San Diego State starting quarterback Jalen Mayden was not at Tuesday’s practice, although his absence was downplayed after the brief workout.
SDSU coach Brady Hoke was not available for comment, but a school spokesman said Mayden is “taking care of personal business and will be back tomorrow.”
Tuesday was the team’s first day back on the field since Saturday night’s 6-0 loss to Nevada, which ended its 16-game losing streak with the victory.
Mayden was 6 of 14 for 47 yards passing against the Wolf Pack and rushed 14 times for 52 yards. His fourth-quarter fumble ended a potential game-winning drive with 1:12 to play, and the Aztecs were shut out for the first time since a 27-0 loss to Ohio at the 2018 Frisco Bowl.
SDSU (3-5, 1-3 Mountain West) does not have a game this week. They’ll resume the season Nov. 4 against Utah State at Snapdragon Stadium.
Hoke said previously that the Aztecs would practice Tuesday through Thursday this week before coaches head out of town to recruit.
At practice, SDSU backup quarterback Tobin O’Dell, a walk-on redshirt freshman from Bishop Amat High School, ran with the first team.
O’Dell was followed in drills by redshirt freshmen Kyle Crum and Liu Aumavae and true freshman Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson.
Junior offensive lineman Dean Abdullah, who replaced injured starter Myles Murao against Nevada, missed practice with an undisclosed injury.
Murao was at practice. So, too, was safety Deshawn McCuin, who missed practice and the game last week while under concussion protocol.
SDSU had a brief but spirited practice coming off one of the program’s bigger losses in recent memory.
Nevada (1-6, 1-2) was ranked among the nation’s worst teams in offensive and defensive scoring as well as total offense and total defense.
The Aztecs took the first steps toward putting it behind them.
Players were broken into position groups for drills through much of the one-hour workout. Coaching instructions and whistles were mixed with player chatter, claps and ribbing among teammates that’s common in day-to-day practices.
