SDSU FOOTBALL: HEAD COACH SEAN LEWIS POST GAME AFTER TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE

come all right who do we question for Ro's going to take all the hard-hitting questions all [Laughter] right well found a way to play better much much better in the second half right obviously got to start a heck a lot faster in the first half and play with much better discipline as we come out um and do the basic things at a much higher level to start the game but really proud of the uh resiliency of the club the character of the club and the way that they responded in the second half um got to do a much better job with discipline and and and limit the number of penalties obviously that is is unacceptable but really happy to get the win um and obviously you know it's going to be a lot better to to clean up a win than it is a a messy loss so we're happy to to do that but obviously lots of room for improvement lots of room to grow to grow but really proud of everyone in the program um and the work that they've put in to get to this point and to be one and0 and uh you know need to take a big stride as we go forward into you know week two and obviously another tough home contest as we go forward coach congratulations on your first win coach um you you mentioned those penalties um obviously they roughing the passer led to their touchdown after the great play is some of that just kind of the kids needing to learn how to win as a team because there's so many new parts and so many pieces and having to be able to kind of figure out what it looks like them yeah absolutely right I mean it's an emotional game that needs to be played with emotion but you can't play it emotional right and so yeah there there's a there's a process that goes into this right and there's a a way in which that we're going to win and uh you know we can't have those mistakes right to where you have foolish penalties that extend drives right um things that happened pre or post Snap you know things that we talk about is our controllables that we do a much better job controlling so that the Aztecs don't beat the Aztecs right and I think that was kind of the biggest difference between the two halves was that in the first half you know the tip of the cap to to ANM Commerce right they had a really good plan right but we need to respond better um and execute at a higher level so that you know we we play Within you know our makeup and the way that we're going to do things and uh yeah learning how to win consistently and how you go about your process each and every single day that's a big big piece of it looks like in the first half you're looking at Danny calm down a little bit was kind a problem for him no I mean you know there was just a couple of those deep shots right to where you know I thought we had some some matchup advantages that we give the quarterback and and the receivers a chance to be on the same page there with all of it you know that you know we'd be in a good spot and he settled into the game right to where again you know it's his first start obviously with all of it and again the the are flowing for everyone right so the speed at which the receivers are running is a little bit different than it is at practice right and uh you know so everyone had to settle in it wasn't just Danny I was kind of just talking you know to the whole offense as as a whole right like hey like no one needs to do anything more than what you're trained to do you know and do that at a really high level and uh again thought we did that you know much much better in the second half 42 Point second marz that kind of back on track yeah I think so right I mean momentum is a very real thing or at least I believe that it is right and so anytime that you can have and generate those explosive plays um you know that's a big deal right and so you know we're able to generate some of those explosive plays defense getting points you know accounting for two touchdowns in the second half is huge um so yeah once you get that on your side right then you got to kind of develop that instinct to to have it and to keep it right and and to be consistent throughout so that momentum stays on your sideline and you can ride that you know to the Finish Line the right way marz P 4,000 perer uh rushing yards today is that good very good player I think ever to do that nice obviously you've seen a lot of those up close in person he was just up here saying how heed his whole life but he's here to prove people wrong he thinks he could be the best back in the country like what do you see from him that makes him so good like what he does I mean his competitive spirit is second to none right the way that he works each and every single day I mean from the moment that he stepped foot on campus as an early enrol Le in in January of 2020 right he's been mature Beyond his years and he loves the whole process he loves the day in Day Out out grind so to speak of what it takes to to be a guy that you can count on that you can trust you know in between the white lines on a Saturday night and you know I mean shoot the more touches he gets the stronger he gets he doesn't break down and um you know I'm glad he's on our team right I'm glad that he chose to come out west with us and to you know to to be on this journey with us he's going to make us better right and um yeah he's a special special player are you more happy that you almost tripled their yardage out or upset about the 16 uh more about the penalties I guess anything if I have to choose one or the other right again those penalties a lot of them are things that we can control and those are things that we got to clean up and um you know we got to do a much better job in that area coach Beyond just the uh or beyond the two scores defensively you limit uh an Commerce to 58 yards tot offense in the second half just speak to how that unit as a whole really locked in dialed in and took pretty much everything away yeah I mean I thought they did a great job communicating they were playing with great effort and run to the ball you know I thought we did a good job you know affecting their quarterback and kind of getting him off of his rhythm and disrupting some of the timing with all it but again it it it goes back to those basic fundamentals those those core tenants of you know communicating playing with great fundamentals playing with Relentless effort having great Focus you I thought we just did that at a higher level right and again like there there's a there's a confidence to that unit coach Schmidt does a great job our leaders on the field do a great job right and again we just got to play within the confines of of who we are within the calls that are made and when we do we can execute at a high level consistently is obiously very important during games how important is it on defense to have so many playmakers that can for those fumbles sh that momentum it's huge right I mean anytime that you can you can generate momentum by generating those turnovers right I mean I think we did a study this past offseason where if you can win the turnover margin right even if it's just plus one I think your win rate goes up like 84% was the study that we looked into when we were looking at all of it right and so you know at the end of the day when you're on the plus side of that that turnover margin because you got guys flying around and are opportunistic because they're playing with fanatical effort right they're impacting and affecting the quarterback and then they're able to you know get scooping scores and they're able to get pick sixes I mean that that's a huge huge competitive Advantage coer who such such a high workload how can you kind of preserve him throughout the season yeah we just got to be smart right but I mean he's a really good player and he warrants the touches right as we go through it so I'm not really smart but I know that the good players need to touch the ball so I'm probably going to give it to him a few times how was the in hel communication throughout the game the first time you got to do it at the college level how that work out yeah I thought it was good you know I thought there were some pretty critical situations where you're able to give good info it's a sweet ringtone nice you know but again especially um at at the end of game situations there right no matter if it was Danny or if it was javance right just kind of managing the clock and obviously there was one thing there at the end I wish we would have done a better job so we wouldn't have to put our defense back out there and and end the game the right way in that four-minute situation but again we'll clean that up um but having that communication having the tablets um you know is invaluable it's really cool to be able to have those conversations to to get immediate feedback to get some things corrected you know I mean I thought our like one of those things in particular was our the way our outside receivers blocked like on the opening play of the game we didn't do a good job seeing an invert safety because it was a unique look and Coach Samson did a good job calling those outside wide receivers together and then a lot of those explosive runs that you know Coupe hit was because our outside receivers did a great job digging out that invert safety that we missed on the very first play right and so that's a great job by the kids taking coaching it's an unbelievable job by the staff seeing that and correcting that so that there can be that in-game adjustment hey this point of emphasis is huge we're going to come back to this and we we were able to generate quite a few explosive runs because of that and the way that the kids you know took those uh coaching points throughout the course of the game and it was because of hey the visual picture we able to give them right so that was really neat offive performance to yeah I mean nothing happens without them up front right so I thought they did a nice job you know playing together playing UniFi especially with Joe going down and guys stepping up um you know it was a really really good effort by their part right and again lots to improve upon but you know anytime that you have a back that has the production that Coupe had it's because of the big boys up front talk about how slow obviously the first half was yeah I mean again we you know we came in here at halftime and you know there's a lot of things that we had corrected on the boundary as well leading into halftime within the first half to where we was just again a lot of unforced Errors right we had some Dro passes we had some alignment mistakes we had some communication issues that you know again guys were just pressing they were probably trying to do too much a lot of guys getting their first starts you know a lot of uh increased roles for a lot of new guys right and playing within the system and and going through you know a game for the very first time right so just getting guys to to settle down to play within themselves to communicate better um not try to do too much right and then respond play after play after play with good discipline right and not again get emotional about things like hey whatever happens happens good bad and you know ugly like quite honestly it doesn't matter like we got to get better on the very next play and we got to refocus so hey challenge say at the end of the day like what's the character of our club what are we going to do right now right we're backed up we got some adversity how are we going to respond and I thought the guys responded in a great way and obviously led to a a great second half so maybe I need to rethink what my pregame speech is because obviously that was really really poor right and so we can get off to a better start you guys said that at half time you that's what it was you SC the course SC the position coaches start keep on going with the process is there ever a time where you need to peel the paint off the walls give give them a good tongue lashing I mean it depends on the club right I mean but this is our first time going through it together right and we talked about it as a staff that there's so many kids again with an increased role that are going through this for the very first time that we need to model the behavior right so I know our plan to win works right and so I'm steadfast in that belief that if we control the controllables we do a great job running the ball we kill the run and we're more physical in the Special Teams units right that that we're going to have a great chance to win and like of those three things in our plan to win we didn't control the controllables we weren't running the ball great you know we let the ball bleed through and which led to a touchdown there you know at the end of the first half and you know we weren't the the team that was established in the tone when it came to special teams right so we were over three right and so again like hey let's let's go back to what we know to be true and and rework why aren't these things working not obsess about the result and what's happening but what's the process that leading to those things and really hone in on that and that's what our staff did and that's you know I think it's really important that we show these guys right like hey what it looks like model that behavior set the standard for what it is to have great competitive maturity and the kids responded the right way so kudos to them and and their response and if that's going to be you know again like we're learning about this club as we go right and each snap each rep there's something to behold and you know on a night like tonight hey it was ugly in the first half right but if our response can be that to adverse situations we're gonna have a chance as we go forward you know with everything that we do and obviously we can't put ourselves in that sort of hole right but you know we're going to have a chance that we can respond with discipline when adversity hits so what did you say at halim that was so much better than prev again just hey do the basic things at a high level right like don't be bored with the basics and don't be bored with communicating don't be bored with being physical don't be bored with being you know having great fundamentals as we go forward to know that this F first you still man to put 45 points and what look for the team yeah I mean you know it was a again a great team effort you know in in the second half with the defense getting points and obviously the offense generating some explosives and and special teams you know winning the field position battle and everything so yeah I think the the ceiling of the club is is pretty high right you know got to watch a little bit more of the tape and take a deeper dive into all three phases as to how we can improve a lot you know as we go forward because again this this next opponent not to look too fast ahead right here just you know minutes after we won this one right but it's going to be a steep challenge you know and another opportunity for us to again you know change our best and and go forward and improve and compete each and every single day did you get the game ball for your first yeah yeah JD you know recognized me there and I hate that it's about me and everything is about this club right like the the team the 2024 Aztecs got their first win and I happen to be the head coach and I'm really humble and really proud to lead these guys but the team got that win I didn't make a single play right like I just having to put a blueprint in front of them that they believe in that they're following and I'm really really proud to be their coach and I need to do a better job of leading them so we can get off to a faster start we can be in a better position to be successful early on but it's cool to get the first win it's great to be one and0 and uh you know there's going to be a nice Victory Cigar waiting back home you know so I can I can soak this one up a little bit well where will that football go uh we got to find a special spot for it not quite sure just yet we talked a lot about fast guys train I believe it was 78 79 plays and 28 and2 minutes is that about where you want to be it was all right I mean you know there was some some things that we did there at the end that we needed to right at the end of the deal at the end of the day it was you know the the Clock Was was the biggest opponent right and we wanted to the biggest thing is being loyal to winning not necessarily you know a style of play so you know I thought there was moments and there was times where we were able to operate in Tempo pretty smooth right but we can't let that be a detriment to to who we are um you know that that leads to mistakes at times I thought some of the stuff in the first half again just maybe I was pushing on the gas a little bit too quick right and we weren't doing a great job communicating offensively which led to some of those negative plays right so again it's a it's a fine balance um and that's really the art of coaching right to how fast do we we push versus you know how do we vary our pitches and utilize all the different tempos that we have at our disposal um to create a competitive Advantage so that ultimately the azex win each and every single week out coach did you talk about Danny his whole game and yeah I mean again like great competitor great Poise um you know battled through some some big shots um but kept us on schedule for the most part right and again weathered the storm early didn't press um you know valued the football and again did all the basic things a at a pretty high level give us a chance to win so proud of his efforts and you know again lots of that will clean up as we go forward you know some of those those uh missed opportunities some some overthrows and everything we'll assess why that happened and you know again get him to settle in a little bit better right so we can maximize all that stuff that's my job and you know coach Johnson's job to help him and put him in a better spot but all in all right like if we took the test right we passed the test and and away we go we're one and0 you you said that you know the scrimmages that he had compared to what he' been doing in practice you know was night and do you feel like you saw that yeah I mean he did a great job leading our club right again he managed the situation that you know was a little bit Rocky to start and settled in and you know there was a calmness and there was a collectiveness to him and and a Poise that you know rippled through the offense and allowed the offense to work and again he'll continue to grow and he'll continue to mature and you know as much as he can carry we'll put on his plate and you know we we'll we we'll ride with him talk a little about Trey white um obviously he punches the ball out leads the touchdown got a screen outside of his own what did you yeah I mean he's athletic he's productive he's competitor right I mean all the things that have led him to be one of our captains and you know to lead us on the warrior walk today as we go you know so again he's got a nose for the football he plays with a Relentless motor he's got great energy that he brings each and every single day right like the ball happens to find energy and he brings great energy each and every single day and and love what he you know brings to the club and the leadership as he continues to grow and mature and refine his skills as he's learning how to play a new position um you know I think that production will go up as well and then you um in the old days um offensive linemen would move all over the place um does you don't see it too much today how hard is it for Christian Jones to be able to the left guard Joe goes out and just to slide over and be able to do a good job there yeah I mean across the board right if you got position versatility especially up front right like you become really really invaluable right and so I think that's one of the you know unique things that coach smid's been able to do with a guy like Christian right is to dual train him knowing that you know there's there's some some some depth concerns at certain spot so that we can get the best five collectively on the field together so with Joe going down he's able to kick back out miles is able to come up and we're able to put the best five that we have you know available in our Arsenal out there so that they can play together so it's a tip of the cap to coach mid and obviously all the work that you know Christian has done so um yeah it's it's a it's a great asset to have you know and obviously speaks to Christian's football IQ and his level of smarts to be able to know both inside and outside how both those those worlds operate question for me um why was it important for you to be surrounded by these beautiful people because they've been on this journey with me right you know and all these memories that we get to share they're they're here they're beside me and and the beauty of it is they don't really quite care if Daddy wins or loses right they're they're here with me and um man I mean that they're everything to me anything else to coach you had a very unique advantage of marz Cooper's big run for the touchdown seemed to kind of propel the scoring in the second half and the third quar what what was your view of it from the field and can you talk a little bit about the job the offensive line did yeah I mean the offensive line did a great job but I thought bayen Brooks was really kind of the the Difference Maker on that play right the the old line did a great job taking care of level one level two but their boundary safety spun down out of the clouds and and that was the the a very similar concept to the first play of the game that we missed on the opposite side right and again that that was a correction that the wide receiver room made that coach Samson did a great job identifying and then Bal went in there courageously and got the job done and it forced their boundary corner to tackle um which he chose not to do and CP was able to run through it and away we go sh used to say a 24hour rule you can enjoy a win for 24 hours and you got to flush it do you have something similar philosophy yeah absolutely I told the boys hey we got 24 hours celebrate the win right like make sure they got good clean American fun you know and then again we'll we'll clean up the tape there's lessons to learn right and then we'll talk constantly about hey it doesn't matter we got to get better as we go forward right I mean like I it's a great minds set to have no matter what happens win loss you know you win or you learn right and it doesn't matter we got to get better as we continue to move forward so that we're playing our best ball you know as we move through this journey of this season