By Ernie Gonzalez
The San Jose State football program hosted its annual Spring Game Saturday afternoon at CEFCU Field, but not before fans, families, and children got a chance to enjoy the morning with food trucks, a Spartan apparel sale, a DJ, and even an Easter egg hunt. By 1 p.m, all of the attention shifted to the game. Here is the first of the six things learned about SJSU football on Saturday.
1: The Hype Is Real
It’s the dawn of something special indeed for San Jose State football, as they look to build an empire. Over 2,000 fans showed up to Saturday’s Spring Game, some calling it the largest turnout they’ve seen in decades.
Come fall Spartan fans, be sure to request Saturdays off from work (assuming you work weekends), cancel any party plans, travel plans, and make your way over to CEFCU to catch a glimpse of a reanimated Spartan football team.
“I saw lots of smiling faces…this was an awesome day,” said head coach Brent Brennan. “I love that the community is supporting what we are doing. I can’t say enough about that,” head coach Brent Brennan said postgame.
The SJSU offense faced off against its defense, a game where that gave RB Jamar Williams WR Justin Holmes a chance to showcase their talent. Williams rushed for 69 yards on 16 carries, and Holmes, (39r , 613y last season) was a constant target over the course of the afternoon, with five receptions for 38 yards. Now that Tim Crawley won’t be eligible for next season, it gives Holmes a chance to glow on the gridiron and establish himself as the team’s number one receiver.
The Spartans are not built for short-yardage situations, and will be in summer-search finding a running back burst to fill the role and gain three-to-five yards a carry. Running backs coach Alonzo Carter believes Williams has the potential to be that guy, especially after they type of performance he showed Saturday.
“Williams ran hard, did real good,” Carter said.
Coach Brennan, who served as assistant coach for SJSU between 2005-2010 behind head coaches Dick Tomey and Mike Macintyre is blessed to have his shot as head coach, after spending the past six seasons as Oregon State’s WR coach.
Both coordinators, all offensive positioning coaches, and LB coach Bojay Filimoeatu will enter their first year as coaches. Both Will Harris (DB) and Joe Seumalo (DL) are returning for their second year. In fact, there will be some players who have been with the team longer than the coaching staff.
The Spartans will go only as far as their coaches will take them, but it starts with Brennan, and he seemed just as pumped as most fans in attendance Saturday to start stirring the straw.