’t get a lot of playing time behind 2024 NFL Draft first-round pick J.J. McCarthy, completing 4 of 5 pass attempts for 50 yards and throwing a touchdown pass against Nebraska.

Emanuel has been most impressive running the ball, carrying 145 times for 844 yards and 12 touchdowns during his time at Central Michigan. The highlight was a 2022 game against Buffalo, when he rushed for 293 yards and three touchdowns. Emanuel is 27 of 51 passing in his career for 439 yards and five touchdowns with three interceptions.

SDSU offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Matt Johnson was asked to compare and contrast the QBs.

“They bring something different to the table,” Johnson said. “The throwing aspect is, obviously, Jayden’s strength. He’s got a very strong arm. He can make all the throws.

“Bert brings that athleticism piece that we haven’t had in a long time. Not to say that Jayden can’t run around and make plays and stuff but what their true strengths are is something that we haven’t had in awhile in this offense.”

Both Denegal and Emanuel were asked what they need to do over the next two weeks in order to be the guy.

Denegal deflected the question.

“I think, I think, I don’t know,” Denegal said before pivoting from me to we in his response. “We’re all going to keep working this fall camp and we’re all going to see at the end of camp who’s going to be the guy and we’re going to continue to get better every day competing against ourselves.”

Emanuel said he needs to “show that consistency.”

“Keep stacking days getting better and better,” he said. “That’s probably the biggest thing for me.”

Both quarterbacks have checked the leadership box, Johnson said.

“Those guys came in humble and hungry,” he said. “Neither one of them came in with a look-at-me mindset. That spoke volumes to the team. When you put your head down and get to work, those leadership roles will find you.”

There already has been some discussion that if Denegal wins the job, the Aztecs still must find a way to get Emanuel on the field.

“We have to get creative as coaches,” Johnson said. “It’s not going to be a deal where every time he’s in the game it’s a run because that makes us very predictable.

“There will be times and there will be situations where we might use him as a runner or we might have two (quarterbacks) on the field. There’s endless possibilities when you have a guy like that, with their athletic ability and their knowledge of the offense. It’s really up to us as coaches to be as creative as we want to be.”

The conversation regarding Emanuel always seems to center on his running. Never his throwing. He’s not going to protest.

“I think it’s a gift God blessed me with,” Emanuel said. “It’s not something I complain about. I enjoy making plays.

“Obviously, I want to win (the job) but if I don’t, at the end of the day I want to be the best teammate I can be.”

That includes doing anything asked of him.

“However it sorts out, Bert’s going to have a very valuable role on this team,” Lewis said. “He’s going to be an explosive playmaker that opponents are going to have to account for.

“Bert being the young man that he is and the high character that he has, through our transparency and the relationship that we’ve built, if it ends up being (backup), I know that he’ll embrace that and he’ll go forward and do a great job for us this fall.”

Said Emanuel: “Whatever they need me to do, (but) we’ll have that conversation then. Right now I’m competing for the quarterback spot.”

Notable

Senior transfer wide receiver Myles Kitt-Denton was back on the field at practice Thursday morning after being taken off on a cart Wednesday. It turns out Kitt-Denton wasn’t injured. He was cramping.

• Freshman tight end Ryan Wolfer watched Thursday’s practice from the sidelines with his right foot in a boot.