San Diego football head coach Brady Hoke has announced that five transfers have been added to the schedule, including the brothers of two well-known Aztec faces.
The group consists of offensive lineman Cade Bennett, defensive lineman Deven Lamp, linebacker Cooper McDonald, tight end Mark Redman and defensive lineman Justus Tavai.
Nevertheless, quarterback Braxton Burmeister, a La Jolla Country Day prep, was not announced as SDSU tied, despite speculation he would land locally after entering the transfer portal to leave Virginia Tech.
This week, Hoke answered several questions about the Aztecs’ interest in a quarterback without naming Burmeister, saying he hoped another announcement would be made. Still, he concluded, “we want guys who believe in the state of San Diego.”
“We’re not going to get into some kind of bidding war because that’s not who we are. We want guys who want to be here,” he added.
Of the confirmed transfers, Hoke said the program brought “a fun class together”.
Bennett, who has three more years of college tuition, spent two seasons at Oklahoma State. Bennett played in a few games last year after his first season with the Cowboys in 2020 Red Shirt. He was ranked by 247sports as the number 25 offensive guard in the nation and the number 13 Arizona player.
Lamp joins the Aztecs after spending the last five seasons in Tulsa and has one year left to qualify. During his career, Lamp played in 38 games with one start, registering 28 tackles, including 5.5 tackles for losses and three sacks. Last year, the Scottsdale native played in 12 of the team’s 13 games before opting to transfer, missing the Myrtle Beach Bowl. He had 16 tackles with three tackles for losses and two sacks.
McDonald has spent the past two years in Washington. McDonald, the younger brother of two-time first-team all-Mountain West linebacker and SDSU captain Caden McDonald, played in 16 games in his two seasons with the Huskies, starting 10 times and racking up 27 tackles and a sack.
The Texas native started 10 of 12 games in 2021, recording 25 tackles and a sack.
Redman, another transfer from Washington, played in 16 games with one start. He appeared in four games in 2020 as a true freshman, preparing for Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach. Redman was ranked as the No. 7 tight end in the 2020 class by Rivals and No. 15 by 247sports.
Tavai is coming to the state of San Diego with one season left after spending the last four seasons in Hawai’i. Tavai appeared in 25 games during that period (2019-21), 19 starts after red-shirting the 2018 campaign. For his career, Tavai has a total of 72 tackles (40 solo), including 10 tackles for loss and four sacks. Last year, he had 34 tackles (19 solo) and played all 13 games with 12 starts.
He joins his younger brother, Jonah, a two-time all-MW defensive tackle at San Diego State. His other brothers, Jahlani, now with the New England Patriots, Jordan and JR, all played Division I football.
The transfers come to a program that finished 25th in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll. and finished the season with a school record of 12 wins.
The state of San Diego will begin its 100th football season on September 3 against Arizona.
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