Tag: College Football

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The San Jose State Spartans kick off the 2018 season in its home opener versus the UC Davis Aggies at CEFCU Stadium on Thursday night.

There will be no television broadcast, just radio broadcasts on KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM.

Radio Station Details
KLIV 1590 AM originates San Jose State football broadcasts. Justin Allegri calls the play-by-play, while Kevin Richardson provides commentary.

The UC Davis football broadcast begins at 6:30 pm PDT with an Aggies pregame show.

KSJS 90.5 FM will also broadcast the game live. Ashton Hughes and E.J. McCarthy have the calls.

2017 San Jose State record
2-11 (1-7 Mountain West). The Spartans finished the season tied for fifth in the Mountain West’s West Division.

2017 UC Davis record
5-6 (3-5 Big Sky). The Aggies were in eighth place in the 13-team Big Sky Conference.

The lowdown on San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan
Brennan is in his second season as a college head coach. Brennan has a college coaching record of 2-11–all with the Spartans. Brennan returned to San Jose State in 2017 after six seasons as a receivers coach at Oregon State. Brennan worked as a Spartan assistant coach from 2005 to 2010. Brennan 0-0 as a head coach against UC Davis.

The lowdown on UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins
Hawkins is in his second season as the Aggies head coach. Hawkins has a 5-6 record at UC Davis. Overall, Hawkins begins his 17th season as a college head coach and has a 117-67-1 record. Hawkins is 5-0 as a head coach against the Spartans. Hawkins won all five games as Boise State’s head coach from 2001-04.

Series history
The Spartans lead the series, 6-4-2. San Jose State has wins in three of the four games played in the 21st century. These teams are meeting for the first time since the 2012 season when the Spartans won a 45-13 laugher. UC Davis’ last win in the series was a 14-13 triumph in Spartan Stadium.

This is the third time these two teams are opening a season against each other. The most recent was in 2008 when the Spartans edged the Aggies 17-13. The first was on October 12, 1929, when UC Davis shutout San Jose State, 13-0, just 17 days before the start of the Great Depression in the United States.

More on weekly San Jose State press conference
The weekly San Jose State football press conference is in the Simpkins Stadium Center Gold Room on Mondays at 1:00 pm PDT.

The Mountain West Network streams the press conference live through www.sjsuspartans.com/videos. The press conference also is archived at sjsuspartans.com.

The Brent Brennan Show

The one-hour Brent Brennan Radio Show airs on KLIV 1590 AM on Thursdays, at 7:00 pm PDT. The show is taped each Wednesday at 6:00 pm PDT at the Hukilau Restaurant on 230 Jackson Street in San Jose. Justin Allegri, the voice of the Spartans, is the host.

Brent Brennan on KLIV 1590 AM
San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan is heard weekly on KLIV 1590 AM on Tuesdays at 6:30 am PDT. Tony Michaels is the host.

Tickets
• sjsuspartans.com/tickets
• ticketmaster.com

The Athletics Ticket Office is located on 1393 S. 7th Street, San Jose, CA 95112, and is open on weekdays from 9 am to 5 pm PDT.

• New modern family plan
• Spartan alumni season ticket pricing in a distinct seating section

Game sponsor
Los Gatos Roofing, Inc.

Season openers
San Jose State has three wins in its last five season openers. Since 1898, San Jose State is 41-52-4 all-time in season-opening games.

A master’s degree in their futures
Quarterback Michael Carrillo and defensive lineman Boogie Roberts are two San Jose State players playing as graduate students. Carrillo graduated with cum laude honors, majoring in business administration with an emphasis in marketing in May 2018. He is pursuing a M.B.A.

Roberts majored in communication studies. He is enrolled in the master’s program in interdisciplinary studies and tailored his curriculum towards classes that focuses on sports broadcasting.

Young Spartans
The current San Jose State football roster consists of 40 freshmen. In the last nine seasons, the 2018 squad is the fourth one to begin a season with at least 40 freshmen. The 2012 (41), 2013 (45) and 2017 (47) teams had more than 40 freshmen on the opening-game roster.

The fewest freshmen on a San Jose State opening-game roster since 2010 was 35 in 2013 and 2014.

14 returning starters
San Jose State heads into the season opener with 14 returning starters (7 offense, 6 defense, 1 kicker) from last year’s roster.

Possible first-time starters
Based on an August 20 depth chart, five Spartans are in line for their first college start.

On offense, sophomore Trevor Robbins tops the depth chart at center and redshirt freshman Jesse Chamberlain is No. 1 at right guard.

Defensively, junior Jesse Osuna tops the depth chart for the first time at a linebacker position. Senior John Toussaint and sophomore Tre Webb are two possible first-time starters in the secondary.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose State Spartans head coach Brent Brennan held his preseason press conference at Simpkins Stadium Center on Monday afternoon.

As usual, Justin Allegri–the voice of the Spartans–started things off with his atypical announcements. Brennan was surprisingly calm in his introductory speech, which eased the media members and fans into the upcoming season. Brennan was also enthusiastic and electrified about the Blue and Gold.

Brennan first stated that he was glad that everyone on the Spartans’ roster trained hard during training camp and added that he was really excited about the leadership of the senior class.

“We’re excited to play and it feels like it has been forever,” Brennan said. “Our players are really excited to get out there and play on Thursday.”

Brennan went in-depth on the Spartans’ offense during training camp. The Spartans’ offense was most definitely a bright spot for this up-and-coming team.

“We had a good offense during training camp,” said Brennan. “They’re really coming along. The upperclassmen are playing a lot of football and doing a nice job with the rushing yards and what not…I’m excited about our first group. I’m excited about our second group. Our second group looks great and I hope they’ll be game ready.”

Brennan briefly spoke about the Spartans’ quarterback situation. Brennan said that the quarterback will be a gameday decision.

Brennan went on to talk about the culture of the Spartans. Brennan emphasized the work that he and his team has done has been “so much cleaner” and “so much better” as opposed to the work that they’ve done a year ago in his first year as a head coach at San Jose State.

Brennan asserted that Thursday’s game was the “most important game of the year” and added that everybody knows that, too. The Aggies are allegedly well-aware that they’re playing a better team in the Spartans, so they’re likely going to be extremely executed and disciplined. That being said, San Jose State has to be ready to take on UC Davis on Thursday night.

The Spartans host the UC Davis Aggies for its home opener inside CEFCU Stadium on Thursday, August 30th at 7 pm PDT. There won’t be television and live streams, but you can tune into the radio broadcasts on KLIV 1590 AM and KSJS 90.5 FM.

Photo credit: @SJSUSpartanFB

By: Ana Kieu

As you should already know, San Jose State football wrapped up its second (and final) scrimmage at CEFCU Stadium on Saturday, August 18th. Both season ticket holders and media members were impressed by the Spartan defense, who shined in the scrimmage and entertained the crowd last Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium. Also, the majority of the guests enjoyed a complimentary barbecue dinner, which was delicious to say the least.

Perhaps you might’ve already figured this out, but the Spartans’ coaching staff has a lot on their minds. Yet, there’s a likely chance they could put their previous misfortunes in the rear-view mirror and focus on their current goals—one of which is to win more than two games in the 2018 season. From quarterbacks to placekickers, I’ll take a closer look at a wide variety of players who have made larger-than-life statements this off-season, and hopefully, these guys will keep up the good work when the real games kick off.

Here are 10 players San Jose State fans should pay attention to. As always, feel free to share your opinion in the comments section.

10. Montel Aaron
In my opinion, the No. 1 quarterback spot will be handed to redshirt sophomore Montel Aaron. At the moment, the Spartan offense appears to have the upper hand as Aaron has been apparently handling offensive sequences with Terrell Carter.

Aaron, however, is the current favorite among most media outlets. Of course, this decision will be made by first-year offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven, who previously worked at Oregon State. But, if Aaron becomes the starting quarterback and stays healthy, he’ll likely fall into place with the running and receiving games, respectively.

9. Josh Love
Let’s talk about some more quarterbacks, shall we?

Junior Josh Love is expected to be a part of the Spartans’ rotation when it comes to veteran quarterbacks. 

Last year, Love started the first two games of the season until he suffered an injury, which was a major blow as he had the most experience in the 2017 Spartans’ quarterback department. After that, Aaron picked up the slack until he, himself, suffered an injury against the Utah Utes in Salt Lake City. But, to be fair, no quarterback was separating himself from the others, so…

8. Terrell Carter
In case you didn’t know, redshirt freshman Terrell Carter made a huge impact on the field in the Spartans’ second and final scrimmage this offseason. Carter completed 6-of-7 attempts for 64 yards. That statistic, my friends, also accounted for the scrimmage’s only touchdown that was scored by senior running back DeJon Packer, who caught the 24-yard reception from Carter.

That being said, if Aaron or Love struggle during the season, then the Spartans may experiment with Carter to see what a younger quarterback could do.

7. Chance LaChappelle
Of course, it’s too early to tell if the brand-new players will achieve the exact same success in the regular season. But I can tell you that freshman quarterback Chance LaChapelle out of Sheldon High School in Sacramento, Calif. has been showing promise.

Therefore, LaChappelle remains a part of the Spartans’ quarterback competition. And, hopefully, LaChapelle will get to start a game sooner than later.

6. Jermaine Braddock
Again, freshman Jermaine Braddock is another player whose future remains up in the air. But I have to say, Braddock has been looking great thus far.

In the Spartans’ final scrimmage, Braddock led all wide receivers with 63 yards on three catches, including a 52-yarder from Aaron–and yes, Braddock reversed to dodge a tackle and extend his play.

Expect to see more of Braddock this season.

5. DeJon Packer
Yes, senior DeJon Packer was that guy who scored the final scrimmage’s only touchdown, but in other news…Packer is reportedly competing for playing time as a running back.

Packer may not be one of the biggest names in the Mountain West Conference, but he was fourth on the Spartans in rushing yards (290) and led his new team with two rushing touchdowns. And, like many other running backs, the best is yet to come for Packer.

4. Bryce Crawford
In case you missed it, senior kicker Bryce Crawford closed out the scoring in the final scrimmage with a 35-yard field goal…and that was his only field goal attempt that afternoon.

Crawford is the Spartans’ record-setting kicker. Not only that, Crawford is a Dean’s Scholar student who also contributes to the good of the local community in the South Bay. That’s why Crawford was named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list in July.

Let’s see if Crawford will win the Wuerffel Trophy on December 4 at the National Football Foundation’s news conference in New York City. But, in the meantime, let’s see if Crawford will keep up the great work.

3. Steven Houston
Steven Houston is a freshman who first joined the Spartans at San Jose State in 2017 for fall drills. Now, Houston is in his second season with the Spartans.

Houston should be able to work his way into the wide receiver rotation. After all, Houston is an avid long distance runner who likes to run marathons. Not the same sports, but the similar amounts of effort involved.

2. Tyler Nevens
The Spartans have been showing promise in the running game with arguably their greatest running back in modern times Tyler Nevens.

Last year, Nevens was one of the few bright spots for the Spartans, who went 2-11 (1-7 MW). That was definitely not a record for then first-year head coach Brent Brennan to brag about, but hey, you can’t always get what you want.

Anyways, Nevens has his flaws–like when his pass got intercepted by Wyoming’s Marcus Epps during the game that turned out to be the Spartans’ second win of the season versus the Cowboys. But Nevens is still an incredible running back nevertheless.

1. Tre White
There’s a lot of overlooked local kids in the Spartans’ ever-changing roster of experiments, so let’s take a look at cornerback hopeful Tre White, who is in his second season at San Jose State.

Last year, White completed a redshirt season. Coming out of De La Salle High School, White was just a three-star recruit, but now, he could find himself on the field this coming season. Plus White can also play as a running back if needed.

Photo credit: @AnaKieu

By: Ana Kieu

SAN JOSE, Calif. — While the Mountain West Conference continues to innovate by combining modern music and high-end technology, the San Jose State Spartans are simply looking to pick up more than two wins in 2018.

Like I’ve mentioned many times before, San Jose State has no choice but to Spartan up and give it all they’ve got to prepare for this coming season. SJSU held their second (and final) scrimmage of this year’s Fall Camp at CEFCU Stadium, and although there wasn’t a sold out crowd, there were plenty of positive things to say about the current Spartans’ roster.

College football is just around the corner, and the Spartans embodied the City of San Jose’s character and temperament with their grit and toughness. The best is yet to come for the generally young Spartans, who hope to prove the know-it-alls wrong.

Both the Spartan offense and defense looked pretty good on the field. The offensive line moved the ball in an exceptional manner, while the defensive line did a decent job in stopping the runs, going after opponents and coming up with turnovers.

Here are the post-scrimmage questions I asked Spartans head coach Brent Brennan after the scrimmage.

1. The Spartans have a lot of cornerbacks, but do they have starting-caliber cornerbacks?
I think that group is coming along. I think they’ve been doing some work. Obviously, Dakari (Monroe) is a good player and he’ll continue to show great leadership and great play. He didn’t play today, but the other guys that are starting to come along in that group like Zamore Zigler, who has made some plays, but I think some of this is going to have to be battle-tested before we know who the other cornerback is. But those guys are ready.

2. How are the Spartans going to replace the position and leadership of Frank Ginda last year?
Ethan Aguayo was off to a great start and I think the senior class is really taking the respective leadership and they’re the ones that are really driving the team right now, which is the way it needs to be. They’re the ones that are playing the games, and anytime you get great leadership from your senior class–and the guys that have been here the longest and invested the most–it gives you a great chance.

3. What’s the thought process on kickoffs right now?
Well, the new rule…I think it’s going to change the way people return kicks and kick the ball. It’ll be interesting to see what people say about that. You know, there’s all kinds of schools of thought out there, so everyone is going to have their own theory on it. But it’s definitely an interesting rule because now you can fair catch the ball anywhere inside the 25 and you get the ball on the 25. So if you have a strong-legged kicker, you can still kick it out of the end zone, and if you don’t, you can try kicking it for some time, and hopefully a fair catch.

Notes
The male and female Spartans spent some time Friday voluntarily helping out students with moving into their dorms on the San Jose State campus.

33 youth football teams held their under-18 scrimmages prior to the Spartans’ scrimmage of the offseason at 5 pm PDT.

Senior cornerback Dakari Monroe celebrated his birthday Saturday.

Up Next
San Jose State has two much-needed day offs on Sunday, August 19 and Thursday, August 23. SJSU has practices from August 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29. SJSU will kick off the 2018 season with a home opener versus UC Davis on August 30 at 7 pm PDT.