Long touchdown passes, "pick-sixes," and more comprised San Jose State University's first scrimmage of the 2019 spring practice period.
The Spartans were in full pads to conclude the second week of spring practice with a 70-plus plays scrimmage when adding in some special teams work.
"We had a great day. We had a bunch of fans and recruits here. We had our man, 'DJ Brother Reese' spinnin' tunes for us. And, the guys ran around. Looked like the energy was great, intense and we made some plays on both sides of the ball," said San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan.
"We did a nice job of creating some turnovers and getting to the quarterback, threw it well and caught it well, and had some nice runs. We had a lot of young players trying to figure it out. So, it's pretty exciting,"
The offense had the upper hand early with quarterback Josh Love showing the form similar to the 2018 Hawaii game when he threw for 451 yards and three touchdowns. As the first signal caller under center, he completed 9-of-12 for 150 yards and touchdown passes of 13 yards to Leki Nunn and 37 yards to Tre Walker.
Freshman quarterback Nick Nash accounted for the offense's remaining two touchdowns. He found recently added community college transfer Lamar Housley streaking down the right sideline for a 96-yard touchdown play. Nash, son of one-time Spartan wide receiver Kenny Nash from the 1980's, concluded the offense's scoring with a 4-yard run. He was the leading rusher in the scrimmage with 49 yards on eight carries.
Walker, who was the team leader in receiving yards with 714 in 2018, showed off his big-play explosiveness as the receiving leader with four receptions for 105 yards and the 37-yard touchdown play.
The defense scored on interception returns of 43 yards by safety Bobby Brown, II, and 24 yards by linebacker Ethan Aguayo. The defense also was credited with five quarterback sacks – two of them by Jamaar Hardy.
"I think we're moving that way. And, I think recruiting is a big part of that," Brennan said when asked about upgrading the overall football speed of the team. "We have a handful of guys that will join us this summer that will add to our speed and length that we need.
"I thought the offensive line and Josh (Love) did a nice job picking up some of the pressure. It was fun. I thought the players had a great time. It's just another step for us and we need to keep taking steps in the right direction with this team."
San Jose State enters its third week of spring practice Tuesday, March 19, at 10:00 a.m. The team's annual Pro Day featuring seniors from the 2018 squad is Wednesday, March 20. The week concludes with a Thursday morning practice followed by a Saturday scrimmage starting at noon.
| Scoring (Offense) |
| Leki Nunn, 13-yard pass from Josh Love (Matthew Mercurio kick) |
| Tre Walker, 37-yard pass from Josh Love (Chris Wood kick) |
| Lamar Housley, 96-yard pass from Nick Nash (Sox Lee kick) |
| Nick Nash, 4-yard run (Matthew Mercurio kick) |
| Scoring (Defense) |
| Bobby Brown, II, 43-yard interception return |
| Ethan Aguayo, 24-yard interception return |
| Rushing |
36 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| Nick Nash, 8-49, 1 TD |
Michael Harris, III, 3-5 |
| Brendan Manigo, 2-19 |
Josh Love, 1-3 |
| Tyler Nevens, 4-15 |
DeJon Packer, 2-2 |
| Lorenzo Burkes, 4-13 |
Chance LaChapelle, 7-(-9) |
| Isaiah Hamilton, 1-6 |
Antwaun Ayers, 1-(-2) |
| Kairee Robinson, 2-5 |
Team, 1-(-10) |
| Passing (19-33-2-329, 3 TDs) |
| Josh Love, 9-12-0-150 yds., 2 TDs |
| Chance LaChapelle, 6-12-2-45 yds.,0 TDs |
| Nick Nash, 4-9-0-134 yds., 1 TD |
| Receiving |
19 receptions, 329 yards, 3 TDs |
| Tre Walker, 4-105, 1 TD |
Jermaine Braddock, 1-12 |
| Leki Nunn, 2-26, 1 TD |
Kairee Robinson, 1-9 |
| Antwaun Ayers, 2-15 |
Steven Houston, 1-8 |
| Austin Liles, 2-11 |
Derrick Deese, Jr., 1-8 |
| Lamar Housley, 1-96, 1 TD |
Brett Foley, 1-8 |
| Jackson Parks, 1-14 |
Jackson Burrill, 1-5 |
| Isac Velasquez, 1-12 |
|
| Quarterback Sacks |
|
| Jamaar Hardy, 2 |
Rico Tolefree, 1 |
| Isaiah Ossai, 1 |
Demanuel Talauati, 1 |
| Punting |
| Alex Galland, 5-44.6 avg. |
| Chris Wood, 2-41.5 avg. |
.;
