Despite challenges, Aztecs' Brady Hoke bullish on receivers

The optimist views San Diego State’s receivers room as half full.
The pessimist sees it as half empty — with increasing vacancies.
SDSU lost its top two receivers — Jesse Matthews and Tyrell Shavers — following the 2022 season.
The Aztecs replenished the ranks in recent months with recruits and transfers. But just as hope surfaced at a position with a dearth of playmakers for more than a decade, recent events raise more questions.
The optimist can hope for junior Mehki Shaw (29 catches, 349 yards, 3 TDs) to build on a breakout season.
For senior Brionne Penny (12 catches, 166 yards) to show more consistency.
For true freshman Baylin Brooks to translate promise in practice to production in games.
And for junior Darius De Los Reyes or sophomores Phillippe Wesley II and Josh Nicholson or redshirt freshman Mikey Welsh to take a small opportunity and turn it into something bigger.
The pessimist will point to setbacks that already surfaced a week into preseason practice.
Redshirt freshman Jalil Tucker, a four-star recruit last year out of Lincoln High School, announced in May that he was transferring from Oregon to SDSU. When it came time to take the field on Friday, however, Tucker was not among the other Aztecs on the field. And any mention of SDSU has been scrubbed from his social media accounts.
There has been no official reason given for Tucker’s absence — and he has not provided a statement on social media.
When asked if there’s any chance Tucker could still put on an Aztecs uniform, SDSU coach Brady Hoke said simply: “He’s done.”
In Friday’s practice, Nicholson was helped from the field by two trainers after landing awkwardly on a long sideline route. He appears to have avoided what at the time looked like a serious injury.
Nicholson has been wearing a boot on his right foot and is expected to be ready for the season opener if all goes well.
One other player who looked like he could be a big boost to the wide receiver corps is junior transfer Raphael Williams Jr., but he most likely will have to sit out a year as a two-time transfer.
Williams caught 117 passes for 1,572 and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons for the Catamounts, a Division I FCS school. That came after competing during the spring of 2021 at Division II Tusculum in Tennessee.
The NCAA allows a one-time transfer to play immediately at his new school. Two-time transfers must sit out for a year. SDSU is hoping to obtain a waiver for the rule, though it is not deemed likely.
“We’ve got a phone call I’ve got to make tomorrow to see if I can get anything done with it,” Hoke said.
The optimist will point out that SDSU never planned to rely much on its receivers.
The Aztecs have discussed for months using two and three tight formations favored by Utah. They also plan to take advantage of depth in the running backs room, both with handoffs and passes .
The pessimist would counter that the wide receivers at least have to present a threat to keep defenses honest.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Hoke said. “I really do. I think the improvement from some of those young guys from the spring, I think we have a more versatile group. I like how Brionne has been practicing, and his attitude. I think he’s grown up. If he will grow up, that’s going to help us a bunch.”
Game night
Monday’s practice concluded with an impromptu game of tic-tac-toe.
Selected players from offense and defense competed in groups of three, each doing a roll and then spring to place a towel in one of the circles until they had three in a row.
The loser in best-of-3 competition had to do a set of up-downs.
SDSU players focused on speed over strategy. Freshman lineman Briley Barron’s dive for center square earned the victory for the offense in the decisive third round.
“We’ve had different competitions we’ve done over the years,” Hoke said. “Some of them you can’t do anymore. ... Coach (Adam) Hall came up with tic-tac-toe. We (the defense) should have put the last one in the middle. But they had a lot of fun with it. ...”
“I haven’t really coached them up on tic-tac-toe. I’ve seen guys try to teach other guys, but some guys are hard learners.”
Hi, my name is ...
Hoke noted on more than one occasion recently that linebacker Cody Moon, a junior transfer from New Mexico, reminds him of rapper Eminem.
“It was kind of funny once Coach mentioned that in the press conference (last week),” Moon said, “I had my family members sending me pictures of me side-by-side with Eminem. I was thinking, ‘I never thought about that resemblance, but I guess I could see it.’ It’s all right. I don’t mind it.”
Moon said he enjoys all genres of music, favoring Southern and Northern California artists when it comes to rap.
Asked if he was surprised that Hoke knew who Eminem is, Moon said: “No, actually Coach Hoke is pretty wide-minded. He knows a lot of different things.”
Watch lists
Moon is among 96 players on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award. The group includes 29 linebackers for the award given to the nation’s top defensive player.
SDSU left guard Cade Bennett is one of 91 players on the Outland Trophy watch list, which goes to the nation’s top interior linemen.