Dec. 20, 2017
San Jose State's Signing Central
Keenly aware of the improvements needed, the San Jose State University football coaching staff aggressively and assertively addressed specific positions created by its recently graduated senior class at the start of the new December National Letter-of-Intent signing period.
There was more than a one-for-one exchange of starting seniors from the 2017 team in the offensive line and defensive secondary for 2018 newcomers. Five of these seven departed starters received All-Mountain West post-season recognition at least once at the major college level
The four new offensive linemen and four incoming defensive backs are a significant majority of 13 promising Spartan signees. Presently, the Class of 2018 also includes three defensive linemen, a linebacker and an all-purpose threat capable of playing several positions.
| Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Hometown/Last School |
| Charlie Bostic | CB | 6-1 | 170 | FR | Saratoga, Calif./Valley Christian HS |
| Bobby Brown | DB | 6-1 | 177 | SO | Lancaster, Calif./College of the Canyons |
| Cade Hall | DL | 6-3 | 235 | FR | Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine Prep |
| Kyle Harmon | LB | 6-1 | 230 | FR | Antioch, Calif./Freedom HS |
| Korey Mariboho | OL | 6-5 | 290 | JR | Tustin, Calif./Saddleback College |
| Jaime Navarro | OL | 6-3 | 275 | FR | Temecula, Calif./Great Oak HS |
| Jalen Nelson | CB | 6-2 | 178 | SO | San Diego, Calif./Southwestern College |
| Leki Nunn | WR | 5-10 | 175 | FR | San mateo, Calif./Serra HS |
| Tyler Ostrum | OL | 6-3 | 280 | FR | Ventura, Calif./St. Bonaventure HS |
| Anthony Pardue | OL | 6-4 | 300 | FR | Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS |
| Dimitri Sakalia | DL | 6-3 | 230 | FR | East Palo Alto, Calif./Menlo-Atherton HS |
| Nehemiah Shelton | CB | 6-1 | 160 | SO | Gardena, Calif./Long Beach City College |
| Demanuel Tulauati | DL | 6-1 | 265 | FR | San Diego, Calif./Madison HS |
"I am really excited about the guys joining our program today. We addressed some of the needs our program identified through the course of our first season at San Jose State. We got a mix of junior college and high school players we think can all have a great impact on the program," said head coach Brent Brennan. Of the 12 signees, six are able to enroll for the start of the 2018 spring semester and be available to participate in spring football.
Two-time second-team All-Southern League choice Korey Mariboho (6-5, 290, JR) from Saddleback College and freshmen Jaime Navarro (6-3, 275, FR) from Great Oak High in Temecula, Calif., Tyler Ostrom (6-3, 280, FR) from Ventura's St. Bonaventure High and Anthony Pardue (6-4, 300, FR) of Murrieta Valley High in Murrieta, Calif., are the incoming offensive line prospects.
California community college transfers Jalen Nelson (6-2, 178, SO) from Southwestern College, and Nehemiah Shelton (6-1, 160, SO) from Long Beach City College, are a pair of cornerbacks that were first-team all-league honorees as freshmen and tied for 20th in the state with four interceptions each, and College of the Canyons safety Bobby Brown (6-1, 177, SO) account for three incoming Spartans available for 2018 spring practice. Local standout Charlie Bostic (5-11, 170, FR), a first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League selection from San Jose's Valley Christian High rounds out the quartet of incoming defensive backs. Nelson, Shelton, Bostic and Brown combined for 13 interceptions more than double the Spartans' total of six in 13 games last season.
"That is absolutely critical for us to continue to move forward as a program, for them to learn the schemes, be part of the team and be acclimated academically. All those things are so important," Brennan said about Mariboho, Nelson, Shelton, Brown and 2016 second-team all-state honorees Kyle Harmon (6-1, 230, FR), a linebacker from Freedom High in Oakley, Calif., and all-purpose player Leki Nunn (5-10, 175, FR) of Serra High in San Mateo, Calif., being enrolled and available for spring practice.
Harmon was one of the most prolific tacklers in Northern California for three seasons with 405 tackles, 30.5 tackles for loss and 11.0 quarterback sacks. He originally signed with the University of California in February 2017, but declined to enroll. Nunn also will begin his college career as a wide receiver this spring after leading the 2016 Serra of San Mateo team to the C.I.F. Division 2A state championship game. Nunn passed for 19 touchdowns and ran for 18 more as the Padres' quarterback.
Defensive linemen Cade Hall (6-3, 235, FR) from Bellarmine Prep in San Jose and Dimitri Sakalia (6-3, 230, FR) from Menlo-Atherton High, two local products, and Demanuel Tulauati (6-1, 265, FR) from San Diego's Madison High round out the Spartans' early signees. Hall, the son of former San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl XXIX winning defensive tackle Rhett Hall, was the 2016 West Catholic Athletic League's Most Valuable Defensive Lineman. Sakalia is from a family of two generations of South Pacific and American rugby players.
"We'll have another 10-12 guys we'll sign (in February) and that will address some of our other needs," Brennan said about the next stage of the Class of 2018 recruiting process. He also cited an upcoming four-week period of no contact and no face-to-face recruiting as one of the challenges coaches and prospective student-athletes will encounter that can affect the development of a positive rapport leading up to the February 7, 2018 signing date.
"We tell our players this, `Every time we go out and recruit, we're trying to bring a player in here who is going to fight for your job.' We want to raise the level of competition in our practice environment. We want to raise the level of competition between offense and defense every day when we practice. In order to do that, we need as many good football players as we can get."
San Jose State has the opportunity between now and February 7 to identify and sign more good football players for the Class of 2018.