Tag: San Jose State Spartans

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By Ana Kieu

New pregame and in-game experiences are in store for San Jose State football fans of all ages when they cheer on the Spartans in the Aug. 29 season opener all the through the regular season finale versus Fresno State on Nov. 30.

Many Spartan fans are aware of the biggest change to CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans, which started in June 2019. A ceremonial groundbreaking for the Spartan Athletics Center (formerly Football Operations Center) will fit into the east side of the stadium as a completed project benefiting all San Jose State student-athletes and those affiliated with the football, women’s soccer and men’s soccer teams.

“Our goal is to create one of the best college football game-day experiences in the Mountain West,” said Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Relations Blake Sasaki.

“Our fans want more than action on the field and we are addressing that request primarily through the Spartan Village Fan Zone. We’ll have a Kids’ Area, a video game truck, inflatables, student and adult tailgating, an early pregame radio show, upgraded food and beverage and more.”

Here’s what’s new, improved and fun for fans at CEFCU Stadium this season:

Creative, environmentally friendly and traditional ways to reach CEFCU Stadium
-Standard parking spaces on the 7th and 10th street sides of CEFCU Stadium and at the Excite Ballpark lot on Alma Avenue
– Park on the main campus for $5.00 and ride a free shuttle round trip from the 7th Street garage to CEFCU Stadium – Use the Lyft Drop Zone, the Go Bike Station, or rent a scooter and park it in the new scooter parking area along 7th Street
– Ride VTA bus lines #25 or #73 to either 7th or 10th streets & Keyes and enjoy a short walk to CEFCU Stadium

Enter CEFCU Stadium from the new 7th & 10th Street game-day Stadium Way entrances or from the standard west and east gates of the stadium

Spartan Village Fan Zone — a new entertainment area for all ages north of CEFCU Stadium that opens three hours before kickoff and stays open throughout the game. The game ticket is the admission into the football game and the Spartan Village Fan Zone
– Look for the Kids’ Zone with inflatables, corn hole, a video games truck and more
– See the 60-minute broadcast show with hosts Justin Allegri and Kevin Richardson
– Visit the Powerhouse Food Truck, the world’s largest food truck measuring more than 70 feet, generously donated by SpartanEats — the university’s new food services provider — ready to serve great food and show college football games on its big screen.

Fun, freebies, honors and more
Thurs., Aug. 29 vs. Northern Colorado, 7:00 p.m.
“Retro Night” & Throwback Thursday
– “Retro t-shirt” giveaway
– Custom San Jose State fanny packs

Sat., Sept. 7 vs. Tulsa, 6:00 p.m.
First Responder Night presented by PG&E
– Free tickets to first responders, courtesy of PG&E
– High School Band Night
– Free San Jose State t-shirts to the first 1,000 students, courtesy of the Mountain West

Fri., Oct. 4 vs. New Mexico, 7:00 p.m.
Brew & Vine Night
– Parent & Family Weekend

Sat., Oct. 19, vs. San Diego State, 4:00 p.m.
Homecoming
– Ticket giveaway to the Oct. 19 Gryffin Concert at The Event Center
– Ring of Honor celebration

Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Boise State, 7:30 p.m.
Dick Tomey Night
– Dick Tomey Rally Towel giveaway
– San Jose Unified School District Night
– Youth Football Night

Sat., Nov. 30 vs. Fresno State, TBA
Valley Trophy Rivalry Game
– Senior Day

There will be new food choices for the hungry fans. The Smokin’ Pig makes its CEFCU Stadium debut this season serving tasty barbecued smoked meats, savory sides and delicious desserts.

“We believe we have something for every fan that comes to our football games this season. We plan to entertain our fans from the moment they arrive and then give them plenty to remember when our team takes the field this season,” Sasaki said.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By Ana Kieu

At any San Jose State football practice from anywhere on the field, there’s the booming voice of the Spartans offensive line coach Joe Bernardi encouraging, leading, teaching and coaching his players. Perhaps, the bravado in voice springs from his dad, Gary Bernardi, the Spartans offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012, had a coarse richness to his voice from more than 30 years of college coaching.

If history repeats itself, or like father, like son, Joe Bernardi’s third year as the Spartans’ offensive line coach will be a good one. In 2012, San Jose State went 11-2, won the Military Bowl and finished nationally-ranked in the FBS with Gary Bernardi as the Spartans offensive line coach. The younger Bernardi won’t go that far right with a forecast right now.

Joe Bernardi has the biggest number of Spartans among the position groups in both size and number. There are the highly-experienced starters like senior Troy Kowalski, a three-year starter, and Jack Snyder, a two-year starter. And, he has a significant number of players who have red-shirted at some point in their college careers hoping this season is their time in the lineup in order to help the team shine.

“We have a lot of different levels of experience with our group. I really like the way the group has worked and its chemistry. We just have to keep plugging. The young guys have to get better. The ‘old’ guys have to keep pushing the young guys, but I like the way the group is coming together,” said Bernardi, who was a center at Fresno State.

“I’ve seen a lot of guys step up. Seen some young guys develop quickly. Seen some old guys kind of separate themselves. I really, really like this group. I think they’ve worked very hard. We’re going to find the best five by next week,” he said about the group.

The Spartans offensive line coach believes communication and finding ways to work together are important. He also counts on the play of the tight end position as part of the symphony concert of offense whether it’s running or passing the football.

“We want to do a good job of running the football better, our chemistry and communication at the line of scrimmage working with the tight ends and communicating our calls across the line of scrimmage. Obviously, we have to do a great job hitting movement, doing a good job in our ‘double-teams’, and a good job in our pass protection work as well,” said Bernardi, who assigned most of his players to learn multiple positions with the objective of position flexibility and keeping the best five linemen playing at all times.

With only a few days remaining before the August 29 season opener, Bernardi continues to emphasize communication as the Spartans turn their attention to Northern Colorado.

“(We’ve) got to make sure we are communicating on our assignments and understanding the game plan, understanding what Northern Colorado is going to give us on normal down-and-distance situational football, start to familiarize ourselves with their film. Everybody’s got to do a great job of preparing and understanding what their role is going into the game.”

Whether it’s at a practice or at a game, the passion Joe Bernardi has for his players and stellar offensive line play comes through loud and clear from the Spartan sideline.

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.

Photo credit: sjsuspartans.com

By Ana Kieu

The offense found the end zone three times, the defense picked off two passes and the kicking game continued to shine in the second and final San Jose State Spartans football fall scrimmage at CEFCU Stadium on Saturday night.

The Spartans packed a lot of action in front of their beloved fans participating in the team’s annual FanFest. Following the scrimmage, a barbecue dinner and the movie “Spider-Man; Into the Spider Verse” wrapped up the activities on the practice field.

“It was an awesome day. We had a great turnout of fans, family and supporters. It was awesome,” said head coach Brent Brennan, who spent time thanking the fans that sat in the bleachers or in their lawn chairs or stood on the sidelines.

“It was a great kickoff to the season. It was great to look over to the sideline and see it full.”

In regards to the play on the field, Brennan gave props to the defense for its play for more than half the scrimmage before the offense began moving the ball in the 77-play scrimmage.

“The goal (of the scrimmage) was to play some of the younger guys a little more and give them ‘live’ football. A lot of them are pretty ‘green’ and need some opportunities to play and prove what they can do to be ‘blue line.'”

Brennan also commented on the importance of keeping the penalty count down. The offense was penalized three times, one wiping out a nice gain. To Brennan, penalties affect more than down and distance. How a drive progresses or regresses on either side of the ball can be affected by a penalty call.

“We have to play right up that edge and play with our hair on fire, but when the whistle blows, it (the play) has got to be over. That’s part of our discipline and that has to show up every week,” Brennan said.

Running back Romero Teu and quarterback Chance La Chapelle scored on runs of 7 and 2 yards, respectively. In between the two running scores, a pair of freshmen, quarterback Alec Trujillo and wide receiver Andre Crump, Jr., hooked up on a 5-yard touchdown pass.

The three scores followed 39-yard field goals without a miss, one each by community college transfer Chris Wood and redshirt freshman Matt Mercurio. A week earlier, Wood went 2-for-2, including one from 49 yards out, and Mercurio was 1-for-1 converting a 27-yard try.

“Fall camp is going pretty good. I’m a lot more consistent on my field goals. In spring ball, I was getting more line drives from my field goals,” said Wood who is battling Mercurio for the kick-scoring job and credits Coach Brennan for creating a greater sense of focus when he is on the field to kick.

“I’m encouraged by that group. Coach ‘G’ (Fred Guidici) does a great job with our special teams guys. There are some new guys in the mix. Obviously, Alex (Galland) is a great addition as a grad transfer. It’s been good to see the other guys get in there and mix it up. Chris has been striking the ball well and so has ‘Merc’ (Matt Mercurio),” Brennan said.

The defense had its moments in the 77-play scrimmage. Cornerback Nehemiah Shelton came up with a notable interception in the first half of the scrimmage. Defensive lineman Duane Tuitasi added to the defense’s takeaway count snaring a tipped pass at the line of scrimmage for a second interception. The defense came up with four quarterback sacks–one more than in the first scrimmage–and had six more plays with a tackle for loss.

“We had a lot of ‘blueline’ today. Everybody had a lot of energy,” said linebacker Ethan Aguayo, who shared with the assembled media contingent the importance of playing every play whether one is first or third string.

The Spartans ended the scrimmage singing the Spartan Fight Song to their fans. It’s been something they’ve done after each win and plan to do it often this season.

The Spartans return to practice on Sunday, August 18, at 11:50 a.m. They’ll begin turning their attention to the August 29 season opener against Northern Colorado, with their August 20 practice. With the start of the fall semester on August 21, practice time normally will be from 9:40 a.m. to noon.

NOTES: Among the former San Jose State football players in attendance were linebackers Mike Scialabba, Epie Sona and Alex Manigo; offensive linemen Nicholas Kaspar and Evan Sarver; defensive end Mohammad Marah; punter Michael Carrizosa; wide receiver Tim Crawley; and kicker Bryce Crawford, who finished representing the Spartans earlier in the day at the four-day Campbell Trophy Summit hosted by the National Football Foundation in Palo Alto, Calif.

Scoring
Chris Wood, 39-yard field goal
Matt Mercurio, 39-yard field goal
Romero Teu, 7,-yard run
Andre Crump, Jr., 5-yard pass from Alec Trujillo
Chance La Chapelle, 2-yard run

Rushing (40 carries — 83 yards, 2 TDs)
Nick Nash, 6-48; Romero Teu, 4-24, 1 TD; Lorenzo Burkes, 7-18; Tyler Nevens, 3-8; Jake Simmons, 1-7; Jamar Simpson, 1-5; Alec Trujillo, 4-2; Brendan Manigo, 6-(-1); Josh Love, 1-(-7); Chance La Chapelle, 7-(-21), 1 TD.

Passing (20-37-2 interceptions — 194 yards, 1 TD)
Josh Love, 1-3-0-12; Jake Simmons, 7-9-0-90; Alec Trujillo, 6-14-1-41, 1 TD; Nick Nash, 5-7-0-51; Chance La Chapelle, 1-4-1-0.

Receiving (20 receptions, 194 yards, 1 TD)
Andre Crump, Jr., 3-32, 1 TD; Lorenzo Burkes, 3-31; JaQuan Blackwell, 3-24; Tyler Nevens, 2-13; Brendan Manigo, 2-1; Steven Houston, 1-21; Sitaleki Nunn, 1-18; Malikhi Miller, 1-15; Isaiah Hamilton, 1-14; Tre Walker, 1-12; Austin Liles, 1-7; Jamar Simpson, 1-6.

Punting
Alex Galland, 7-35.0 avg.

Chris Wood, 3-32.7 avg.

Interceptions
Nehemiah Shelton, Duane Tuitasi, 1, each.

Quarterback sacks
Cade Hall, Jordan Cobbs, Christian Johnson, Josh Gomez, 1, each.

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.