By Kavin Mistry (@kavinm95):
The Spartans enter the 2017 season with a lot of questions that will be answered this Saturday when the University of South Florida enters CEFCU Stadium and the Brent Brennan era begins.
A big question is how will the Spartans’ new offense look under offensive coordinator Andrew Sowder. He brings an up-tempo no huddle approach which at times looks chaotic, but has a lot of potential to create a strong running game and deep attacks.
“They got a lot done in the spring and got used to what we are expecting of them,” Sowder said. “They have picked it up well and I think they have bought into what we have asked them to do.”
SJSU will rely on their running game, which in the past, has been a big part of their success. Running backs coach Alonzo Carter has said he really believes this group of backs can make a big impact this season.
Malik Roberson and Zamore Zigler for all intended purposes will be the feature backs in the Spartans backfield this season—both have shown they can help lead the offense and read defenses well.
“Zamore and Malik Roberson are both guys who have really matured well and they are the leaders of the group,” Sowder said. “They will be our top two guys.”
On the other side of the offense, the quarterback battle is far from over, but the field is narrowing down. The battle for the starting job looks to be between Josh Love, Montel Aaron and Sam Allen, all of whom have show glimpses of taking over, but need to show more consistency.
“It’s just a matter of executing every play and go with what we are good at,” Sowder said.
With a veteran group of receivers and a solid young crop of freshman, whoever is named the starter will have a lot of options to work with.
This receiver group is led by Justin Holmes and Tre Hartley, who both finished last season averaging 51 yards per game and a combined seven touchdowns.
Sowder and the rest offensive staff will be tasked with improving from a 2016 campaign that averaged 24 points and SJSU quarterbacks combined to throw 15 interceptions to just 18 passing touchdowns.