San Diego State starting linebackers Tano Letuli and Owen Chambliss are seemingly inseparable.
“We’re best friends,” Chambliss said. “We do everything together.
“Wake up, practice, walk together to class, sit in class together, watch film together.”
And on and on.
What Letuli and Chambliss would really like is to spend more time together on the field.
The pair immediately hit it off last year upon transferring to SDSU, Chambliss from Utah and Letuli from Army. It was a homecoming for Letuli, a Cathedral Catholic High School graduate.
They started side by side the first four games the season before both players suffered injuries that limited them to only one game together the second half of the season. They would have played even fewer games had both linebackers not remained in the lineup with their right hands heavily taped into what is commonly referred to as a “club” after injuries.
San Diego State defensive coordinator Rob Aurich views Owen Chambliss (12) and Tano Letui (21) as all-conference caliber linebackers. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Letuli missed two midseason games after surgery to repair a broken right thumb.
Chambliss had surgery to fix a broken right hand. That was just the start of it. He also suffered a concussion, a broken right fibula, a hyperextended left elbow during the season. The injuries added up to sideline him nearly the entire second half of the season.
“The broken bones was just bad luck,” Chambliss said. “You can’t prevent broken bones. The concussion, got to keep my head out of it. … It sidetracked me a lot. It’s hard to have the season I was having and then fall off.”
Chambliss, who had 31 tackles for the year, said it was important to stay engaged even when he was sidelined.
“You’ve got to take a lot of mental reps,” Chamblis said. “You’ve got to talk to the guys that are playing, like, ‘What did you see? How did you see it? How fast?’ You’ve just got to ask questions and be intuitive. You can’t ever stop learning mentally.”
Chambliss is determined to stay healthy this season.
“Ice bath everyday,” he said.
Improving his pass-rushing skills is a point of focus.
“When you watch NFL linebackers,” Chambliss said, “they can get after the quarterback, and that’s still the name of the game.”
San Diego State’s Tano Letuli works out during a practice on Aug. 5, 2025 in San Diego, California. (K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Letuli led the team with 70 tackles a year. It’s probably not surprising to his teammates. They voted him one of three team captains last year. It was the first time in 19 years a sophomore was so honored (edge Trey White also was a sophomore team captain last year).
This year, Letuli said one of his primary goals is to “just keep striving to be a better leader.”
“Being the (middle) linebacker, I’ve kind of got to drive the show,” said Letuli, named a first-team all-Mountain West selection in the conference’s preseason media poll. “I want the whole defense to feel me and feel confident about the call that we’re in and make sure everybody knows their job.”
SDSU defensive coordinator Rob Aurich has high regard for Letuli and Chambliss — and high expectations.
“I think they’re both all-conference players in this conference,” Aurich said. “I expect them to carry themselves that way. … Those two have shown kind of a responsibility to be great players.”
The Aztecs’ base defense is a 4-2-5. Senior Mister Williams, a transfer from Incarnate Word, joins Letuli and Chambliss when they go to a three-linebacker package. There is significant depth behind them with graduate senior returners Brady Anderson and DJ Herman and redshirt freshman Tanner Williams, a Utah State transfer.
“Those guys have an aptitude for the scheme and a willingness to play the way we want them to play,” Aurich said. “I expect all of them to play significantly for us.”
Notable
The Aztecs had their first significant scrimmage of fall camp during the second half of Thursday morning’s practice, which was closed except for season ticket holders who signed up to attend practice.
SDSU coach Sean Lewis said the defense had a really good showing, stopping the run and winning early downs. The offense made fundamental mistakes, notably some false starts and poor snaps, that stalled drives or prevented the unit from getting started.
Special teams executed well, though Lewis noted that too many balls hit the ground in the return game and they will need to clean that up.
The Aztecs came out of the scrimmage with no significant injuries.
Originally Published: August 7, 2025 at 3:55 PM PDT