CBS TO BE SHOULDERING MORE
San Diego State cornerbacks Noah Avinger and Dallas Branch were warming up before last year’s game against Nevada when, within the span of a few minutes, both players suffered the same freak injury — a dislocated left shoulder.
That didn’t preclude either of them from playing but did require repair after the season.
So two days after SDSU beat UTSA in the Frisco Bowl and two days before Christmas, both players had shoulder surgery.
“Dallas went right before me,” Avinger said. “The surgery went well, our training staff got us right back on the field, great treatment and I feel like I never left.”
Branch had a similarly successful recovery. Rehabilitation prevented them from participating in spring camp, but both Avinger and Branch are good to go now.
Avinger, a 6-foot-1 sophomore from Cerritos, and Branch, a 5-11 senior from Redondo Beach, are locked in one of the more intense competitions of preseason camp.
“Since I’ve been here, we’ve always had the one alpha coming back,” SDSU cornerbacks coach Demetrius Sumler said. “The guy who was clearly the best player in the room, an allconference-caliber player.
“We don’t have that guy we know is the guy right now, but I think we’ve got a pretty talented room. If we keep working, we’re going to be good.”
SDSU is loaded with depth and experience on the defensive line and linebacker, which should benefit the secondary.
Avinger and Branch are among a cornerback group that, while experienced, is looking for a leader, especially with the departure of senior Tayler Hawkins.
Branch is competing with sophomore Dez Malone on one side. Avinger is competing with another Noah, junior Noah Tumblin, on the other side.
Sophomore Jelani Whitmore is another player working his way into the mix.
The injury was especially upsetting for Branch, who had missed the season’s first five games after breaking a finger in the first preseason practice a year ago.
It was that injury that taught him to make the most of such setbacks.
“It made me a better student of the game,” said Branch, who was still among the team leaders with two interceptions, fives pass breakups and a fumble recovery. “It’s easy when you’re out there, going against receivers, guarding routes and stuff.
“But when you can’t play you have to really study the film, learn tendencies and all that stuff. That really helps you out when you’re ready to get out on the field again.”
Avinger came to a similar conclusion while watching his teammates from the sideline during the spring. It was particularly
frustrating, though, after making an immediate impact last season.
Avinger started the 2021 season opener against New Mexico State, making him the first true freshman to start at cornerback since Leon McFadden (2009). Avinger was only the third true freshman to start on SDSU’s defense in more than a decade, joining McFadden and safety Tariq Thompson (2017).
“I came in with the right mindset to work hard,” Avinger said, “and Coach Sumler gave me the platform to know everything I needed to do to get on the field.”
Avinger, whose brother Lucky is a senior running back for the Aztecs, started three of the 12 games in which he participated, highlighted by an interception against Towson and a fumble recovery at Air Force.
He said all the on-field reps is something he can tap into this year.
“Older guys like Dallas and Noah Tumblin, they had more knowledge and experience,” Avinger said. “Picking up on little things that they have from experience was important.
“I was able to get that toward the end of the year. This year I will be able to do a lot better because I have experience now.”
Sumler said points of emphasis for the cornerbacks this season will include “getting hands on guys at the line of scrimmage and press.”
“I don’t think we did a good enough job with that,” he said. “And then just playing the back shoulder fade and down in the red zone.
“That’s what the game has become, when they get a oneon-one matchup, they’re going to throw it out there. We’ve got to work our technique and be more productive defending up.”