Aztecs will have new defensive scheme, cast of new characters in 2024

The San Diego State football team has a new defensive coordinator implementing a new defensive alignment that will feature at least nine new faces among the 11 starting spots.

What to expect from SDSU’s defense this season?

That question may not really be answered for another 160 days, when the Aztecs open the season against Texas A&M-Commerce.

SDSU is moving from a 3-3-5 to a 4-2-5 defense under defensive coordinator Eric Schmidt. Schmidt most recently was employed as the special teams coordinator and edge rushers coach at Washington.

Two seasons with the Huskies was preceded by two years as special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Fresno State. Before that, Schmidt spent six years as defensive coordinator at North Dakota.

The 4-2-5 defense was a common thread at all three programs.

“A lot gets made of different fronts and styles and things like that,” Schmidt said. “At the end of the day, every scheme is good if your guys are sound, they’re playing hard, they’re good at getting off blocks and tackling.

“Hopefully, it will lead to us being able to do some things in recruiting. Our edge rushers have been very, very successful throughout the years and guys who have been able to go on and play after college. ...

“This style of play, what we’re doing, it definitely translates to the next level and gives guys an opportunity to be able to be some of the most productive guys in the country.”

The Aztecs used the 3-3-5 to great success for more than a decade. Among other things, the alignment allowed coaches to position a linebacker either in the middle of the field or on the line of scrimmage.

“I’ve always felt like there’s been a great tradition of defense at San Diego State,” Schmidt said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for how hard and how physical they play.

“And I hope you see the same things, that you see guys who play with a lot of effort and desire and people get tired of playing against us because of the style we play.”

San Diego State defensive lineman Brandon McElroy, a transfer from Marshall, runs a drill during Thursday’s practice.

(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

It will be a mostly new cast of characters that SDSU fans see this season.

Defensive tackle Tupu Alualu and linebacker Cody Moon are the only two returning players who started at least half the team’s games last season.

Five starters left through the transfer portal. The group included linebacker Zyrus Fiseau, the team’s leading tackler, and safety Marcus Ratcliffe, who earned a spot in the starting lineup as a true freshman.

Moon, who was second on the team with 66 tackles last season, has only known the 3-3-5, which is what he also played at New Mexico before transferring last season to SDSU.

He is embracing the change.

“It’s more simple, I think, because we’re not blitzing as much,” Moon said, “but there’s a lot of different calls that we can make and gap schemes that we run that I’m not used to. ... I feel like this defense gives me a little more freedom to play where I want. It’s been a great experience so far.”

Moon described the 4-2-5 as more stagnant up front, with linemen holding gaps and taking on double-teams.

Linebackers, he said, also are “filling gaps and scraping over the top, as opposed to blitzing and running through gaps.”

The portal giveth as well as taketh for the Aztecs, who had 10 defensive players transfer in from four-year colleges.

San Diego State linebacker Cody Moon is one of the few returning starters on SDSU’s defense.

(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Brandon McElroy, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound senior from Marshall, was among them. McElroy came to football late, focusing on basketball at Pasadena’s John Muir High School before putting on the pads at Glendale Community College.

“Even in basketball, I was very aggressive,” McElroy said. “So, I say, ‘Why not?’ (to football).”

He is getting in as many extra reps as possible in the spring in a bid to make an impact on the defensive line.

Asked if he expects to be a starter come the fall, McElroy said, “Definitely. No doubt.”

Marlem Louis, a transfer from Richmond, is another new defensive lineman to the team. There’s also a pair of new linebackers — Army’s Tano Letuli and Utah’s Owen Chambliss — but most of the transfers are in the secondary.

A familiar face is safety William Nimmo Jr., a senior who transferred from UCLA. Nimmo graduated from Mater Dei Catholic High School.

How will all these pieces come together?

Schmidt says it’s too early to tell. The coaches were expected to get the first good glimpse of what they have during a scrimmage scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

“I’m reluctant to say now because we don’t have a huge sample on the guys yet,” Schmidt said.