San Jose State University offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven is in his second season. It’s the first time in three years anyone can make that claim.
Put it another way. Spartans quarterback Josh Love has learned three different offensive schemes in his four-plus seasons as a Spartan.
Through the early stages of fall camp, many veteran offensive players have said how much more comfortable or second-nature the offense is to them compared to a year ago. Hopefully, that familiarity turns into more points.
“There’s no question those guys are playing faster with the concepts we’ve had in since last year. It’s knowing the signals, going through the coaching, the repetition. Those guys are able to really focus on the finer details whereas some of the young guys are still not playing as fast, because they don’t understand it. But the guys who have been here have a high level of understanding,” said McGiven.
The 2018 Spartans scored 49 more points than the previous Spartan group, but this year’s squad believes it is capable of much more. With eight practices in the books, the core of the offensive scheme is installed. Going forward, it’s practice, refinement, execution, and the added tweak or wrinkle for the unexpected surprise.
The offense will be on display Saturday, August 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the team’s first scrimmage of the fall inside CEFCU Stadium. McGiven hopes to see at least three things come out of the scrimmage.
“When we get into those scrimmage situations, I like to see a clean operation. Everything that is under our control pre-snap — no procedure penalties, turnovers, all those things besides the scheme that can cost you the game. You like to see it clean from that standpoint. And, I anxious to see the development of the young guys, see who can make plays and can push the starters,” McGiven said with the implicit understanding the offense will score points.
There is no charge to attend the August 10 scrimmage. Parking is available across the street in the Park & Ride Lot at 7th & Humboldt Streets.
Tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State University Athletics and its multimedia rights holder, Learfield IMG College’s Spartan Sports Properties, announced Thursday that Real Talk 910 (KKSF-AM) in Oakland, Calif., will serve as the flagship station for Spartan football, effective through the 2021 athletics season.
As part of the agreement, Real Talk 910 will broadcast all Spartan football games live each season. The 2019 games can also be heard on PowerTalk 1460 AM (Salinas/Monterey), Power Talk 1360 AM (Modesto), and PowerTalk 1280 AM (Stockton). Broadcasts will begin with a 30-minute pregame show, the in-game broadcast, and conclude with a 30-minute post-game wrap-up. San Jose State football radio broadcasts will feature play-by-play announcer Justin Allegri, a.k.a. Voice of the Spartans, and analyst Kevin Richardson, who are entering their seventh season together.
“We’re delighted to be affiliated with San Jose State University as the flagship radio station for Spartan football,” said Kathryn Wilcox, iHeartMedia Markets Group President for the Northern California Region. “Our audience enjoys local content on Real Talk 910 and we are proud to offer programming affiliated with such a respected institution. While I don’t have any ‘lucky loafers’ like Coach (Brent) Brennan, we’ve still pulled out a win to be partnered with the team!”
In addition to tuning to Real Talk 910 during football season for game broadcasts, fans can also visit the Spartans’ official Facebook page for a live broadcast of the weekly Brent Brennan Show from the Hukilau restaurant in San Jose’s Japantown. The one-hour live show with the head football coach airs each week, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. PT, beginning Tuesday, August 27.
“We’re thrilled Real Talk 910 and the iHeartMedia Marketing Group are joining our Spartan Athletics family,” said Marie Tuite, San Jose State University Athletics Director. “We’re looking forward to this new broadcast agreement and appreciate their commitment to deliver exceptional, informative and entertaining Spartan football game day experiences over the airwaves for our fans.”
For those unable to tune in to Real Talk 910, the Spartan football broadcasts will also be available via the TuneIn app. In addition, Learfield IMG College’s Spartan Sports Properties, will oversee all aspects of the radio network on behalf of the university.
Real Talk 910 AM is the leading media outlet in the San Francisco market with multiple platforms, including its broadcast stations; live events; data; and its digital businesses and platforms, including mobile, social and its own iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service — with more than two billion app downloads and more than 130 million registered users.
About iHeartMedia San Francisco Bay Area
iHeartMedia San Francisco Bay Area operates KIOI-FM, KISQ-FM, KKSF-AM, KMEL-FM, KOSF-FM, and KYLD-FM, and is part of iHeartMedia. iHeartMedia is the number one audio company in the United States, reaching nine out of 10 Americans every month — and with its quarter of a billion monthly listeners, has a greater reach than any other media company in the U.S. The company’s leadership position in audio extends across multiple platforms including more than 850 live broadcast stations; streaming music, radio and on demand via its iHeartRadio digital service available across more than 250 platforms and 2,000 devices including smart speakers, digital auto dashes, tablets, wearables, smartphones, virtual assistants, TVs and gaming consoles; through its influencers; social; branded iconic live music events; and podcasts as the #1 commercial podcast publisher globally. iHeartMedia also leads the audio industry in analytics and attribution technology for its marketing partners, using data from its massive consumer base. iHeartMedia is a division of iHeartMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: IHRT). Visit iHeartMedia.com for more company information.
About San Jose State Athletics
San Jose State University sponsors 22 (nine men’s and 13 women’s) NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports programs for approximately 490 student-athletes annually. In football, the Spartans are a member of Division I’s FBS, the NCAA’s highest level of competition, and compete in the Mountain West.
San Jose State has 10 NCAA team championships and 52 NCAA individual titles. 62 Spartans competed in one or more Olympic Games. SJSU athletes have won seven gold, six silver and seven bronze medals at the Olympics. Annually, about one-third of the student-athlete population earns either an institutional, conference or national recognition based on outstanding academic performance.
About Learfield IMG College
Spartan Sports Properties is the San Jose-based Learfield IMG College team that works alongside the athletics administration. Learfield IMG College unlocks the value of college sports for fans, brands, universities and conferences. The company is a longtime advocate for intercollegiate athletics and the student-athlete experience. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.
sfgate.com photo: Washington Nationals’ Gerardo Parra hits a three-run home run against the San Francisco Giants during the third inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.
On the Giants podcast with Michael:
#1 The San Francisco Giant have now lost seven of their last three games, including getting swept at Oracle Park by the Washington Nationals. Was it a matter of the Giants facing a Nats team who were prepared, ready to conquer or the Giants are fizzling out after having such a great run?
#2 How much of an advantage was if for former Giant Gerardo Parra to have played for the Giants and to be able to hit the key three-run homer against the Giants on Wednesday for the Nats win.
#3 The Nats’ Joe Ross started against the Giants for the win, pitching six shutout innings of three-hit ball for an effective game. Was it a matter of the Giants’ lineup just didn’t have the drive or were off balance facing Ross?
#4 Former Giant second baseman Joe Panik’s departure this week — was it a surprise or was it something that had been on the mind of Giants general manager Farhan Zaidi?
#5 Giants open a four-game series Thursday against the Philadelphia Phillies at Oracle Park. For the Phillies, Aaron Nola (10-2, 3.60 ERA), and for San Francisco, Madison Bumgarner (6-7, 3.92 ERA)
One of the many benefits of playing football at Stanford is the proximity and relationship the team has with the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders.
David Shaw, the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football, played at Stanford with 49ers general manager John Lynch in the early 90’s and coached with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden from 1997-2001 (the first year with the Philadelphia Eagles).
Last week, Shaw and his staff attended a 49ers practice and they visited the Raiders today for a joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams. It’s a great way to learn, share ideas, and catch up with former players.
On Monday afternoon, Lynch and 49ers kicker Robbie Gould came to a Stanford practice.
“It’s a huge resource for us,” said senior kicker Jet Toner.
Special teams coordinator Pete Alamar met Gould last week and invited him to attend.
“He shot me a text over the weekend and said I have an off-day Monday, is it all right if I come out?” said Alamar. “He’s a football junkie and loves the game. He’s got a lot of years in the game and good knowledge.”
Photo credit: gostanford.com
Gould arrived early.
“We talked about a few things, from the mental side of the game to how much you kick on a certain day,” Alamar said. “It was fun to pick his brain.”
Gould provided pointers to Cardinal kickers and long snappers. One of the most reliable kickers in the NFL, he converted 33 of 34 field goals for San Francisco last season and has hit 82 of 85 the last three years.
“A guy that good — probably the best kicker in the league — it was great to get a few tips and reiterate what Coach Alamar says, especially from someone with so much experience,” said Toner. “It was great having him out there.”
After practice, Toner guided Gould through STRIVR, a virtual reality, immersive learning device the program has used for many years. Former Stanford kicker Derek Belch is the founder and CEO of STRIVR Labs, and the high-tech headsets are now used by many pro and college sports teams and corporations.
“I walked him through my process and how I use it,” said Toner. “He liked it and thought it was an awesome tool. He really was interested in one aspect where we take VR footage of the stadiums we visit, so the night before — even that week — while we’re prepping, we can put ourselves in that setting and sort of find high lines or places to line up the ball.”
The 49ers also use VR, but not the kickers.
“He might look into it,” Toner said of Gould. “He’s also been kicking for a long time, has his own process and knows what works best for him. I don’t know if he will incorporate it into his process.”
PLAYERS COUNCIL: Earlier this year, Cardinal players formed a team council to promote leadership and communication within the program.
“Pretty much every year you have a core of team leaders that are kind of mediators between what the coaches want and what the players want and our goals,” said junior center Drew Dalman. “This year, we formalized that and had a team vote to elect representatives from every position group. If the team wants something done, they can go through the leadership council. It’s kind of an easy way to distribute knowledge so Coach Shaw can text us and we can go to our position groups and talk about it.”
Fifth-year outside linebacker Casey Toohill thinks it has been a good way for players to stay connected.
“It serves as a way for us to have very concise and meaningful dialogue with position group heads, but also for us to serve as leaders of the team,” Toohill said. “And it’s not just us. We take feedback and will add new members at some point.”
Toner added, “I think it has helped improve communication as far as getting the message and making sure it is heard down the line. Just to make sure each guy is on it. We have some great leaders and I think it will be a useful tool.”
Photo credit: gostanford.com
EXTRA MOTIVATION: After last Sunday’s practice, members from The Program LLC addressed the team. The teams consists of world-class former special operations warriors and elite athletes, who share lessons about brotherhood, leadership and sustaining high performance.
Cardinal players spent a day in the spring training with The Program each of the last two years.
“It’s a great opportunity for us,” said Dalman. “They are some of the best leaders around. They’re successful and competitive. They challenge us in different ways that we’re not used to.”
Last year, team-building exercises included carrying logs. This year, players treaded water in a pool.
“They’re great guys and put us through something that got us out of our comfort zone,” Toohill said. “They really gave us an opportunity for leadership to develop. They came here and reminded us about mental toughness. No one feels bad for us. Camp is hard but it’s really not that hard. People have it worse. We love working with them.”
CAMPBELL TROPHY: Toohill has been nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by the National Football Foundation to the college player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance. Nominees must be in their final year of eligibility and maintain a 3.20 GPA.
“It’s a huge honor,” said Toohill, who carries a 3.71 GPA in political science. “I love being at a place where you’re not treated differently. You go to class and people may recognize you as an athlete, but when you’re there, you’re expected to perform the same.”
A native of San Diego, Toohill is grateful for his time on The Farm, growing as a person and a student-athlete.
“There are few things in life where you can get the best of both worlds,” Toohill said. “You often have to make choices, but Stanford is not one of them. You can succeed at the highest level academically and in sports. This has been the best experience of my life.”
The Campbell Trophy is named for late Palo Alto businessman Bill Campbell, former Chairman of Intuit, VP of Marketing, board member of Apple Inc., and beloved mentor to many Silicon Valley executives. Campbell graduated from Columbia, where he played football and served as head coach from 1974-79.
PUNTING COMPETITION: Jake Bailey was a weapon for Stanford as a punter and kickoff specialist the last four years. He was adept at changing field position for the Cardinal defense and finished as the school’s career leader in punting average at 43.71 yards per attempt. Now playing for the New England Patriots, Bailey boomed 60 of 72 kickoffs for touchbacks last season.
Early in camp, three players are vying for his punting job: senior Collin Riccitelli, sophomore Alex Gracey and freshman Ryan Sanborn.
“Ryan has done a really good job of coming in quickly and trying to learn fast,” said Alamar. “He possesses a good leg, but it’s different — just the timing and speed of my operation. From high school to college can be up to half-a-second. And to do it without hurrying. He’s also competing for the kickoff job.”
Competition could come down to the final week of training camp.
“The bottom line is what punter gives us the best chance to create positive field position for the defense,” Alamar said.
BUSY SUMMER: Like many Stanford players, Toner interned this summer with a local venture capital firm called UP2398. One of the founders is from Hawaii, where Toner grew up, and attended the same high school (Punahou).
“There’s a big Hawaii connection and the name comes from the number of air miles from San Francisco to Hawaii,” said Toner.
Day 4️⃣: New York strip steaks, chicken cacciatore and loaded baked potato bar 🥩🐓🇮🇹🥔🤩 pic.twitter.com/mpFnBZOBbW
EXTRA POINTS: Of Stanford’s 21 scholarship freshmen, about half have completed summer school classes and the rest will finish in the next 10 days … Fall classes start on Sept. 23 … The team wore full pads for the first time on Tuesday. “It was a hot day,” Shaw said. “Guys had to push through it a little bit but it was good.” … The public is invited to attend the only open scrimmage of camp on August 11 from 3:15-5:30 p.m. at Elliott Field.
QUOTE: “Walker (Little) is practicing at a high level and Foster (Sarell) is practicing the best since he’s been here.” — David Shaw on his junior offensive linemen.
Even though he was San Jose State’s leading rusher in each of the last two seasons, Tyler Nevens is focused on the present. The third-year running back and the Spartans would be thrilled this season to match his two-year career total of 1,224 rushing yards.
As he puts it, more importantly, Nevens and his fellow teammates plan a more cohesive approach on offense with the goal of finishing plays better than the past.
“As a running back group, we’ve been working really hard. We’ve been disciplined on the field and off the field as well. We learned a lot from our mistakes of last year and spring ball as well. We’re trying to get right and have the proper technique to finish plays and make big plays,” says Nevens, who had team-high totals of four rushing touchdowns and a long run of 38 yards last year.
According to running backs coach Alonzo Carter, this year’s offense plans to run the ball as much as possible. Coach Carter believes the Spartans have options at running back — power, experience, speed, change-of-pace, players capable of running through tackles, catch passes and can provide sufficient pass protection.”
“We have the ‘Harlem Heat’ as I call them — Tyler Nevens and DeJon Packer. They’re a pair of big 220-pound downhill runners and physical backs. Then, we have Kairee Robinson. He’s the difference maker. He changes the pace. He comes in. He gives you all the juice. Adding to that downhill style is Hunter Nye. And (Brendan) Manigo, he’s one of the fastest guys on the team. So, he can take off at any time,” says Carter.
The Spartans’ running backs coach also has goals for his group taking each play one play at a time. The reward, not necessarily, a bonus is more opportunities to run the football.
“Finishing. We want to be able to finish off plays, run through arm tackles, get to space, and, most importantly, make sure we protect the quarterback. In our room, “no block, no rock.” So, you have to block and be able to protect the quarterback. That comes with ‘maxing’ the protections and keep Josh Love clean,” Carter says.
Nevens concurs. He and his fellow running backs will be able to put words into action, especially during the Spartans’ first fall scrimmage on Saturday, August 10 at 5:30 p.m. in CEFCU Stadium.
Tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.
NOTES: Tyler Ervin (2014, 15), Brandon Rutley (2010, 11) and Nevens are the three Spartans to lead the team in rushing in consecutive seasons in the last 10 years.
SAN FRANCISCO — On the same day when they designated one of their most popular players for assignment, the San Francisco Giants still are unable to get a win.
Kurt Suzuki singled in Anthony Rendon with the only run that the Washington Nationals would need in the top of the first inning on their way to a 5-3 victory over the Giants before a crowd of 31,628 at Oracle Park.
Suzuki broke the game wide open in the top of the third inning, as he slammed a two-run home run that also scored former Giants outfielder Gerardo Parra, who singled right after Trea Turner led off the inning with a walk and went to third on the Parra single. Turner then scored when Rendon hit a sacrifice fly to Kevin Pillar.
Turner slammed his 10th home run of the season in the top of the fourth inning that helped the Nationals to their second win of the series, and secured the series win.
Anibal Sanchez pitched a great game, as he went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out three on his way to raising his record to 7-6 on the season.
Conner Menez made his second major league start, and this one was not like his major-league debut on July 21 against the New York Mets. In this outing, Menez went six innings, allowing five runs on six hits, walking three and striking out four and lost for the first time in his major-league career.
Brandon Crawford drove in the Giants first run of the game in the bottom of the third inning, as he grounded out to first base that scored Pillar from third. Pillar got to third after he singled to lead off the inning, and raced to third on a throwing error by Sanchez.
Brandon Belt got the Giants a run closer in the bottom of the sixth inning, as his single to right field scored Pablo Sandoval, who came off the bench to pinch-hit for Menez and doubled to lead off the inning.
Sandoval seemed to be a spark for the Giants in the latter parts of the game, as he doubled again in the bottom of the seventh inning that scored Pillar.
Jandel Gustave continues impress the team, as he once again went two innings for the third time since joining the team. In his three appearances, Gustave scattered four hits, walked two and struck out one.
Pillar went 3-for-4 on the night, and it was the fourth time this season he picked up at least three hits in a game.
Joe Panik, who was part of the 2014 World Series Champion Giants team was designated for assignment to make for Menez.
Panik, who will be best remembered for that dazzling diving stop of an Eric Hosmer hit in Game Seven of the 2014 World Series that eventually turned into a double play saw his playing time diminish with the recent acquisition of Scooter Gennett and the improvement at the plate of Donovan Solano.
“Nothing has driven me more than winning here in San Francisco,” Panik said in a statement. “I am forever grateful for the Giants taking the chance on me and allowing me to live out my life long dream. It is time for me to start the next chapter in my career. But in my heart I will always be a Giant.”
Bruce Bochy got a little emotional when talking about Panik prior to the game, as “one of the most difficult conversations I had in my life.”
Panik also came up big in the opening weekend at Dodger Stadium in 2018, when he hit home runs in the first two games of the season off of Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen that led to back-to-back wins for the Giants.
NOTES: Sandovals 17 pinch hits are the most in the major leagues and is now tied with Candy Maldonado with the second most in San Francisco Giants history.
His eight pinch-hit doubles breaks the season record he shared with Fred Lewis in the San Francisco era.
Sam Selman optioned to Sacramento after Mondays loss and Menez along with Williams Jerez were recalled from Sacramento.
Three Giants players throughout the minor leagues took home Player of the Month Awards for the month of July. Jaylin Davis, Seth Corry and Franklin Labour.
UP NEXT: Shaun Anderson will look to end the Giants three-game losing streak on Wednesday afternoon, as he takes the mound against Joe Ross, who is the younger brother of former Oakland As pitcher Tyson Ross and like his brother, went to Bishop O’Dowd High in Oakland.
The range of celebrities born on August 6 includes Hall of Fame basketball player David Robinson, pop icon Andy Warhol, legendary comedienne Lucille Ball, ESPN Sports Radio host Mike Greenberg and San Jose State University football’s Terry Malley.
Actually, it would be Santa Clara County’s Terry Malley for his 35-plus years coaching high school, college and professional football in the Bay Area, particularly in the South Bay.
Malley, who would downplay any celebrity status, is in his second season as an analyst on head coach Brent Brennan’s staff. Jokingly, he said on his 65th birthday, he balances out the average age in the room, but he means a lot more than that to the Spartans.
“When I came on with Brent (Brennan), I sit in on all the offensive meetings and go to all the practices. I’m involved in the evaluation of all the recruiting. It’s different from coaching because I can’t coach people on the field,” said Malley, who was a quarterback for his dad Patrick “Pat” Malley at Santa Clara University during the 1972 through 1975 seasons before he went into coaching.
“My role is they needed an older guy on the staff to balance out the younger guys and give some feedback on things that need to be addressed.”
Through time, Malley has seen the game of football evolve in many ways. One area he discussed was the approach to fall camp at the college level.
“It’s amazing how much it’s changed. In the old days, you had three weeks before the first game. You had two weeks of ‘double days’ and the last week was singles. So, you had three weeks total. We don’t have a ‘double day’ at all,” said Malley, who coached six NCAA Division II nationally-ranked Santa Clara teams in eight seasons and was an offensive coordinator for the San Jose SaberCats’ four Arena Bowl championships before joining the Spartans.
“The interesting thing is you have as many injuries practicing once a day as you did in the old days practicing twice. The other change is having kids around all summer long allows you to run into camp with a little bit of steam as afar as kids knowing what to do and getting practice going at a lot quicker pace than what you did in the past.”
Malley treasures the relationships he built in the game particularly with players from all his teams and the experiences that come from them.
“The awesome thing is the people you’re involved with — the great kids that came to play for you. I did the (San Jose) SaberCats. You had older guys, but they were older guys who still liked to play. They were special. I’ve fallen in love with the kids who play here for a good four to five year period,” said Malley, who first joined the Spartans in 2009 and oversaw the development of wide receivers Chandler Jones and Noel Grigsby, one-two on the San Jose State career receiving lists.
“I got to work with my dad (Pat Malley) at Santa Clara. When we first took over there, we were very good and it was very enjoyable. Our time with the SaberCats and winning the Arena Bowl is hard to beat. And, coming here going from not very good to 11-2 was just an awesome experience.”
“The best one still is yet to come. I think we’re going to finish this off here with this group pretty soon. I’m excited to have the best one still to come.”
“I’m very lucky to be involved with them.”
And, San Jose State is fortunate to have him as important member of the Spartan football family.
Future San Jose State University football teams will be facing non-conference opponents with air and ground nicknames starting in 2023 in home-and-home series with the University of Toledo Rockets and the University of Texas El Paso Miners. Athletics director Marie Tuite made the announcement on behalf of San Jose State.
The Spartans and the Rockets will embark on regular-season football for the first time, Saturday, September 16, 2023 in Toledo, Ohio. The return game is set for Saturday, September 9, 2028 in CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans.
San Jose State and Toledo played in the inaugural California Bowl in Fresno, Calif., in 1981. Despite the Spartans overcoming a 21-3 second-half deficit and taking a 25-24 lead with 0:52 remaining in the game, the Rockets still won, 27-25, on a 41-yard field goal with 0:15 left on the clock.
Toledo becomes the third Mid-American Conference school member on San Jose State’s future football schedules through the 2028 season. The Spartans have home and home non-conference games with Western Michigan (2021 — away; 2022 — home) and Central Michigan (2020 — away, 2025 — home).
San Jose State and UTEP have games scheduled for September 26, 2026 in San Jose and September 25, 2027 in El Paso’s Sun Bowl.
The Spartans and the Miners have a much longer football history than the Spartans and Rockets. Dating back to 1966. San Jose State and UTEP have split 10 meetings. Nine of the 10 games occurred between 1996 and 2004 when both schools were Western Athletic Conference members. San Jose State came away winners in five of those WAC games. UTEP is the first Conference USA team on the Spartans’ future football schedules.
Presently, tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.
