The wait is over for San Jose State University football players, coaches, staff, and friends of the program. The 2019 season begins with the start of fall camp, Wednesday, July 31, inside CEFCU Stadium, Home of the Spartans.
Practices will be open to the public beginning Tuesday, August 6. Scrimmages are set for Saturdays August 10 and August 17, at 5:30 p.m. (See practice schedule, subject to change, at the bottom of the article.)
Head coach Brent Brennan has 12 returning starters, seven on offense and five on defense, and close to 60 players with major college playing experience. That number includes graduate transfers Quinn Oseland, an offensive tackle from the University of Minnesota, and Alex Galland, a kicker from Yale University, who focused on punting and holding for kick-scoring during spring practice.
There are signs for a spirited fall camp based on the post-spring practice and summer workout ethic.
For the first time in three seasons, San Jose State has a clear cut starting quarterback in fifth-year senior Josh Love, who along with linebacker Ethan Aguayo, represented the Spartans at the Mountain West Football Preview in Las Vegas.
"It's nice to go into a season with a clear starter at the quarterback position. Josh (Love) has been one of those guys who has worked incredibly hard the last few years. The results show that," Brennan said at the Bay Area College Football Preview hosted by the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. "Josh Love is a young man who did it the right way. He walked on, earned a scholarship, kept grinding through the process, and developed into a consistent player.
"If you look at us offensively, we are in a much better place than we've been the last two seasons. I feel that way about the whole program. I'm really excited about the kids in our program. We're bigger. We're stronger. We can't wait to get started."
"I'm excited to get that (fall camp) going and see the growth our team can have in that month," said Aguayo at the Mountain West Football Preview in Las Vegas.
"I definitely see progress with our program. I see our team GPA, see the number of kids getting a 3.0 or better. We're growing up and seeing some of those young problems going away. I see our kids really investing in our Beyond Football program, investing in the community, investing in their academics, investing in their own personal and professional development. There's some maturing going on that we desperately needed," the Spartans' coach said in one of his interviews at the Mountain West Football Preview in Las Vegas.
Brennan expects some spirited battles for playing time on defense particularly at the cornerback positions. Nehemiah Shelton and Tre White saw action and experienced levels of success. Despite losing all-conference players Bryson Bridges and Boogie Roberts, the Spartans coach believes there is a good mix of young and experienced players. Sophomore Cade Hall, who started eight games last season, covers both sides of the spectrum in the defensive line.
The season opener is Thursday, August 29, with the Spartans hosting Northern Colorado in a 7:00 p.m. non-conference game. Tickets for all San Jose State home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.
NOTES: Weekday practices are from 9:40 a.m. to Noon. Sunday practices on August 11 and August 18 are scheduled from 11:50 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There is no practice on Mondays August 5, 12 and 19.
2019 Fan Fest: Saturday, August 17, starting with the 5:30 p.m. scrimmage on the practice field. A barbecue and the movie, "Spiderman; Into the Spider-verse" follows. Shield 365 members can enjoy Fan Fest free of charge. $25.00 for non-members.
Keys for the season: At the Mountain West Football Preview, Brennan identified improving the running game, stopping the opponent's running game, and continued improvement in turnover margin. The Spartans struggled running the ball last year averaging just 61.5 yards per game. San Jose State allowed opponents to rush for 211.2 yards per game in 2018, more than a 60-yard improvement over 2017. There also was significant improvement in turnover margin year-over-year with a plus-27 change to finish the season at +1.
Experience grows: A year ago, San Jose State began the season with 42 players who had major college playing experience, 15 less than this year's team.
Five time zones: San Jose State will be the only Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team to play its regular season schedule in five U.S. time zones this season. Besides the home schedule in the Pacific Time Zone, the Spartans travel to UNLV and Nevada (PT), Air Force (MT), Arkansas (CT), Army West Point (ET), and Hawaii (HT). The last time San Jose State played in five time zones was in the 2002 season.
San Jose State has 15,610 miles of air travel according to webflyer.com and a round trip via bus to Reno for the Nevada game in the 2019 season.
Two bye weeks: For the first time since 2014, San Jose State has two bye weeks in its schedule. This year's team does not have a game on the weekends of September 14 and November 16.
Fall practice schedule
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| 7/31 9:40 - noon practice |
8/1 9:40 - noon practice |
8/2 9:40 - noon practice |
8/3 9:40 - noon practice |
|||
| 8/4 9:40 - noon practice |
8/5 no practice |
8/6 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/7 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/8 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/9 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/10 scrimmage CEFCU Stadium |
| 8/11 11:50 - 1:00 p.m. practice open |
8/12 no practice |
8/13 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/14 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/15 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/16 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/17 Fan Fest practice fields 5:30 p.m. scrimmage 7:00 p.m. BBQ 7:30 p.m. movie |
| 8/18 11:50 - 1:00 p.m. practice open |
8/19 no practice |
8/20 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/21 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/22 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/23 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/24 no practice |
| 8/25 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/26 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/27 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/28 9:40 - noon practice open |
8/29 Northern Colorado CEFCU Stadium 7:00 p.m. |