Category: San Jose State Spartans

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

Former San Jose State kicker Bryce Crawford is among 214 previous nominees for the William V. Campbell Trophy planning to attend the third annual Campbell Trophy Summit sponsoered by Intuit, Inc., at Stanford University, August 14-17.

Former college football stars will have an opportunity to learn from and meet major entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley Chief Executive Officers and participate in a career expo. The goal of the summit is pass along insights for leadership and personal growth to the next generation.

“It’s a real big honor. There is a prestigious group of people I will get to meet and network with. It’s something that will be very valuable for me in the future,” said Crawford, who was San Jose State’s 2018 nominee for the Campbell Trophy, considered as the “Academic Heisman” award in college football. The former Spartan kicker hopes to participate in this event annually.

“Bill was absolutely passionate about football, and he believed deeply in what you learned from playing the game,” said National Football Foundation President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “He never, never took his foot off the accelerator in talking about the benefits of the game. So, we are really thankful that Intuit has stepped forward to fund the summit for a third year as a tribute to Bill’s legacy of mentoring. We received amazing feedback from the participants who attended the first two Summits, and more than 50 percent are coming back. The Summit has quickly become its own community, and it’s a great showcase for the impact college football has in creating educational opportunities for those who play our sport.”

The late Bill Campbell played and coached football at Columbia University before becoming chairman of Intuit and board member of Apple, Inc., and Google. He’s credited with mentoring Steve Jobs of Apple, Jeff Bezos of Amazon, Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook, Sergey Brin of Google, and many more Silicon Valley icons.

Companies participating in the career expo include Altamont Capital, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deloitte, Enjoy, EY, Google, Intuit, JMI Sports, McChrystal Group, SoFi, Sonim Technologies, WeDriveU and the XFL as well as professionals from the medical and real state fields and several entrepreneurs from a diverse range of emerging companies.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

New San Jose State assistant football coach Scott White remembers his playing days at the University of Washington, A four-year starter at linebacker for the Huskies, he was a second-team All-Pac-10 Conference selection in his senior year.

White excelled by keeping the game as simple as possible. And, he has taken that credo and carried it over into his coaching career at stops that include Central Washington University, Palomar College and UCLA. Along the way, he paved the way for a number of linebackers at each school to excel and then move on to a professional career.

“That’s a big part of my job. I have a motto, ‘The brilliance is in the simplicity. How simple can I make that?’ without them having to figure it out on their own,” White said about his coaching philosophy.

“Let me do all the thinking. You guys can go out and play on your own. That’s how I approach it. Put them in a position, simplify things so they can go out and play football the best.”

“This group has been great to work with, great to be around, to develop. They’re working their butts off, getting better every day and learning how to play,” White said about the start of his first season as a Spartans’ position coach.

In 2018, White was a team analyst with no coaching responsibilities.

For senior Ethan Aguayo, the team’s leading tackler from last season, he appreciates White’s approach to the fine art of playing the linebacker position.

“Coach White’s been great. He’s been the one lining us up for success giving us the finer details of our assignments. He pushes us to be our best. He’s going to give us his best every day in the classroom and on the field. So, we have to be willing to do the same for him,” said Aguayo.

For the remainder of the week prior to the August 17 FanFest on the practice field, the message again is simple according to the Spartan senior.

“Focusing on our assignments and giving a ‘blue line effort’ — 100-100 every day. The one thing we can control is our effort and our attitude,” Aguayo said.

The FanFest begins with a 5:30 p.m. scrimmage followed by a 7:00 p.m. barbecue meal. To close out the day with the Spartans, the movie “Spider-Man; Into the Spider Verse” will be shown.

Tickets for the barbecue and movie are $25.00 each, but free to Shield 365 members. There’s no charge to watch the scrimmage.

Tickets for the San Jose State season opener versus the Northern Colorado Bears on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.

Photo credit: @AnaKieu

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State Spartans football held its first fall scrimmage at CEFCU Stadium on a breezy Saturday. Popular rap tunes such as “Homecoming” by Kanye West and “Bring Em Out” by T.I. blasted at full volume, and fans and media members alike took advantage of the wind.

The Spartans took the field and made it obvious that they gave a 100 percent effort. Although the regular season hasn’t started yet, this was an all-around great effort by the team, who finished last season with a lowly 1-11 (1-7 Mountain West) record.

“Defense did great today,”linebacker Tysyn Parker said. “We took a lot of the instruction in the film room in our defensive meetings and translated it onto the field.”

“I think, collectively, as a group, we’re playing better and we’re more accomplished, but our offense hasn’t been forming as well in practices — getting turnovers on defense — and our goal for the year is to prevent turnovers.”

Of course, San Jose State had the heart, talent and preparation. However, a powerful push on a snap stopped them short of a touchdown as defensive end Cameron Alexander went down with an apparent injury. Alexander, however, managed to get up off the field to get checked out by doctors.

At halftime, San Jose State players and coaches recuperated from a few frantic plays to gear up for the second half. “Headstrong” by Trapt played, and that, my friends, was the perfect song to motivate the Spartans, especially its lyrics, “Back off, I’ll take you on / Headstrong to take on anyone / I know that you are wrong / Headstrong, we’re Headstrong.”

The Spartans continued to play their best in the final minutes of the scrimmage. There was another Spartan first down that led to a punt on first down and offensive lineman Scott Breslin caught the punted ball.

Obviously, there were quite a few improvements to be made, but I’m fairly certain that the Spartans will address their issues.

“We executed,” defensive back Brandon Ezell said. “We did our assignment. We’re locked in.”

“We did our job. Still, some things to work on, but overall, we executed.”

“It’s coming fast,” head coach Brent Brennan. “There’s a lot of work to do and I’m excited to get back to work.”

“Alex Gallant, Hunter Nye, Jordan Cobbs, all those guys have been spreading like fire,” added Brennan.

NOTES: Former Spartan defensive tackle Boogie Roberts returned to the Bay Area for his first NFL game with the Rams at the Oakland Coliseum on Saturday.

San Jose State will host Retro Night at CEFCU Stadium on Thursday, August 29 at 7:00 p.m. versus Northern Colorado.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

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.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

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.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

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.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

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.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

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.