Sean Lewis' time to lead a team once again has come. After previously serving as head coach at Kent State, the 37-year-old Wisconsin alum is taking the reins once again as his move west became official Wednesday.

The Colorado offensive coordinator left his previous role leading the Golden Flashes in favor of working alongside Deion Sanders in Boulder. It wasn't always peachy but Lewis still helped the Buffaloes have one of the top passing offenses in the country this season.

His abilities as an offensive playcaller and leader are proven by the numbers. His offenses at Kent State set records and vaulted him among the top young offensive coaches in the country.

San Diego State hopes that continues now that he has a chance lead his own team again, and the Aztecs are certainly in need of a spark after going 4-8 in Brady Hoke's final season on The Mesa.

"Having this type of offensive innovator, it was very clear was one of our stated goals that this is what we wanted to do," SDSU athletic director John David Wicker said Wednesday while introducing Lewis at his introductory press conference. "So, we're excited to have someone with this type of influence, this type of history calling San Diego State home."

Wicker added that during his conversations with Lewis, the "benchmark" of playing good defense at SDSU will remain in place as he takes over the program.

There were plenty of other words said during Wednesday's press conference that you often here at these types of things. Words such as "culture," "vision" and "hard work" will always come up on days like Wednesday.

How that shows itself on the field is always the barometer, however, and Lewis understands that he has a task on his hand that will take some dedication and potentially time.

Still, he has high hopes for what the Aztecs can become under his watch.

"I'm looking forward to bringing that excitement, that brand of football when we're lighting up the scoreboard, when we're playing fast we are being balanced, but there is a brand and energy to what we bring day in and day out when our community and our university and our team thinks of Aztec football.

"... I challenged the young men this morning that we're going to expect them to chase excellence in all phases of their life — in the classroom and in their athletic endeavors. And I expect us, in the same breath, we expect that excellence in all three phases of them. I expect excellence in all three phases of our football program. That is not just going to be offense. It's not just going to be defense. It's not just going to be special teams. But, the teams that compete for championships consistently the way that we are going to, the young men and the way in which they are going to lead their lives, the way that we are going to dominate our rivalries and the way that we're going to dominate the league and play for CFP games and titles. We are going to be great in all those areas."

Lewis says he believes the job at San Diego State is one of the best among Group of Five programs, so there was not much thinking to do when it came time to make a decision even though, as he indicated, there were other options.

"There is nowhere else that I wanted to be," he said. "As we talked about it as a family and I talked more and more with the leadership team that was here and weighed it out against the other opportunities that were put forth in front of us, there was really no decision to it. That this is where we wanted to be, and this is where we felt that we could achieve greatness collectively together."

Lewis, who holds an all-time head coaching record of 24-31, also represents a shift to a more youthful approach to the head coach position as he enters his career with the Aztecs before turning 40 years old. That could be key as college football moves into a new era with the continuing growth of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities in the sport in addition to forthcoming conference realignment next summer.

"A lot has been made about my age ... but I think the biggest thing is to be adaptable and to be innovative," Lewis said. "We entered into this landscape and we entered into this space, and we're all still figuring out the best way to navigate these waters.

"So having a team around you that we already have in place within the university, but then within our building, to where you challenge people to think outside the box. How can we do this better than anyone else? Because right now, in a lot of areas in the NLI space and the way the portal is being utilized and everything, we're all pretty much on equal footing."