Preview 2019: Previewing and looking ahead to the San Jose State Spartans season with what you need to know.
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– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– San Jose State Previews 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
2018 Record: 1-11 overall, 1-7 in Mountain West
Head Coach: Brent Brennan, 3rd year, 3-22
– CFN Preview 2019: All The Team Previews
5. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAN JOSE STATE OFFENSE
– The offense gets back seven starters, but it has a long way to go after finishing last in the Mountain West in total yards – averaging 324 yards per game – and was dead last in the nation in rushing. But …
– The quarterback situation should finally be settled. Five players threw a pass for the Spartans – three quarterbacks got an honest shot – but senior Josh Love will be the main man as long as he holds up. He was only healthy for eight games, but he was the most effective option of the bunch. With Michael Carrillo and Montel Aaron gone – the other two top quarterbacks – it’ll be a fall camp fight for the pecking order.
– The receiving corps has the upside to be okay with a little bit of time, but losing 56-catch TE Josh Olivers stings. Tre Walker is a quick target who led the team with 714 yards and five scores, averaging over 18 yards per catch. After him, it’s a young group that needs a little help.
Senior Bailey Gaither averaged over 20 yards per grab with three touchdowns in just over three games before getting knocked out with an Achilles tendon tear – he’ll be back at some point. The recruiting class has to play a big role for the options at the three spots, but there’s no adequate replacement for what Oliver provided. It should be tight end by committee.
– The running backs are there, but they need blocking. 226-pound Tyler Nevens has been the team’s leading rusher over the last two years – running for 554 yards and four scores last season – but he’s not alone. There’s promising depth, but not a lot in proven production. Senior DeJon Packer is the veteran option, but sophomore Brendan Manigo has the burst. But again …
– The blocking has to be there for the rest of the parts to finally work. The running game did nothing behind this group, but it was a young line that gets back four starters. It’s a small front five, but it’s versatile – give it fall camp to reconfigure how this is all going to work – hoping for JUCO transfer Scott Breslin to be the first puzzle piece to fit at one of the tackle gigs.
NEXT: What You Need To Know About the Defense, Top Players, Keys to the Season, What Will Happen
4. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE SAN JOSE STATE DEFENSE
– Plenty of key pieces are missing from a defense that allowed 500 yards and 37 points per game, but four of the top five tacklers are back. There wasn’t nearly enough pressure in the backfield, but stopping the run is Job One.
– Two starters are done up front, but sophomore Cade Hall returns after leading the team with just three sacks. There’s decent size on the ends – 6-5, 271-pound Cameron Alexander and 6-3, 273-pound Jamaar Hardy have to be factors – and 6-3, 334-pound Sailosi Latu needs to bring the big body in the interior. The D line will need a while to come together, but …
– The linebackers should be one of the team’s biggest strengths. The combination of Ethan Aguayo inside and Jesse Osuna outside were the team’s two leading tacklers, combining for 199 stops. Kyle Harmon is another decent-tackling veteran on the inside, and there will be an early rotation for the other outside spot with some good depth for all four spots.
– Both starting corners are gone, but sophomore Tre White is going to be a decent option on one side, and senior Zamore Zigler can move. Junior Jonathan Lenard was third on the team with 91 stops, and fellow safety Tre Webb made 72 tackles in the rotation. Overall, safety is one of the team’s deeper areas.
NEXT: Top Players, Keys To the Season, What Will Happen
3. TOP SAN JOSE STATE PLAYERS
Best San Jose State Offensive Player
QB Josh Love, Sr.
Banged up a bit too often last season, he he missed four games spread throughout the campaign, but still led the team with 1,963 yards and 14 scores with nine picks. He’s not much of a runner, and he’s not a big bomber at 6-2, 203 pounds, but he hit Hawaii for 451 yards and has 300-yard potential every time out. Now he just needs time behind the shaky line.
2. RB Tyler Nevens, Sr.
3. WR Tre Walker, Jr.
4. WR Bailey Gaither, Sr.
5. OG Troy Kowaskli, Sr.
Best San Jose State Defensive Player
LB Ethan Aguayo, Sr.
After jumping into the mix right away as a freshman and rolling as an 84-tackle sophomore, the 6-2, 220 pounder was a bright spot for an otherwise rough year for the defense with a team-high 106 tackles.
He’s not much of a pass rusher, but he’s quick enough to be a factor in pass coverage and can get behind the line once in a while. He’s at his best when roam around at make plays, coming up with 20 tackles against Nevada and 14 against Wyoming.
2. LB Jesse Osuna, Sr.
3. S Jonathan Lenard, Jr.
4. DE Cade Hall, Soph.
5. CB Zamore Zigler, Sr.
NEXT: Keys to the Season, Prediction & What Will Happen
2. KEYS TO THE SEASON
Biggest Key To The San Jose State Offense
Finding a running game would be a major plus. The Spartans got behind so quickly that they had to throw to try getting back in games, but the ground attack had something to do with that – it wasn’t able to take control early on.
The nation’s worst running attack finished with a mere 738 yards, but it’s worse than that. The ground game never averaged more than four yards per carry – the only two 100-yard games of the year were the only two games it hit the three-yard-per-carry mark – and failed to run for more than 50 yards six times. There weren’t any rushing scores over the last four games.
Biggest Key To The San Jose State Defense
The pass rush eventually has to show up. The defense has to start making more big plays, and it starts by hitting the quarterback once in a while.
In the anomaly of an 11-2 2012 season, the Spartans came up with 42 sacks. The D struggled just to get past the 15 mark several times since then, and last year it managed just 11 sacks.
Two of them came in the opener against UC Davis, and three game in the shootout loss to Hawaii. That means the Spartans generated six sacks over the other ten games with just one in the final four games.
Key Player To A Successful Season
OT Scott Breslin, Jr.
After a year with – arguably – the nation’s worst offensive line, the Spartans have to figure the front five out in a hurry, or it’ll be another rough offensive season. The veterans are in place, but it’ll be the proverbial Best Five Blockers thing to try generating some semblance of offensive production.
That puts the pressure on the 6-4, 290-pound Breslin, and JUCO transfer out of Los Angeles with tackle skills and decent enough athleticism to be ready right out of the box on the left side. If he’s solid, the other four spots won’t be that hard to figure out.
Key Game To The San Jose State Season
Tulsa, Sept. 7
San Jose State lost the season opener to UC Davis last season. There can’t be another misfire against an FCS team with Northern Colorado comes to town to start the season. Win that, and then it’s a game against someone the Spartans’ own size.
Tulsa will be dangerous – with an improved offense and the ability to crank it up in a shootout – but this is the home date SJSU has to pull off, if only to beat last year’s win total by Week 2.
– San Jose State Schedule Breakdown & Analysis
2018 San Jose State Fun Stats
– Sacks: Opponents 39 for 254 yards – San Jose State 11 for 75 yards
– Time of Possession: Opponents 33:26 – San Jose State 26:34
– Rushing Yards Per Game: Opponents 211.2 – San Jose State 61.5
NEXT: What Will Happen
1. SAN JOSE STATE WIN TOTAL PREDICTION: WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN
There’s been one winning season since 2006, and the Brent Brennan era has had a hard time getting going with just three wins in two seasons. The veterans are there now, but it’s asking a whole lot for a night-and-day improvement in overall production.
San Jose State had the worst ground game in the country. It wasn’t physical on the lines, it got ripped to shreds by the most average of offenses, and the O scored 13 points or fewer five times in the last seven games.
It starts with getting something out of the offensive line, and with four starters back, there’s at least enough experience to hope for a good jumping off point.
The rest of the skill players are fine. If QB Josh Love can stay in one piece, there will be a passing attack. The running backs are experienced, but they need holes to run through, and the receiving corps can stretch the field.
The defense isn’t going to be a brick wall, and it has to find a pass rush, but the safeties are deep and the linebacking corps will be a plus. Even so …
Set The Regular Season Win Total At … 3
The Spartans have to beat Northern Colorado to start the season, and taking down Tulsa is a must. They’ll likely be the underdogs against everyone else, with the home date against New Mexico the best chance to get that third win.
But assume that games against Tulsa and New Mexico aren’t a lock. There will be a stunner somewhere along the way, but there won’t be enough of them.
– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– Schedule Analysis
