April 24, 2008

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State's football team practiced for the third consecutive day on Thursday at the SDSU on-campus practice fields. Today, the 13th practice of the spring session marked the third of what will be five consecutive days on the field for the Aztecs.

"We had a four-quarter practice today and our defense forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter," SDSU head coach Chuck Long said. "You need to be able to finish off games and that is what the defense did today. They struggled early in practice, but they kept plugging away. We have to be able to get our hands on the football. We improved on that last season and we have to keep getting better in that area. That can be the difference in games."

Long credited a couple of Aztec veterans, rising senior running back Tyler Campbell and rising senior linebacker Russell Allen, as a big reason for the sharp practice on Thursday.

"Two great leaders for us right now are Tyler Campbell and Russell Allen," Long said. "They are two work horses that come out here every single day with a purpose and just get it done. When you have leadership like that, it can take you a long way. They have displayed that all spring long."

Long said that Friday's practice, a helmet only practice, will be shorter and focus on the pregame routine. Spring practice will culminate on Saturday with the Red-Black Game at 1 p.m. PT at Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, Calif.