By Ernie Gonzalez (@superego1012):
It’s not highschool anymore. Plain and simple. A few of the new faces on offense have realized that.
Support. Skill. Speed. Those were the answers the new faces gave, individually, when asked what the difference between high school and college football is.
It was true freshman running back Tyler Nevens, however, who said it was the fans.
“There are real die-hard Spartan fans out there. It’s a blessing,” Nevens said.
He has become the go-to back for San Jose State this season, leading the team with 81 carries and 345 yards and made it clear that he doesn’t have time to dwell on the pressure that comes with his role.
“I try not to think about it too much,” Nevens said, using teammate Brandon Monroe’s season-ending knee injury as a motive. “That’s where I needed to step-up as a freshman.”
And he has stepped up, some say even more than they expected, but Nevens knows he has it in himself.
“I just want to evolve into something better for my team,” Nevens said. “I just really want to embrace my role. Whatever it is.”
That’s who Nevens is. He speaks like a senior and leads like one too.
The Los Altos High School all-time leading rusher says that goal hasn’t changed.
“I think if I dedicate myself into this, especially the offseason…dedicate my time, stay humble about it…I should be up there for sure,” Nevens said.
Onto the second answer. The skill part. That response was given by true freshman wide receiver Tre Walker, whose exact words were “everybody’s good.”
He’s right. A noticeable difference when making the jump from high school to college is that every player at every position makes the roster for a reason.
“It’s not just one player. Everybody is good,” Walker said. “In college, you got to give everything you got just to get open for that one play.”
Walker, who had his breakout performance back in week six against UNLV with eight catches for 104 yards, said that’s what he’s capable of.
“That’s just who I am. I’m going to go out there and compete,” Walker said. “Every time I touch the ball, I’m going to try and make something happen.”
To Walker, the title of a freshman means nothing. He has been grinding to earn a spot since he arrived at camp, and he hasn’t fell short of that.
“I set high standards for myself,” Walker said. “I came in telling the coaches I didn’t want to redshirt.”
Well — It’s not for nothing why he earned a spot on the starting squad.
The third answer was given by redshirt freshman wideout, JaQuan Blackwell, who said it’s speed that separates football at the college level from the high school level.
Blackwell is one of just two players on the roster to be redshirted last season who are now starting on offense this season. Quarterback Montel Aaron being the other.
The redshirt freshman receiver said there’s a world of difference between the last year’s offense and this year’s’, but the game’s speed hasn’t changed one bit.
Blackwell brought up the “spread offense” former head coach Ron Caragher used to run and how he learned the up-tempo feel from that style and how he’s using it this season.
“Last year, we would go over it. Now, I feel like I got the plays down,” Blackwell said. “Last year was just the development for me to get better, and I just brought it into this year.”
He sure has, as he leads the Spartans in both receptions (27) and yardage (389) through eight games this season. It’s fair to say he’s caught up to that ‘speed’ quite well.
It’s tough to remember these are freshmen, as they seem to know so much and play the game at an exceptional level. But it has to bring some peace of mind knowing that they still have three years left as Spartans.