Football | 8/7/2025 1:44:00 PM

The following is the article from The San Diego Union-Tribune, "Better to be Lucky and good — Aztecs running back ready to make most of opportunity."

San Diego native, Cathedral Catholic High School grad Lucky Sutton appears to have inside edge at running back

Lucky No. 7 is back.

San Diego State running back Lucky Sutton jogged out for practice this week wearing jersey No. 7 after sporting No. 27 ever since spring practice.

Sutton wore No. 7 at Cathedral Catholic High School and during his first three years with the Aztecs, but SDSU coach Sean Lewis is making players earn the honor of wearing the single-digit jerseys coveted by the players.



"It's a very real currency," Lewis explained in the spring. "The expectations are going to be significantly higher for you individually if you're a single-digit guy. Those are the elite of the elite."

Sutton, a 6-foot-1, 212-pound redshirt junior, initially downplayed the honor — "It means a lot, but I'm just worried about winning games," he said — when asked about it after Wednesday's practice.

Pressed on the matter, he said: "You could say (it's) Lucky No. 7. And also just God. God had seven days to create the earth. There's many different things with the No. 7. … I'm just really fond of the No. 7."

What did Sutton do to earn it?

"He was consistently good, not occasionally great," Lewis said. "He asked one time and he made it known that that number was meaningful to him and he never said boo about it again. He trusted and believed that we were going to reward him when he earned it. That just shows the humility and the hunger that he has had ever since we took over.

"The kid just works and works and works. For him, and every single one of these guys, their opportunity is going to come. I don't know when it is. Everybody always talks about 'when it's my time.' You better be prepared when your time comes. You better be prepared when your opportunity comes."

Sutton was a coveted signing for the Aztecs in 2021 out of Cathedral Catholic, where he earned CIF San Diego Section Player of the Year honors after rushing for 2,628 yards (11.3 ypc) and 35 touchdowns.

The highlight was rushing for a large-school section record 442 yards with seven touchdowns in a Southern California Regional playoff win over Orange Lutheran.

Sutton played sparingly his first two years at SDSU, logging 32 total carries. The opportunities were even more limited last year playing behind starter Marquez Cooper, who got 90% of the running back carries (292 of 324) while rushing for 1,274 yards. Sutton carried five times all year, gaining 35 yards. He could get that many touches in one series this season.

Two other local running backs, senior transfer Byron Cardwell Jr. (St. Augustine High School) and junior transfer Christian Washington (Helix High School), also are in the mix for the Aztecs.

"We're going to be running back by committee, starting off with Lucky," said SDSU running backs coach Darian Hagan, who could see the lead back getting 15 to 20 carries a game. "Lucky is a big, rugged guy. He's smart. He's intense. He's detailed with everything that he does.

"He runs behind his pads. He's a guy when I first got here (last year), he ran a little upright. Now he knows how to run behind his pads, which is important for a big guy. He's a load."

SDSU safety Josiah Cox has nicknamed the 6-foot-1, 212-pound Sutton "Luck Truck."

"Because he runs everybody over," said Cox, a Lincoln High School graduate who faced Sutton when the running back was the focus of Cathedral's Wing-T offense.

"Now I get to see him open up and hit zones and get the ball straight downhill," said Cox, a transfer from New Mexico State. "Obviously, Wing-T is side to side. Now I actually get to see his full power downhill from when he gets the ball to meeting contact. Strong guy right there. That's 'Luck Truck.'"

After being all but an afterthought a year ago, Sutton's name has been mentioned by Lewis more than virtually anyone when asked about emerging standouts.

"He's really taken to the coaching," Lewis said. "He's really embraced who he is in his style of running, playing behind his pads and playing with better pad level.

"Not really doing too much in the hole, but embracing being a one-cut guy. He's got the long speed that he showed (Monday in practice) where he goes out and rips off an 80-yard run.

"It's kind of fun as a play caller when you give a guy the ball like that, you're one and done and you've got six points on the board. … It's pretty clear who is the lead guy in that backfield."