AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Mickelson survives rain, surges to the lead

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Photo credit: @nbcsandiego

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH – The rainy conditions were all but guaranteed for Friday’s second round, but the morning was relatively dry, and there was even a patch of blue sky to be seen over the grounds of Pebble Beach Golf Links.

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Photo credit: Jeremy Harness

But as expected, that all changed as the afternoon rolled in, and it only got worse in the ensuing hours.

The rain began to fall at about 12:30pm PST, and about half of the players were able to finish their rounds by then. One of them was Phil Mickelson, who not only survived Spyglass Hill but also picked up ground, surging to the top of the leaderboard.

His driving accuracy came back down to earth on Friday, and he didn’t hit as many greens as he did in the opening round, but he putted better than was the case at Monterey Peninsula on Thursday and was also able to withstand a three-hole bogey stretch at holes seven through nine. He finished with a four-under round of 68, as he found himself in a five-way tie for the lead at 10-under overall.

“I hate finishing the round off like that and making three bogeys after having a pretty good round going in,” Mickelson said. “It was just a little more difficult conditions. I’m also lucky to get done and get the round over with (before the rain started).” He was one shot behind when he finished his round but vaulted into a tie for the lead when Scott Langley, who had lead for most of the day, bogeyed the 17th hole and then made par at the 18th.

The rain intensified to the point where the actual holes were completely filled with water, and with some players still on the course with more than one hole to play, including Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Scott Piercy, a decision had to be made.

So the rules officials suspended play at 2:11pm PST. At this point, the players were given the choice of finishing the holes that they are currently on or simply marking their ball and returning the next morning to finish. Cameron Champ and Brice Garnett were on the 18th green, and they decided to finish out, resulting in a cool visual of Garnett’s closing putt splashing into the hole.

In all, there are 44 players yet to finish their second round, and they will go out starting at 7:10am PST Saturday morning. Immediately following the completion of their second rounds, those players will commence third-round action at their scheduled course that day.

“It just started kind of spitting rain on the 14th hole,” Langley said. “I told my partner, Dan Rose, ‘You know, man, we’re pretty lucky it hasn’t done anything yet, so it might as well just come,’ and it did, and in full force.

“I just tried to grind down the stretch and make pars,” he added. “Spyglass always seems to be the course that, I’ll call it the toughest out of the three, so to shoot three-under in these conditions in the end, I feel pretty good about it.” Another guy determined to finish out was Paul Casey, who shot a seven-under round of 64 at Monterey Peninsula and had some obvious momentum going that he did not to be extinguished.

“We were on the last hole, and I heard that horn go (signaling play suspension),” Casey said. “And then there was a second one and then a third one. I had to think for a minute, because (if) you get one long blast, you’re done (for the day). But the three means (that) you can finish the hole, and I’m like, ‘We can finish the hole?’ “I’ve never been so happy. I went from upset to happy in an instant, so it was all good.”

One who was not able to get it all in was Jordan Spieth, who appeared to catch a big break via some friendly assistance on Friday. He had an approach shot go wayward to the right at Spyglass Hill’s par-3 seventh hole, when a fan batted the ball in mid-air and deflected it onto the green.

Spieth went on to make par, and that turned out to be his final hole of the day – he started his round at the 10th – as he had a five-under, bogey-free round going before play was called. He is currently tied for the lead at 10-under.

There is more rain in tomorrow’s forecast, with a 40 percent chance of precipitation throughout the morning, before the heavy stuff arrives in the afternoon, as was the case Friday.

“There’s a chance we may miss some of it,” Mickelson said. “You just don’t know how it’s going to play or what the weather’s going to be, and you end up trying to shoot as low a round as you can because everybody else is facing the same conditions.”

Stanford wraps up road trip in Oregon on Sunday

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Photo credit: gostanford.com

By: Ana Kieu

In case you missed it, Stanford Cardinal men’s basketball throttled the Oregon State Beavers 83-60 for its third win in a row. Oscar da Silva matched his career-high with 23 points in the throttle. da Silva also recorded nine rebounds and a career-high seven assists.

da Silva told the media: “I tried to be aggressive right from the get-go. I tried to take it at their bigs, get into their zone from the high post, and that worked really well.”

Aside from da Silva, the Cardinal’s leading scorers featured the likes of Josh Sharma, who had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Daejon Davis, who added 11 points on three three-pointers. The Cardinal (12-10, 5-5 Pac-12) have won four of their last five games. The Ducks (14-9, 5-5 Pac-12) are just one step ahead of the Cardinal in the Pac-12 conference, but they’re carrying one win to the home court inside the Matthew Knight Arena, so the Cardinal should prepare for the conference matchup if they haven’t already done so.

The Ducks’ last win came at home versus the California Golden Bears, a rival of the Cardinal, on Wednesday, February 6 by a final score of 73-62.

As you can see from the two tweets above, da Silva’s a crucial part of the Cardinal roster. The 6’9″ German sophomore forward has room for growth, but he has been destroying it on the hardwood, like, say, at Oregon State, where he shamelessly attacked the Beavers defense along with the nation’s leading shot blocker, Kylor Kelly. Kelly had 17 points before the break.

I’d also like to note that the Cardinal went on a whopping 11-2 run that put them in the driver’s seat with a far-fetched lead 71-52 with 4:28 left in the game. That run, my friends, was capped off by a three-pointer from Marcus Sheffield, a junior guard and forward from Alpharetta, Ga.

“We’re growing up. Slowly but surely,” said Stanford head coach Jerod Haase. “Overall, we’re trending the right way. The guys are playing hard, they’re playing together, and they believe in what we’re doing.”

With that said, Stanford will stick around the Beaver State for a few more days before they travel to Eugene, Ore. to take on the Ducks, who will likely be a tough customer. But we’ll see what happens next, okay?

After that, Stanford returns home on Wednesday, February 13 to host the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Tipoff set for 8:00 pm PT on ESPNU.

Jones, Sharks keep Flames at bay with 5-2 win

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Photo credit: @BrodieNBCS

By Pearl Allison Lo

Despite San Jose’s seven penalties, goalie Martin Jones had 36 saves backed up with goal power, as the Sharks won over the Flames 5-2 Thursday.

As the top two teams in the Western Pacific came to a head, the result was San Jose moving two points closer to the Flames and now two points away from the lead position.

Joe Thornton received his 1000th point with the Sharks and Tomas Hertl and Evander Kane scored two goals and an assist apiece.

San Jose scored three goals in a span of 1:24 and never trailed after.

“Coming from Winnipeg, big win, you don’t want to let it down,” noted Thornton.

The beginning half of the first was marked by a goal from Mark Jankowski at 4:36 as he deflected Mark Giordano’s shot. Calgary also had a power play chance.

The second half started when Dalton Prout was called for interfering with Kane at 10:55. The Sharks’ first power play was cut short by a slash from Hertl, but San Jose capitalized 4-on-4. Thornton earned his 1000th point with the primary assist after a turnover by Johnny Gaudreau on the other end. Kane’s shot looked like it was blocked, but it slowly slid between goalie David Rittich’s legs at 12:39.

The Sharks then scored shorthanded with the Flames’ remaining time on the man advantage. Brent Burns stole the puck with Rittich moving to the top of the right faceoff circle to clear. However, it was Burns who won the battle, as he made his way past Rittich to score second in the empty net.

This prompted a goalie change from Rittich to Mike Smith.

But San Jose was not done yet. Smith was no less immune as the Sharks’ third goal was scored 5-on-5 with Hertl tipping Radim Simek’s shot from the point.

Calgary came out gunning in the second period with six shots on goal and five blocked shots in the first six and a half minutes. A wraparound attempt by Gaudreau inspired a sprawled out toe save along the post by Jones after he stopped the puck on the other side off teammate Justin Braun’s stick. The Flames earned a power play at 6:33, during which the Sharks were luckily able to avoid a goal. It took two other Sharks besides Jones in net to achieve that.

It took until 16:27 for more scoring action. Kane earned his second goal on his second attempt to give him two goals twice in four games. Joonas Donskoi made a nice pass up ice beforehand.

Calgary was not left out though. Tim Heed took a slashing call at 17:19 and 23 seconds later, T.J. Brodie scored on the power play from the point through traffic. His shot went off Braun to give the Flames a 4-2 goal.

In the third, San Jose’s Brenden Dillon took a penalty at 2:42.

Later, both goalies exchanged tripping penalties with Smith charged at 10:10 and Jones charged at 12:35. Right before Smith, Thornton had an attempt clang off the post.

Kane got a cross checking minor at 15:45. The Flames’ chance at an advantage were then interrupted with interference on Giordano over a minute later, during which the Sharks scored their final goal on a power play. Hertl’s goal came at 18:37.

Up Next: San Jose go for five straight wins and a 3-0 Canadian road trip when Game Three starts on Saturday versus the Edmonton Oilers at 4 pm.

Cardinal come from behind to upend Cougars 83-60

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Photo credit: @StanfordMBB

By Daniel Dullum
Sports Radio Service
Thursday, February 7, 2019

Thanks to a big night from Dorian Pickens, punctuated by timely shooting, Stanford traveled to Pullman, Wash., and defeated Washington State 79-70 Thursday in Pac-12 men’s basketball.

Pickens bagged a career-high 28 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with 1:16 to play in the second half. Pickens also made 7-of-10 from behind the arc.

Freshman KZ Okpala was next for Stanford with a career-high 21 points and Daejon Davis hit 6-of-7 field goals and finished with 15 points for the Cardinal (9-8 overall, 3-1 Pac-12).

Malachi Flynn led WSU (8-8, 0-4) with 24 points, including seven 3s. Milan Acquaah was next for the Cougars with 10 points, and Drick Bernstine added eight points and pulled down 12 rebounds.

Robert Franks, who came into the game leading WSU with 17.3 points per game, was held to eight points while committing six of the Cougars’ 22 turnovers.

With the Cougars leading 55-47, Washington State’s Kwinton Hinson committed a hard foul on Stanford’s Reid Travis, and the players had to be separated. From that point, the Cardinal roared to a nearly 10-minute, 21-3 run, taking a 68-58 lead with 6:26 remaining.

The Cougars pulled to within three points twice, but Pickens hit a pair of 3-pointers that helped Stanford hold on for its third straight win.

Stanford, which rallied for victories after being down 13 at UCLA and down 15 against USC, trailed Washington State 45-38 at the half.

A game official collided with a Cougars player in the second half, was injured, and had to leave the game.

The Cardinal travel to Oregon to face the Ducks on Sunday at 5:00 pm PT.

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Players get off to a fast start at Monterey Peninsula

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Photo credit: Jeremy Harness

By Jeremy Harness

PEBBLE BEACH – After a week filled with rain and cloudy skies, players and spectators were treated to sunshine and a considerably-warmer weather during Thursday’s opening round.

And the players certainly took advantage of that, especially with Mother Nature set to unleash her wrath as early as tomorrow.

As is the custom for this tournament – which utilizes three courses in Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula Country Club and Spyglass Hill – the pros took advantage of Monterey Peninsula, considered to be the easiest course of the three to jump to the top of the leaderboard.

Six out of the eight players who found themselves at the top of the leaderboard on Thursday used Monterey Peninsula on Thursday. That included first-day co-leader Brian Gay, who blistered the course with a seven-under 64, which saw him record five birdies in a row at holes five through nine.

“It’s usually the driest of the three (courses), which is nice this week, because everything’s really wet,” Gay said. “I just like the style of it. It’s beautiful out here on the water, and I just always enjoyed it.” Tied with Gay at the top is Scott Langley, who himself got a 64 out of Monterey Peninsula. He didn’t have the best of starts, as he bogeyed his second hole of the day but quickly bounced back with a bordie on the next hole.

He went on to birdie eight more holes, including three in a row at holes 16 through 18, against only one more bogey.

Come tomorrow, both guys will play Spyglass Hill, which is considered to be the toughest of the three, particularly because of the slickness of the greens and the prevalent wind.

Phil Mickelson is another guy who has always enjoyed coming to Pebble, and it certainly showed again on Thursday.

Now he has never been known to be the most accurate driver out there, but you wouldn’t know that by watching him play the opening round of this event, as he hit each of the 14 fairways en route to a six-under 65, as he birdied seven holes against only one bogey.

“So history was made today,” Mickelson said. “To the best of my knowledge, it’s taken me 27 years and a few months to hit all fairways in a single round in a competition. I may have done it before, but I don’t even recall doing it.

“It was a really good solid round, good solid start, and we had beautiful weather, and the golf course here is in spectacular shape.”

The recovery of the day had to go to Brandt Snedeker, who pulled his drive left of the retaining wall at the par-5 18th hole at Pebble Beach, in a pebble-collection area just before reaching the water.

He then got back into the fairway on his second shot before knocking his approach onto the green. He then sank a seven-footer to make an improbable birdie on his way to a three-under 69.

Things weren’t going nearly as well for defending champion Ted Potter, Jr., however, who wasn’t doing much recovering at all. He started Thursday’s round with a triple bogey, and it did not get much better from that point. He went on to suffer two more double bogeys to go along with another bogey on the first nine, with two more doubles and a bogey on the back side for a 10-over score of 82.

NOTES: Due to the inclement weather set to arrive tomorrow, tee times have been moved up an hour early. As a result, the first tee time is scheduled for 7:00 am PST.

That’s Amaury’s News and Commentary: Hall of Famer Frank Robinson Dead at 83

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Photo credit: @957thegame

By: Amaury Pi-Gonzalez

One of the great players of his generation passed away today. Robinson, the only player to win the MVP in both leagues, fell 57 hits shy of 3,000 hits and hit 586 home runs. He was also the first African-American manager in the Major Leagues. He won the Triple Crown twice, one of only two players since then, as Carl Yastremski and Miguel Cabrera won it twice in either league. He was a member of the Hall of Fame after playing baseball for 21 years.

When you watched him play, you saw a big guy with speed, power and tremendous ability. Seeing Robinson running the bases was truly a spectacle. With his long legs, he seemed to get from the plate to second with fewer strides than most other hitters of his time. To this day, I remember the trade that took him from Cincinnati to the Baltimore Orioles in 1965 for pitcher Milt Pappas. His number 20 was retired by the Orioles, Indians and Reds.

As a manager for 16 years with four different teams, we had him here as the skipper of the San Francisco Giants (more on that to follow!). He began his managerial career with the Cleveland Indians during his last two years as a player, then managed the Giants, Orioles and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.

I covered him during Robinson’s managing years with the Giants from 1981-1984. Those were under .500 teams most of the time. He was not an easy guy to play for. Back then, I talked to some players (who I shall not name) who told me that. He was a disciplinarian, a Billy Martin type with a lot of character and will tell if your question was a good or stupid one.

Robinson could not manage today in this “politically correct” culture because he would offend somebody. He will tell you what he thought without much hesitation and without a filter. I cannot remember the year,but it was a night game at Candlestick Park and the Giants lost (nothing rare those years) and we went down to speak to him, who was a vintage Frank Robinson. One of the reporters asked him a question and he went totally off with a bunch of expletives which nobody could run then on the air and left his office and didn’t say a word, meaning the “press conference” ended. For the younger readers, those days the manager did not speak live on television after each game, as they do today. It was a bunch of writers, radio reporters and on occasion, local television stations taping for later use. He did not enjoyed those managerial days in San Francisco. He was very frustrated in San Francisco because those teams were not winning and he demanded better play. To be fair to Robinson(and like I always say), the best jockey in the world cannot win a race if he doesn’t have a good horse.

Another player from the Bay Area, Robinson went to McClymonds High School in Oakland, which was his birthplace. I will always remember him as one of the best players I ever saw. When he went to the Orioles, he joined another Robinson (Brooks), who was one of the best third basemen ever. To see Brooks and Frank in the same lineup with the Orioles, it was truly a pleasure as a fan.

Robinson also worked for the Commissioner, he was the ultimate baseball lifer and he had quite a life, may I say.

Rest in Peace.

Not Much Difference: Cal competitive early then wilts at Oregon in 73-62 loss

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s high point was also the beginning of the end for the Bears on Wednesday at Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena.

A 7-0 run capped by Justice Sueing’s three-point play gave the Bears a 15-13 lead with 9:32 remaining in the first half.  It would be the final lead for the Bears on the evening, one they would have two opportunities to extend. But like Cal’s two previous, early leads, the Duck responded with a 3-pointer to regain an advantage.

This time–after Payton Pritchard’s 3-pointer– the Ducks took off.

A 17-2 Oregon run put Cal in a double-digit hole at the half. And Oregon methodically maintained their advantage after the break in a 73-62 win.

The Ducks shot 65 percent from the floor after the break, on their way to becoming the 14th Cal opponent to shoot better than 50 percent from the floor. And while lack of defense was Cal’s biggest issue, it wasn’t their only one.

The Bears got outrebounded 33-23, and while they got to the foul line, and converted (16 of 19), that wasn’t nearly enough to overcome horrid 39 percent shooting from the floor.

The result? Another loss, just not one stuffed with embarrassment. The Bears never let the Ducks run away, but they never caught up either, trailing for the game’s final 30 minutes. Now with an 0-10 record in conference play, the Bears must remain vigilant or confront being the first Pac-12 team to go winless in league play since Oregon State in 2008, a year before Utah and Colorado joined the conference.

Without looking ahead, the Bears don’t want to look back either: they’ve dropped 13 consecutive, conference road games and 18 overall dating back to last season.

Pritchard paced Oregon with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and three other starters scored in double figures led by Louis King with 12.

“I liked our pace in this game,” Pritchard said. “Defensively, we got some steals to easy looks. We were running it up. Guys were attacking in the seams and it allowed everyone else to get open.”

Justice Sueing led Cal with 17 points, and Paris Austin and Connor Vanover added 12 each.

The Bears continue their Northwest swing on Saturday at Oregon State with the tipoff at 2:30 pm.

Updated story with video: Kings lose 2 players, get 2 new players and lose to the Rockets 127-101

Published on by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment
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Bogdan Bogdanovic scores 2 of his 13 points Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

By Charlie O. Mallonee

Updated with interviews and trade information: Sacramento — It was a wild and crazy Wednesday night for the Sacramento Kings. Two hours before game time, the Kings completed a three-team with the Houston Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers that sent Iman Shumpert to the Rockets. The Kings will receive shooting Alex Burks from the Cavaliers.

Then just as the game was getting underway, everyone’s Twitter feeds on press row went crazy as word leaked out that the Kings had just completed another trade that sent Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to the Mavericks for former Golden State Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

Charlie O picks the story up from there:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Harden hits a 3-ball that becomes a 4-point play when Bogi is called for a foul Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Buddy Hield on the trades and his view of things going forward

 

 

 

De’Aaron Fox is ready to carry on following the trades

 

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Harry Giles III puts a floater up over Kenneth Faried on Wednesday night Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

The trades 

H. Barnes
Harrison Barnes returns to Northern California

The big deal of the night happened just as the game began on Wednesday night and the Mavericks game was in progress with Harrison Barnes on the floor. The Kings sent forward Justin Jackson and Zach Randolph to Dallas in exchange for the former Golden State forward.

Barnes will become an Unrestricted Free Agent in 2020. He is slated to make just over $25-million in 2019-20 but that is a player option contract which means Barnes could be a rental or an important piece for next season.

The Mavericks get a developing small forward in Justin Jackson who has seen a great deal of playing against the “best of the west” because the Kings needed his talents on the floor quickly. He will be a fine second-unit player for Dallas.

Zach Randolph is a part of the deal to make the money work under NBA guidelines and because he is an expiring contract. Randolph is not likely to wear a Dallas uniform.

Burks
Alec Burks is the newest member of the Sacramento Kings

The trade that brings Alec Burks to Sacramento is more complicated than the Barnes trade. It is a three-team trade involving the Kings, Rockets, and Cavaliers.

The irony is that it was a walk across the arena to the other locker room deal as Iman Shumpert was traded by the Kings to the Houston Rockets who Sacramento hosted last night. That really did not happen because of NBA rules that require trades be “blessed” by the league office before they can be finalized. Shumpert actually said goodbye to his teammates and left the Golden 1 Center before the game began Wednesday night.

The Kings received Burks who is an eight-year veteran of “the Association”. He has averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 points, and 2.9 assists per game in 34 contests for the Cavs this season. Burks also played for the Utah Jazz. Sacramento received a 2020 second-round draft pick as a part of the trade package.

Cleveland receives guard Brandon Knight, “local product” and former Kings draft pick Marquese Chriss, and a 2019 lottery protected first-round draft pick from Houston.

Cleveland sent guards Nik Stauskas (a former King) and Wade Baldwin who they acquired from Portland for Rodney Hood to the Rockets to complete the deal.

Trades in the NBA are never easy.

Up next

All of the players involved in the trades have 48 hours to report to their new teams. The Kings host the Miami Heat on Friday night when Dwyane Wade will make his final visit to Sacramento as a player. There is a chance that Burks and Barnes could play in that game, but it is more likely they will be playing on Sunday when Phoenix comes to town.

The Rockets returned to Houston after the game on Wednesday. They will play the OKC Thunder on Saturday night on national television. That should be enough for all of the new Rockets to report and be available to play in that game.

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The “old guard” and the “new guard” Photo: Jordan Chapin SportsRadioService.com

Warriors blow out the depleted Spurs 141-102

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Photo credit: @warriors

By Jerry Feitelberg

The Golden State Warriors, returning to action after having three days off, blew out the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday night 141-102 at Oracle Arena. The Spurs gave their two leading scorers LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan the night off. Another star Spur player, DeJounte Murray was out with a knee injury and not available. Nonetheless, any Greg Popovich San Antonio Spur team cannot be taken lightly, and for the first 22 minutes of the first half the Spurs gave the Warriors quite a tussle.

The first quarter was quite competitive as both teams were making shots. The Warriors attack was led by Kevin Durant’s 15 points. The Warriors finished the quarter with a slim two-point advantage 33-31. In the second quarter, the Warriors made some adjustments. Head coach Steve Kerr had the Warriors play better on defense, and the Warriors had DeMarcus Cousins position himself closer to the basket. The Spurs’ defensive strategy was to run Steph Curry and Klay Thompson off the three-point line. The Warriors started the second quarter with a 9-0 run. The Spurs fought back and trailed by three points 53-50, but the Warriors went on a 13-2 run to close out the first half leading 64-52. Kevin Durant led the Warriors with 17, Klay Thompson 16, and Steph Curry had 9. DeMarcus Cousins had 5, and Andre Iguodala added 8. Rudy Gay led the Spurs with 13.

The Warriors blew open the game in the third quarter. They outscored the Sours 49-31 in the period. The Warriors, at one point in the quarter, were 17 for 18 from the floor. They had 16 assists on 17 made baskets, and that was a record for assists in a quarter. They led 115-83 heading into the fourth quarter.

Steve Kerr had all of his five starters sitting on the bench. Quinn Cook, Jonas Jerebko, Jordan Bell, Kevon Looney, and Shaun Livingston were on the floor for the Warriors. The bench outscored the Spurs 26-19 in the quarter, and the Warriors won by a final of 141-102.

Game Notes- The Warriors improved to 38-15 and are in first place in the Western Conference. The win was the 13th in the last 14 games. San Antonio drops to 32-24.

It was the 14th 40-point quarter of the season for Golden State. The W’s had 50 fast break points. They outrebounded the Spurs 52-30, and they recorded 42 assists on 55 made baskets. The Warriors shot 58% from the floor and held San Antonio to 43.2% On defense, the Warriors had 14 steals and 5 blocks.

Klay Thompson led the team with 26. Kevin Durant had 23, Steph Curry 19, DeMarcus Cousins 15, Andre Iguodala 11, and Kevon Looney 10.

Paddy Mills, who played his college ball at St. Mary’s in Orinda, paced the Spurs with 16. Rudy Gay scored two points in the second half and finished with 15. Dante Cunningham had 11, and Bryn Forbes had 10.

Up Next: The Warriors meet the Phoenix Suns Friday night in Phoenix. Game time will be at 6 pm. The Warriors then face the Miami Heat at Oracle Arena on Sunday at 5:30 pm.

San Jose State football talks NLI signing period Wednesday

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Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State football released its 2019 schedule on Monday, but Wednesday was all eyes on head coach Brent Brennan and one member (Alex Galland) of this year’s recruiting class inside the Simpkins Stadium Center. All two took questions from the local media on the first day of the traditional start to the National Letter of Intent signing period.

If you’re a San Jose State football fan, then this update was written with you in mind. Here’s my question and answer session with Brennan and company.

1. Better health is an obvious priority for the current roster. Talk about a few other solutions to continue turning potential into production.
I think Josh Love demonstrated when he’s healthy, he can be a really effective quarterback. So, in terms of our offensive production, it’s important that Love has the playmakers surrounding him, but that’s more so easier said than done because we play against a lot of teams with more improved defensive and offensive lines.

2. The Spartans trailed in Rushing S&P+ and Opportunity Rate, but Tyler Nevens is a different figure as he has been leading the backfield and showing a good amount of ability to be a grinder. Do you feel like the Spartan running game has nowhere to go but up?
Absolutely, and obviously, Quinn (Oseland), (Scott) Breslin and Jelani (Newman) will be guys that we hope will give us a boost. When it comes to the offensive line, we have guys who know that it all starts with them. So I’m hopeful and that was one of the reasons why we identified Quinn and we’re excited that he has seen the felt the love from California and saw the opportunities in the Silicon Valley, the Bay Area, and most of all, San Jose State as an academic institution; but he’s also here to play football and to help us grow and play better up front.

The running back thing got shot in the arm last year. There were a couple of guys we signed who just enrolled with us at the mid-year, so you’re going to see Kairee Robinson from De La Salle, a fantastic player, and also Lorenzo Birch from Carmichael Jesuit; and we really feel like those guys will give us a boost.

There are guys who weren’t on our roster last year who are going to help our running game. And, of course, we’re going to see the maturing from Tyler Nevens and DeJon Packer. We’re going to have a good mix of youth and maturity, so let’s see if we can run the football better because that’s what we need to do.

3. The Spartan offense has showed some glimpses of promise. Just how important do you think the offense will play a role in the Spartans’ success in 2019?
Yes, I think the offense will play a pretty big role in the Spartans’ success. It’s also a reflection of me, the offensive coaches, and the rest of Spartan Athletics as a whole.

4. What are some things the recruits could bring to the table that fans may not know about?
The track prowess of Dominic Mazotti, the fact that Jackson (Canaan) is a big-time swimmer–a totally legit swimmer, despite being a tight end, Isaiah Thomas is more of a crossover guy for us and we’re planning to make him one this coming season, and Malikhi Miller–who’s the stepson of (running backs) coach (Alonzo) Carter–but that’s a turning point as he has relationships with the other coaches and had to have a reason to join the (football) program. So that has been a positive. He’s a big 6’4″ kid, he’s got this big body and he’s going to grow into a monster wide receiver; but he’s still a little young, so he needs to grow into that big body.

Jamar Simpson…there’s a great video of him on YouTube of him and Adoree Jackson at the USC camp for their opening and they were having the fastest man competition and Adoree–who didn’t bet–but he said that this guy had it. So they were in all these camps all over Southern California and Jamar won every single one of them.

Jamar caught our eye at a USC camp and also some other catches. He had a lot of speed, so much that I wondered if his dad clocked his 40-time.

5. The mix of the younger and older players can help improve the team, just as long as they stay healthy and are willing to put in the work. Is the youth movement still important in this program?
Absolutely. I think there’s a real delicate balance there, and the real balance is how we fill our roster; but the last two years, we’ve seen a lot of young players playing on a significant level, and the best thing is about freshman is that they become sophomores, sophomores become juniors, and you hope that those reps they get in the game will help them improve and stack up to round out their learning experiences because they’ll be playing at a young age, but over time, they’ll be better prepared to handle things when they’re confronted with issues.

This is the time where I’m putting in time to develop the energy that helps us all form a bond that will be unbreakable when the college football games are underway on Saturday.