AN OUTSIDE SHOT : Little Experience but Kirk’s an Aztec Starter

Really, Randy. It’s true.

You are a starting outside linebacker for San Diego State.

“The coaches have almost more confidence in me than I have in myself,” said Randy Kirk, a walk-on who played a total of six quarters at linebacker for the Aztecs last year and has never started a Division I college football game. “I lack experience. Hopefully, I have the tools. They (the coaches) have a lot of aspirations for me. I hope I can fulfill them.”

Randy, modesty has its virtues.

“Sometimes I think I should be in there practicing with the reserves,” Kirk said. “Being a first-team guy, I don’t get to scrimmage that much. I need it as much as anyone else.”

Randy, have some confidence. So what if you’ve made only 13 tackles in your Division I career.

“He deserves the confidence we have in him,” said Tim McConnell, Aztec linebackers coach. “He is capable of doing everything he has to do. Whether he can do it in game situations is something we don’t know yet.”

The Aztecs know that Kirk is the fastest linebacker on the team. The new coaching staff found that out during spring practice last April. They just didn’t know the player behind the numbers.

“We knew he had speed, size (6-2, 225), and we knew what kind of athlete he was,” McConnell said. “All those things made us think he could be a starter and possibly a great player. We were curious about him. We wondered why he hadn’t played before. Obviously, they (the former coaching staff) must have had some outstanding linebackers here.”

With all four starting linebackers having completed their eligibility last season, it was necessary for the Aztecs to revamp their defense.

Enter Kirk, who made a quick impression by running a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. Suddenly, a player who was All-Golden Gate Conference as a sophomore at DeAnza Cupertino Junior College was granted a scholarship at a Division I school.

“I was surprised,” Kirk said. “With everyone leaving, I knew I had as good a chance to start as anyone. But I’ve played only one game.”

That was last year against Hawaii, when the Aztecs were decimated by injuries. Kirk made eight unassisted tackles and recovered a fumble.

Then camp and an impressive spring practice, and then a scholarship.

“Getting a scholarship was the greatest,” Kirk said. “It was great for my parents, too. The tab was building up for them. . . . It was a dream come true.”

Kirk is a senior who redshirted at SDSU in 1984 and played primarily on special teams last season.

“I always dreamed of playing Division I football,” Kirk said. “I went from high school (Bellarmine College Prep School in San Jose) to junior college. I took each year at a time. My biggest regret is that I didn’t redshirt last year. We had a lack of depth, so I played. But I know this staff (the new coaches) was bummed I didn’t redshirt.”

The staff may have been disappointed, but they were not ready to give up on Kirk.

“Our first impressions were that he was a little bit raw,” McConnell said. “He has all the tools but is not very polished. We’re trying to smooth him up. He tends to let his concentration drift and not pay attention to detail, which is a characteristic of a raw player.”

If Kirk were a freshman or sophomore, it would be easy to understand why the Aztec coaches would be excited. Unlimited potential in a younger player makes coaches drool, but seniors who can remember almost every play of their career make coaches sweat.

“To put seniors on the back shelf because they haven’t played doesn’t make sense,” McConnell said. “We want to win with these kids this year.”

When these kids are fast, they fit right into the Aztecs’ defensive scheme.

“Our defense this year is a lot more fun,” Kirk said. “The linebackers are freed up. I get to roam around a little and don’t have to play smashball all the time.”

Kirk believes he has the physical part of the game under control.

“If I get everything down mentally,” Kirk said, “I’ll be all right.”

At that point, he might finally believe he’s a starter.