É«ÇéÊÓƵ

This story is part of the É«ÇéÊÓƵ Magazine special web edition, which is out April 22.

It’s a cool spring day on the É«ÇéÊÓƵ campus, and Sean Lewis, the new Aztec football head coach, appears on the Zoom window from his office. In the background, a variety of college football helmets sit lined up under a big-screen TV, and a lifesize photo of legendary running back Marshall Faulk in his No. 28 Aztec uniform hangs on the wall.

Lewis is just five days away from his first test as the new head coach of the É«ÇéÊÓƵ football team: the Aztec FAST Showcase presented by Aztec Link on April 20 at Snapdragon Stadium. But today, he’s about to face his biggest challenger yet: the internet. Aztec fans responded to a call for questions on Instagram and , and coach Lewis is ready to answer.

Editor’s note: Some questions have been edited for clarification.

@jaredcornick: What makes you the most excited about being the coach of the San Diego State Aztecs?
Coach Sean Lewis: I’m thrilled to take over a program with such a rich tradition. We’re poised here on The Mesa with the new stadium, the great local talent for a recruiting hotbed and the tremendous support of our city for us to take this thing to great heights in the future.

@fan_cfb: How do you plan on connecting fans with the team with such a big turnover from last season?
Lewis: We’ll do that by getting our guys out in the community the way that we have and to continue to do events where the fans and the community can interact with our players. We’ll also share the players’ stories on all the various platforms and really make sure that it's a lot more than just a player in a uniform but the fans know who's underneath the facemask.

@caden__bennett: Do we have new uniforms and helmets this year?
Lewis: To be determined… But we’re looking to get things in a really competitive space there, so it can be fun for the players and for the fans.

@_gracehawkins: What’s your biggest goal for this season?
Lewis: The goal is always for us to grow our young men and for them to have the opportunity to graduate, and then in between the white lines, we want to be as extremely competitive as we can possibly be and look to improve week in and week out. 

@colin_geb: Do you expect us to exceed expectations or fall just around predicted?
Lewis: I look for us to constantly be overachieving. Our guys have been working tremendously hard, our staff’s been working tremendously hard, and we always want to be able to exceed any sort of expectations that are put on us from the outside world. I don't think anyone on the outside is going to have higher expectations than we have for ourselves. So we're really growing and learning about who this team is and what we're about and what we're truly capable of. I'm looking forward to reaching those levels and exceeding the expectations that we place on ourselves within our football family here. 

@dulatretwins: Can you get the Aztecs undefeated?
Lewis: Yes, with the whole community’s support, with the whole community's help, right, for things to work out in the way that we want them to, to run the table. And I'm never going to say that it’s not a possibility, but it’s going to take all of us. Everyone within the building here, everyone within the community, and in the day and age that we live in right now with NIL and support that's needed throughout all of San Diego. With that, we need to be able to really lean into what that is so we can make everything happen at a really, really high level.

@lawstbrewer: How do you plan to use the run game in the Aztec FAST offense?
Lewis: We’re going to play balanced football, right? I think a lot of people get caught up on just that uptempo Aztec FAST and think that it’s strictly throwing the ball. I played my college ball at Wisconsin, and there's still some Badger blood that runs through me. So running power and running the football is going to be a part of who we are.

And you know, there's going to be a loyalty to winning week in and week out. I think it's our job as a staff to make sure that we manage the game and the style of play, right, so that we can play some complimentary football in all three phases. And then again, offensively, we're not going to be tied to just doing it one way but doing what's necessary so we can win week in and week out. Running the ball will certainly be a part of that plan. And I look forward to implementing it.

@KoolEconomics (Part 1): Having coached at the University of Colorado Boulder, do you have any thoughts on playing at altitude? Specifically, how does Aztec FAST work at altitude?
Lewis: There are obviously some advantages to it and some disadvantages as well. But, to me, that's one of those areas that we cannot control, and I love just pouring into the areas that we can control. So we'll be smart about how we manage that in the places where we have to go while you're at altitude. But the years of experience that I have gives us some benefit to navigating that in the right way.

@KoolEconomics (Part 2): How do we not return to Al Luginbill days of having an offense that goes 3 and out or scores quickly and gasses the defense under Aztec FAST?
Lewis: Again, because there's going to be complimentary football that's played, and we're going to be loyal to winning as we move through this process. And you have to have a great understanding of how each phase of the game builds and complements the other. So we're not going to put any phase of our program at a severe detriment just because one thing is supposed to be greater than any of the other pieces. We're better collectively together than we are as any one individual piece going further or going faster by itself.

@sam.06273: What is your favorite part of the San Diego area?
Lewis: All the great tacos and burritos [laughs]. Before I came here, I felt like I’d be able to eat great Mexican food each and every single day. And now I'm getting to test that theory, which is great. I've really been enjoying all the different restaurants and getting those experiences. 

@betoagu_i: Favorite place to eat on the É«ÇéÊÓƵ campus?
Lewis: Trujillo’s Taco Shop. It’s fabulous. I order all the different burritos they have on deck.

@alec.barragan: Lebron or MJ?
Lewis: MJ all day.