As September came to an end, the San Diego State football team faced an energy crisis.

The 2-3 Aztecs lacked production (19.0 points per game) and quarterbacks. Will Haskell left the team after being demoted on the quarterback hierarchy, Kyle Crum suffered a broken collarbone, and starter Braxton Burmeister was in concussion protocol following a helmet-to-helmet collision. They collectively averaged 65.6 passing yards per contest, leading to Jeff Hecklinski’s departure as offensive coordinator.

“We have a great group of guys who were really dead in the water after five games,” said associate head coach Jeff Horton, who was given the coordinator’s duties.

Ryan Lindley, the program’s career passing leader, was named quarterbacks coach.

Horton then handed the starting quarterback’s job to Jalen Mayden, who had not thrown a pass in a game since Sept. 1, 2018. Mayden had transferred from Mississippi State in July 2021, played in one game that season, then switched to safety during 2022 spring training.

“He hadn’t played quarterback in a year,” Horton said. “It’s a crazy story. But he stepped up.”

On the first Saturday in November, Mayden went 24-for-36 for 322 yards and a touchdown in a 16-14 victory over Hawaii.

Mayden was 6-for-6 on the winning drive.

With Mayden as the No. 1 quarterback, the Aztecs are 5-2, with per-game boosts in scoring (23 points), total offense (367.0 from 258.2 in the first five games), third-down conversions (37.9% from 18.2%), and possession time (32 minutes, 39 seconds from 28.21).

“We tried to build some things around him that he was comfortable with,” Horton said. “And we relied on him to tell us what he felt good with, and what he didn’t, and tried to build around that.”

In practices leading to the UH game, Mayden went through back-to-basics training. There were pat-and-go drills, in which he threw to receivers running short routes at three-quarter speed, and plays with no defenders on the field. “For the most part,” Mayden said, “I didn’t feel I missed a beat.”

To ease the transition, the Aztecs went with more two-back sets and increased the running backs’ workload. With a quick left-armed release, Mayden is able to stay in the pocket a second longer while receivers’ routes mature.

“He’ll hold onto the ball until a guy’s clear,” Horton said. “He doesn’t get flustered out there.”

Mayden credits Horton, Lindley and his high school coaches. “That was always my game,” he said of his quick-and-powerful passing. “Back (at Georgia’s Sachse High School), my coaches modeled the offense after Texas Tech’s and Baylor’s. It was back when Bryce Petty, RGIII (Robert Griffin III), Patrick Mahomes. That style of getting the ball out quick to our guys and making sure they can make plays is how I was raised as a quarterback.”

Mayden also has been helped with the transition of receiving calls from the sideline to huddling before plays. That allows the offensive players to communicate amongst themselves directly. Of working in sync with his coaches and teammates, Mayden said, “it’s a blessing. We don’t BS each other. We’re always passing ideas. Like they say, it takes a village. That’s the village getting us going and pointing us in the right direction.”