Can San Jose State Spartans sustain football success?
NCAA allows Starkel, other seniors and graduate students one more season
In a sense, the easy part is over for San Jose State after finishing its dream season with an ugly 34-13 loss to Ball State in the Arizona Bowl.
The blowout defeat aside, the Spartans accomplished a lot. Winning a conference championship and appearing in a bowl game — just the program’s fifth in three decades — amid a global pandemic and a litany of challenges would not fall under the category of “easy.”
But zoom out and this magical season was just that — one season.
Countless programs have had one really good year only to sputter. Dynasties find ways to consistently build contenders. For the Spartans, the task is to prove this wasn’t a one-time deal.
“We want to be in a position where we continue competing for Mountain West championships and go to bowl games,” coach Brent Brennan said.
Next season, San Jose State will have a target on its back. Everyone wants to knock off the champ. San Diego State and Boise State will seek revenge. Fresno State will want a shot at its rival after COVID-19 took the 2020 matchup away.
And USC? The Trojans are scheduled to play host to the Spartans in early September and would surely
like to reclaim their title as the Golden State’s highestranked team, which they no longer were after San Jose State passed them in the final Associated Press poll of the regular season. SJSU climbed to 19th while USC dropped to 21st.
On the surface, the Spartans’ success in 2020 didn’t feel fluky.
A one-loss season does require some degree of luck, yes, but the formula was generally sustainable.
Every win was by double figures. They consistently executed in crunch time. Their core had plenty of experience. Above all, the Spartans were an incredibly well-rounded team with no debilitating weaknesses.
They were 7-0 before the loss New Year’s Eve to
Ball State, which was even more disappointing than a usual defeat given that six players, including five starters, and the coordinators for the offense and defense were unavailable for reasons San Jose State has not explained.
Of course, next year’s success will hinge on who stays and who goes — and the Spartans have an unusual chance to retain key contributors.
The NCAA granted all fall sport athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Quarterback Nick Starkel announced he plans to use that extra year to return for a sixth collegiate season. Receiver Bailey Gaither and offensive lineman Jack Snyder — who would normally be in
their final year of eligibility — could return because of this rule, along with other Spartans contributors.
Even with the option of returning, some veterans might elect to test the draft waters. For Gaither, the all-mountain West firstteamer who just completed his sixth collegiate season, declaring is plausible.
There’s also the question of junior defensive lineman Cade Hall, the Mountain West defensive player of the year. In just seven games, Hall led the conference with 10 sacks and 12 tackles-for-loss. Hall hasn’t given any indication regarding his next move, but he likely stands to increase his draft stock by returning for another season.
The question of who stays and who goes won’t definitively be answered until next season rolls around. But for the players on the fence, they’re likely considering the allure that comes with running it back.
A defense featuring Hall, defensive end Viliami Fehoko, linebacker Kyle Harmon and safety Tre Jenkins, all of whom were named to all-mountain West teams, would likely be among the conference’s best. The same can be said for an offense that returns Starkel, Gaither, Walker and tight end Derrick Deese Jr. If the Spartans return a large chunk of their core, they could be prohibitive favorites to repeat as conference champions.
“Next year, we will have some momentum,” Harmon said. “Obviously, this didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to, but everyone’s all bought in. I guarantee you we will be a force to reckon with next year.”
The roster may shift some, but Brennan will return for his fifth season. Prior to the Arizona Bowl, he and San Jose State agreed to a contract extension after being considered a top candidate for the Arizona job.
As with any successful team, there is risk that assistant coaches will be poached for higher-level jobs after a successful season. Brennan said that his new contract addresses the assistant coach salary pool, a detail that was included with the intent of keeping his staff intact, though it doesn’t guarantee everyone will be retained.
Even if some players or assistants leave, San Jose State possesses a previously untapped resource: transfers. Not just junior college transfers — the Spartans had plenty of those this season — but transfers from four-year schools.
For now, the fate of the Spartans, like all futurebound matters, remains a mystery.
They could dominate. They could sputter. Or they could fall somewhere in between.
But given what the team showed this season, don’t be surprised if it climbs forward on its incessant ascent to an unknown summit.