There are various ways players celebrate big runs or receptions.
It could be signaling first down with a chopping motion of the arm. Maybe a chest bump with a teammate. Perhaps flexing with both arms in a bodybuilder’s pose.
Some San Diego State playmakers this season have developed a habit of looking back after a catch or a carry to see if any yellow flags are on the field.
It’s the product of so many penalties being called against the Aztecs during their first three games.
SDSU (1-2) leads the nation with 39 penalties. Twenty infractions — including 10 false starts and five holding calls — have come against offensive linemen.
The self-inflicted wounds may not be completely responsible for SDSU’s two losses this season, but they certainly haven’t helped.
Asked for an explanation this week, SDSU coach Sean Lewis pointed to “lots of new guys working together, new quarterback, new cadence. There’s a lot of pieces that go into that.”
The Aztecs are idle this week. They get four more practices next week to make things right before resuming the season at Central Michigan.
“This is the No. 1 concern here,” SDSU offensive line coach Mike Schmidt said, “We’ve got to make an adjustment. Obviously, we’re working through that right now.”
It’s not unusual to see a handful of holding calls.
“They’re going to happen at times,” Schmidt said, “We’ve got to limit it when we’re out in space. We’ve got to make better decisions. When a guy is off (the lineman’s) frame, we’ve got to finish with a shove instead of a tug.”
The most concerning issue is all of the false starts.
“Inside the cadence, the pre-snap stuff is what’s really killing us,” Schmidt said. “We’re making adjustments. We’re trying to do everything we can to alleviate the problem.
“Teams have seen it on tape. They know what’s getting us, so we’ve seen more of it.”
Just a flinch by an offensive lineman and flags fly.
“It’s a little bit of defensive movement and us being too antsy at the line of scrimmage,” Schmidt explained. “Jumping by an eighth of a second at times. And every time we jump it creates a negative situation.
“We’ve got to change our approach. We’ve got to own the cadence and tweak it if we need to.”
After four false starts in the opener the Aztecs cut that number in half the following week against Oregon State. Then it was four more false starts again last week at Cal.
That coincided with a change in quarterbacks, with Javance Tupou’ata-Johnson replacing injured starter Danny O’Neil against the Golden Bears.
Lewis said the solution is to “give the guys a couple of extra tools and make sure there is consistency within, no matter who the quarterback is, the flow and rhythm of their cadence.”
Left guard Myles Murao, center Brayden Bryant and right guard Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli have been whistled for the most infractions.
Murao and Ulugalu-Maseuli are experienced linemen, although both are coming off injuries that limited their reps in the new offense during spring practice and training camp.
Bryant, a transfer who redshirted last year at North Dakota moved from guard to center this season, so his comfort level could be in question.
“Some of it is rep-related,” Schmidt said. “Another thing is those guys are in there playing at not 100 percent, they’re trying to get a jump start on the defense, and it’s making them too antsy.
“So we’re going to do everything we can to settle them down In their presnap (routine). … We’re staying here after practice trying to get it fixed as much as we can, reviewing the cadence and reviewing our process. That’s our job as coaches to find solutions for the players.”