At any San Jose State football practice from anywhere on the field, there is the booming voice of offensive line coach Joe Bernardi encouraging, leading, teaching and coaching his players. Perhaps, the bravado in voice springs from his dad, Gary Bernardi, the Spartans' offensive line coach from 2010 to 2012 who had a coarse richness to his voice from more than 30 years of college coaching.
If history repeats itself, or like father, like son, Joe Bernardi's third year as the Spartans' offensive line coach will be a good one. In 2012, San Jose State went 11-2, won the Military Bowl and finished nationally-ranked in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) with Gary Bernardi as San Jose State's offensive line coach. The younger Bernardi won't go that far right with a forecast right now.
Joe Bernardi has the biggest number of Spartans among the position groups, not just in size, but also in number. There are the highly-experienced starters like senior Troy Kowalski, a three-year starter, and Jack Snyder, a two-year starter. And, he has a significant number of players who have redshirted at some point in their college careers hoping this season is their time in the lineup and to help the team shine.
"We have a lot of different levels of experience with our group. I really like the way the group has worked and its chemistry. We just have to keep plugging. The young guys have to get better. The 'old' guys have to keep pushing the young guys, but I like the way the group is coming together," said Bernardi, who was a center when he played at Fresno State.
"I've seen a lot of guys step up. Seen some young guys develop quickly. Seen some old guys kind of separate themselves. I really, really like this group. I think they've worked very hard. We're going to find the best five by next week," he said about the group.
The Spartan offensive line coach believes communication and finding ways to work together are important. He also counts on the play of the tight end position as part of the symphony concert of offense whether it's running or passing the football.
"We want to do a good job of running the football better, our chemistry and communication at the line of scrimmage working with the tight ends and communicating our calls across the line of scrimmage. Obviously, we have to do a great job hitting movement, doing a good job in our 'double-teams', and a good job in our pass protection work as well," said Bernardi, who assigned many of his players to learn multiple positions with the objective of position flexibility and keeping the best five linemen playing at all times.
With only a few days remaining before the August 29 season opener, Bernardi continues emphasizing communication as the Spartans turn their attention to their opponent Northern Colorado.
"(We've) got to make sure we are communicating on our assignments and understanding the game plan, understanding what Northern Colorado is going to give us on normal down-and-distance situational football, start to familiarize ourselves with their film. Everybody's got to do a great job of preparing and understanding what their role is going into the game."
Whether it's at a practice or at a game, the passion Joe Bernardi has for his players and stellar offensive line play comes through loud and clear from the San Jose State sideline.
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Tickets for the San Jose State season opener with Northern Colorado on August 29 and all home games are available at www.sjsuspartans.com/tickets.
