San Jose State Spartans 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: San Jose State enters the 2018 season by having lost 24 consecutive games to Power 5 opponents, and has 2 more on the schedule this season, plus Independent Army. They turned the football over 11 more times than any other team in the nation. They were outscored by an average of 26 points per game. Of their 2 wins in 2017, one came against FCS member Cal Poly. Can it get any worse for the Spartans? Actually, yes. The program is spiraling the drain, and fan apathy is completely a thing. Not only should we expect San Jose State to be the worst team in the Mountain West this fall, they could be one of the 5 worst programs in the nation.
Breakdown Offense: Montel Aaron returns at QB for a team that averaged just 15.8 points per game last fall, and ranked 111th in passing and 120th in total offense. He passed for 1531 yards last fall, but tossed 8 TD passes to 10 INTs. He does not have a firm hold on the job, as Josh Love, who started 5 games last season, RS freshman Terrell Carter, and senior Michael Carrillo all got looks in the spring, and will continue to get reps in the fall.
Tyler Nevins returns as the leading rusher from last season, as he ran for 670 yards, but just one score. Malike Roberson is in position to be the backup once again, while DeJon Packer and Jamar Williams attempt to add some kind of depth. San Jose State finished just 128th in rushing offense out of 129 teams last fall.
Tre Hartley and Justin Holmes are the returning starters at WR. Hartley led the team with 37 receptions last fall, and averaged 14.24 yards per catch. Holmes caught 26 passes in 12 games. Tre Walker is expected to win the open starting job, as he caught 26 balls as a freshman. JaQuan Blackwell returns as well and caught 32 passes on the year. Bailey Gaither, Austin Liles, and Thai Cottrell will try to add some depth.
Josh Oliver caught 35 passes and returns and adds on as another in the long legacy of solid TEs at SJSU. Billy Humphries is the backup after catching 7 passes as a freshman.
Both tackles return in Troy Kowalski and Jack Snyder, but the interior line is a mixed bag. Jake Coleman (LG), Dominic Frederickson (C), and Jesse Chamberlain (RG) are the projected starters. Jake Colman is a swing reserve at OG/OT, but there is very little depth to be found here.
Breakdown Defense: The Spartans were actually decent against the pass last season, ranking 51st nationally in passing defense, but why pass against them when you can run wild? San Jose State ranked 128th against the run, 126th in scoring defense, and 124th in total defense. These are all bottom 10 national numbers.
The line returns all 3 starters in DE Bryson Bridges, NT Owen Roberts, and DT Sailosi Latu. Roberts was the best of the group last season with just 5 TFLs. This group has simply got to get better penetration to open up lanes for play makers behind them. Sinjun Astani and Christian Johnson are the backups at DE, while there is no real developed depth inside.
Frank Ginda left early, and William Ossai graduated at LB, leaving a massive production hole in the middle of the Spartans defense. Ethan Aguayo and Jamal Scott return as starters. Aguayo totaled 84 tackles last fall, while Scott added 10 TFLs. Scott added 70 tackles. Tysyn Parker is expected to fill one open spot, while Alii Matau is slated to fill the other. Rico Tolefree could get a look outside. Again, depth is minimal.
The entire secondary is in reboot mode. Dakari Moore and Tre White are penciled in at CB, while Tre Webb (SS) and Bobby Brown II (FS) are slated at the Safety spots. Brandon Ezell could fight for one spot at CB, Jonathon Leonard could fight for one of the Safety spots. Chandler Hawkins could provide some depth at Safety as well.
Breakdown Special Teams: Bryce Crawford is back at PK after being one of the few bright spots from last season, as he hit 14/17 FG attempts. He did, however, miss 4 PAT tries, and on a team like this, you simply cannot afford to leave points on the field.
Michael Carrizosa is gone at Punter, and that is a huge loss. Crawford will handle the Punting duties as well as PK this fall.
The Spartans will be looking for a new KR man this fall, and the PR job will be. worked out in camp as well.
Final Analysis: The Spartans are in terrible shape, and the hiring of Brent Brennan as head coach may not have been the right road to travel down. The program needs someone experienced and solid in this job, and while I am not saying that Brennan is not solid, he certainly lacks any real experience in leading a program, especially a program as much of a dumpster fire as this one is. Unfortunately, there is not much positive spin to give here, and you can very much expect a long year in 2018 once again.
No comments:
Post a Comment