MWC football: Hoke gives Aztecs some new hope

Editor's Note: This is the second in a nine-part series previewing Mountain West Conference football. Stories in projected order of finish (last-to-first) from the league's preseason media poll. Today: No. 8 San Diego State.

Mike May is San Diego State's sports information director and over the years he's had plenty of reason to not want to go to work on Saturdays in the fall.

But ask him about the new Aztec coaching staff led by Brady Hoke and his face breaks into a canyon right below the nose.

"People are going to be excited at what they see being done by this staff," said May.

Why?

San Diego State has long had a reputation for a ton of talent that somehow never left the beach parties and apartment sleepovers. The Aztecs are flash but little show. They fade, they skid, they quit.

At the media days this past week at the Green Valley Ranch Resort outside of Las Vegas, a reporter asked Hoke about the perception of SDSU's players being viewed as "soft."

Hoke: "Let me put it this way: They're not quite as tanned at this point in the summer as they used to be."

Hoke brought most of his staff from Ball State, then hired former New Mexico head coach Rocky Long as defensive coordinator. Hoke, Long and BYU's Bronco Mendenhall were all part of a staff at Oregon State in the early '90s.

Mendenhall was a graduate assistant to Hoke.

"Brady Hoke is an exceptional football coach," said Mendenhall. "I learned a lot from him about toughness and motivation and how to coach football players. I can tell you that San Diego State is going to be tough." Mendenhall also told reporters folks in Albuquerque are going to learn very fast how much they miss Long.

STRENGTHS: Good starting point is the return of freshman QB Ryan Lindley, who ranks No. 2 in the MWC in passing yards among returning QBs, ahead of TCU's Andy Dalton and right behind Max Hall of BYU. He's got eight returning starters on offense and former Aztec Brian Sipe as his mentor.

WEAKNESSES: SDSU's defense will improve but it was abysmal a year ago in simply stopping the run and holding opponents out of the end zone. The secondary has only senior Aaron Moore with solid experience. The rest will be learning Long's scheme's on the fly.