AZTEC UPDATE : NOTEBOOK / SCOTT MILLER : Leomiti Reports at 338 Pounds, Earns Praise from Luginbill

The scales didn’t break. The football complex didn’t shake. San Diego State veterans reported for fall camp Thursday, and offensive lineman Carlson Leomiti, who was barred from spring practice because of weight problems, checked in at 338 pounds.

It is the lightest weight at which Leomiti, a junior, has ever reported.

“We are extremely proud of him.” SDSU Coach Al Luginbill said. “He made a great effort in changing his eating habits. Now, we’ve got to make sure it continues through the season. We can’t have him ballooning up again.”

Leomiti, who is being counted on to anchor the Aztecs’ offensive line this fall, did not get medical clearance for spring practice because he weighed more than the prescribed 360 pounds. At the Freedom Bowl, sources say, Leomiti weighed 404 pounds.

“I think he has unlimited potential (this season),” Luginbill said. “He needs to control his weight as he goes through the season--that will be the difference between him being an average player and an impact player.

“I very badly wanted him to do well in this area because I felt he’s gotten a bad rap.”

Leomiti was unavailable for comment because Aztec players were off-limits to the media Thursday.

Media day is today, and the full squad starts with two-a-day practices Saturday at 8:30 a.m. and 3:10 p.m.

Are these guys hoping to go to a bowl game or the Final Four? The only two surprises SDSU coaches received when the veterans reported were these: a sprained ankle suffered by junior tight end Alex Semenik while he was playing basketball last week and a sprained knee suffered by junior tight end Will Tate while he was playing basketball last month.

Semenik, who is being counted on to be in the tight end rotation, is day-to-day; Tate, who should play at H-back, is recovered enough to start practicing.

“We will review our policy regarding (basketball) in July,” Luginbill said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous to have athletes report to football when they’ve been playing basketball the previous week.

“I’m not blaming Alex and Will--they weren’t told. We’ve got to be smarter than that as a coaching staff. When the month of July rolls around, we’ve got to get ready for football.”

In one other injury note, freshman Tyson Bruder is not ready to practice because he had surgery in his rib cage area after an altercation in Phoenix.

Four players are no longer in the football program: wide receiver Jeff Speech and defensive back Thad Culpepper, who flunked out of school; and offensive linemen David Cole and Duke Uperesa, who are in the process of transferring to Division II schools. Cole is going to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Uperesa is enrolling at Oregon Tech.

Former Aztec assistant Dan Underwood, who was reassigned as the SDSU athletic department’s recruiting coordinator, said he is in the process of accepting the state’s “golden handshake” early retirement program.