UCLA Football Preview: SDSU Kicker Jack Browning Leads Aztecs in Scoring
The senior kicker has accounted for 18 of the Aztecs' 56 points so far this year.
This week, the UCLA Bruins will head down San Diego way for a game at Snapdragon Stadium against the San Diego State Aztecs. The Aztecs have already played two games this season. They defeated Ohio in Week Zero, 20-13, and then, beat Idaho State, 36-28, this past weekend.
Two games into 2023, SDSU’s leading scorer is kicker Jack Browning. So far, Browning has accounted for 18 of the Aztecs’ 56 points. He’s made four out of five field goal attempts, accounting for 12 of his points, and he’s been a perfect six-for-six on PATs. His longest field goal this season was also his first. He hit a 49-yarder on the first drive of the game against Ohio, yet he subsequently missed a 38-yard attempt on his second try. In the fourth quarter against the Bobcats, he tacked on a 21-yarder which gave San Diego State a 13-6 lead. He also made two attempts from more than 40 yards against Idaho State this past weekend. Last season, he connected on 20 of 25 attempts. So, his 80% field goal percentage this season looks like he’s picked up where he left off last year.
Browning will also handle the Aztec punting duties. Through two games, he’s punting a bit better than last season. He’s averaging 48.1 yards per punt on eight punts, compared to 46.1 yards per punt on 68 punts last season. About one-third of his punts are either touchbacks or fair catches. That’s 25 of 76 total over last season and this season, and three of eight for this season. An almost equal percentage of his punts have travelled more than 50 yards, with 24 over and three so far this year. If there’s an area where Browning’s punting performance has slipped a little, it’s been getting his punts inside the 20. Last year, 28 of 68 punts landed inside the 20, but only one has so far this season. He will also kickoff for San Diego State.
Starting running back Kenan Christon is listed the Aztecs’ primary kickoff returner, but he’s been listed that way in each of the past two weeks too, despite not returning a single kickoff so far this season. Instead, sophomore running back Martin Blake has returned three of the six kickoffs that SDSU has returned and he’s averaging 26.33 yards per return. Meanwhile, the other three returns have been junior running back Jaylon Armstead, senior tight end Mark Redman, and junior receiver Mekhi Shaw. Like Christon, sophomore safety Max Garrison, who’s listed second on the depth chart for kickoff returns hasn’t returned a kickoff yet either.
Now, when it comes to punt returns, Shaw has been the only Aztec to shag a punt. So far this season, Shaw has returned a pair of punts, both of which came against Idaho State. His longer of the two was 11 yards while the other was just six yards.
Coaching Staff
San Diego State head coach Brady Hoke is in his second stint leading the Aztecs. In Hoke’s first season at the helm for SDSU, the team went 4-8, but the following year he led them to a 9-4 mark. That was good enough to convince Michigan to come calling after he served as a Wolverine assistant for eight seasons from 1995 through 2002. Hoke returned to the Aztecs in 2018 as the team’s defensive line coach under Rocky Long, who had replaced him in 2011. When Long resigned as the Aztecs’ head coach after the 2019 season, Hoke was hired for his current stint. He is 25-12 since taking over again, but 12 of those wins all came during the 2021 season when SDSU went 12-2. Last year, the team finished a disappointing 7-6, finishing secnd in the West division.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Lindley was brought in as the team’s quarterbacks coach last season after then-offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski was fired and running backs coach Jeff Horton was promoted to offensive coordinator. Lindley was promoted to offensive coordinator with Horton returning to coach the backs. The move has paid off so far as SDSU comes into this game having won their first two games. Lindley set multiple records as the Aztecs’ quarterback from 2008 through 2011.
Lindley’s offense looks to be very run-heavy. Last week against Idaho State, the Aztecs ran for 302 yards and quarterback John Mayden amassed 132 yards rushing, which was the most by an Aztec quarterback in program history. After two games, SDSU is averaging 219.5 yards rushing, good for 28th in the nation, but just 125.5 yards passing, which ranks 112th in the country. That will create a very interesting matchup against the Bruin defense which is ranked 20th in the nation in rushing defense and 101st in the country in pass defense after Saturday’s game against the Chanticleers. Interestingly, the SDSU offensive depth chart actually lists 14 different offensive positions, rather than the usual eleven. So, expect the Aztecs to use a mix of players at various different skilled positions.
This is Kurt Mattix’s third season as the defensive coordinator for San Diego State. So far this year, the Aztecs are ranked 23rd in rushing defense but just 103rd in passing defense. So, while Chip Kelly generally likes to use use his running backs to set up the pass offense, the Bruins may be better off playing pass first this weekend. In fact, if the Bruins do go to the air, you can expect UCLA fans to almost certainly want to see more of Dante Moore at quarterback following his performance last weekend against Coastal Carolina, but it may not matter who Chip Kelly trots out at quarterback since the SDSU pass defense is one of the worst in the country.
Interestingly, the Aztecs are 71-4 since 2011 when they hold opponents to 17 points or less and they are 33-9 since 2011 when allowing less than 150 passing yards. This reinforces the fact that it seems that the Bruins will need to air the ball out to prevail on Saturday.
Go Bruins!!!
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