Moment of Truth for SDSU Football and Coach Long

Truth will usually come out in the end. It has a funny way of doing that. Sometimes it takes a while to make itself known, but eventually known it will be.

An interesting non-sports analogy about truth: I covered most of the high-profile 2002 story of the murder of Danielle Van Dam by David Westerfield, who was eventually convicted and sentenced to death. At the end of the case, some doubts persisted. It just made no sense that a guy as accomplished as Westerfield would do something like kill a little girl. After the sentencing, the judge released a number of documents that had been sealed under court order. The truth, yes, had come out. Documents the jury never saw proved without a doubt that the jurors had made the correct decision.

Saturday is the moment of truth for the state of San Diego State football and the regime of head coach Chuck Long. How SDSU performs in its 2008 opener against Cal Poly will tell us a lot about whether Long's staff has made reasonable progress over the past two and a half years.

It's become obvious over time that Long's first two seasons have to be looked upon almost as throwaways. There was not that much talent and very little commitment from holdover players recruited by the previous staff. Freshmen who played on defense in 2007 were too small and too overwhelmed. The offensive line wasn't so good and neither were the running backs.

In 2008, Long is out of excuses. There has to be some serious improvement or he his hiring will be labeled as a major bust. Improvement may not come in the form of a winning record and a bowl game. It could come as 6-6, which would be two wins better than last season. Besides, most fans recognize 2009 as the potential breakthrough season. But only if the Aztecs show some ability this year.

I've often written that Long and his staff are awesome Monday through Friday. It's Saturday that bothered me. Now I want to be happy on Saturday or else.

That said, I'm actually rather confident about this year's prospects. Redshirt freshman QB Ryan Lindley looks like another Todd Santos in the making. Santos, remember, set school passing records as a freshman. The receiving corps with Vincent Brown, Darren Mougey and Roberto Wallace will be the best since Tolver-Osgood if they remain healthy. Wallace has been the Aztecs version of Ruben Rivera, a great athlete from Central America who has taken a while to catch on to a US sport. If he succeeds, watch out. The offensive line has been reshuffled to give some redshirt and true freshman time to develop, which will pay off in the future. I still can't say much for the running back corps.

Perhaps most telling in the opener will be the performance of the defense. Vast improvement is expected and needed from these guys. If the Mustangs move on them and score a lot with their triple-option offense, then this could be a long season. Yet, the line has a solid two-deep now, the linebackers have an extra year of experience and so does the secondary that was rebuilt before 2007. DE BJ Williams, LBs Russell Allen and Luke Laologi, both cornerbacks and both safeties have all-star potential. It's getting them there that's the rub.

Special teams will also be critical to watch. There's new legs at punter and placekicker and a returner in Davion Mauldin who is said to have some great moves.

I'm going to remain optimistic and call this one 35-14 for the Aztecs. A little closer will be okay. A lot closer or, heaven forbid, a loss, will be troubling.

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You have to love Chargers LB Shawne Merriman's guts. His judgment, however, leaves a lot to be desired.

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By the way, I'm now blogging about the Mountain West Conference for College Football News at cfn.scout.com.