San Diego State Aztecs Will Start Lucas Johnson at QB
The Aztecs finally decide on a quarterback
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Number 22 San Diego State gives number 7 Lucas Johnson the nod.
During Tuesday’s weekly SDSU press conference Coach Brady Hoke announced senior Lucas Johnson will start at QB against Air Force.
Brady Hoke took note of the shift in his team’s attitude after Lucas Johnson was inserted into the position and how finished on a high note. Hoke did the smartest thing he could do– ride the hot hand.
“The way things were going generally, we didn’t have a great rhythm,” Coach Brady Hoke explained to XTRA 1360 his rationale behind benching Jordon Brookshire. “We thought it was time to get Lucas (Johnson) in the game.”
On the season, Brookshire has completed 41-of-85 passes for 560 yards with a 2:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Against San Jose State, Brookshire was missing open receivers and ended his night with a 48.1% completion rate for only 132 yards.
Johnson’s stat line from Friday night’s performance is an understatement of what he brought to the table, 2-of-3 for 38 yards and two touchdowns. Mainly he was able to bring poise to a struggling San Diego State offense. His decision to throw the walk-off TD pass to Jordan Matthews likely sealed his starting role for the rest of the season.
How we got here was a bit puzzling. From outside the Mesa, the signs were pointing to Lucas Johnson starting all 2021 games, but during an August press conference Hoke that Jordon Brookshire clearly won the job.
“Jordon (was) going out and playing well, making good
decisions, being a little bit more decisive than he was,” said Coach Hoke.
Going into Saturday’s game true freshman Will Haskell will be the backup while Brookshire gets benched. Brady Hoke emphasized that Brookshire’s a competitor and his QB is disappointed, but now they’re back at it to preparing for Air Force.