Aztec Linebacker Coviello Sidelined for First Practice

The most significant thing Wednesday about the first day in full pads for San Diego State might have been who wasn’t on the football field.

Senior Andy Coviello, who started every game at outside linebacker for the Aztecs in 1990, sat out both practices because of an inflamed left knee. Although trainer Brian Barry says that Coviello’s injury can be controlled with modified practice time, Coviello is scheduled to undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test this morning.

Coviello said that his options are either modified practice time or, depending on what the MRI shows, another surgery.

Either way, he is discouraged. He underwent surgery for patellar tendinitis, a condition he had throughout his high school and community college careers, after the Aztecs’ final game last season against Miami.

He reinjured the knee during spring practice, rehabilitated it all summer at home in Sacramento, then hurt it again Monday afternoon.

“Now, it’s to the point where I wonder if it would even have mattered,” he said of his summer rehabilitation. “I’m just frustrated. It makes me mad.”

Coviello, 6-feet, 215 pounds, hurt the knee in a pass rush drill against offensive tackle Tony Nichols. Coviello went to round the corner and he felt it give out.

“(Nichols) barely touched me,” Coviello said.

But it was enough. And now, as the Aztecs finally go full speed, Coviello is stuck in neutral.

“We finally get a chance to hit,” he said. “It was going to be a lot of fun.”

Or a lot of work, as will be the case for sophomore strong safety Chris Johnson. He and Darrell Lewis, a sophomore transfer from Ohio State, are locked in what coaches say is the most fiercely contested battle for a starting position as the Aztecs move closer to their Sept. 8 opener against Cal State Long Beach.

“I think it has to be considered that right now, yeah,” Ron Mims, SDSU secondary coach, said between practices Wednesday.

Johnson, from Crawford High, has the advantage because he is the incumbent starter. SDSU Coach Al Luginbill has said that last year’s starters will remain in their positions in 1991 unless they are beaten out.

That, however, is what makes Wednesday’s shift into pads important. The Aztec coaches are impressed with Lewis, a Morse product who is a rugged, punishing hitter. They like that he came into camp leaner this year, at 185 pounds instead of the 210 he weighed when he pulled a hamstring in spring practice.

But they have not seen much of Lewis in pads at full speed.

“He has great awareness for the game and is an impact hitter,” Luginbill said. “But we don’t know about him. We haven’t had him consistently.

“The Big Ten is not the (Western Athletic Conference). The WAC is a conference in which you’ve got to play in space.”

That means a player needs to play well in the open field. Now that SDSU is practicing at full speed, the coaches will get a chance to see how each player moves and reacts in full gear.

They know what Johnson can do. They are curious to see Lewis in action.

“This is where it starts, in reality,” Mims said. “What we’ve done so far, you might say, is sparring. That’s obviously not real football, not in pads.

“Now, we get a chance to evaluate them in all phases of the game. It’s a healthy situation.”

Aztec Notes

Wednesday wasn’t a healthy situation for some Aztecs. Redshirt freshman tight end Marc Ziegler, from Mira Mesa High School, suffered a second-degree medial collateral sprain in his right knee and will be out for six weeks. Ziegler, who will undergo a magnetic resonance imaging test today, hasn’t had good luck at SDSU--he redshirted last year after breaking a collarbone in fall camp. Also Wednesday, sophomore center Bob Shults suffered a hyperextended left knee and will be out at least a week; redshirt freshman cornerback Michael Landry and sophomore receiver Jake Nyberg both suffered right hamstring injuries and will each be out at least a week. . . . Several Aztecs, including pre-season All-American wide receiver Patrick Rowe, have missed practices the past couple of days because of hamstring pulls. The malady has hit the receiving corps the hardest, with Will Tate, Keith Williams and Merton Harris all missing more than one practice. Harris was back Wednesday afternoon. . . . Linebacker Jamal Duff, who has been out with a pulled left hamstring, will be back next week. . . . Offensive lineman Jim Jennings, who was a guard last year, has been working at tackle this fall. This allows Joe Heinz to play Jennings’ old guard position. Also, Jennings has played with a cervical problem, and Coach Al Luginbill says there is less strain on the shoulder and cervical area at tackle than at guard.