Photo credit Jackson Moore of 247sports
Matt Weiner (@mattweiner20) – Spear football beat reporter
It’s one thing to reach the top of the mountain, but it’s a whole other to stay there.
No team in the Mountain West knows this better than San Jose State. The 2020 MW champs followed up their heads-turning, expectations-raising campaign with a 5-7 go-around last fall.
With 2022 a couple breakfasts and dinners away, it’s time to break down where the rollercoaster takes us next.
The Three-Headed Monster
College football has become the wild west with the transfer portal and SJSU is fully embracing the new landscape with the three-headed monster of former UH quarterback Chevan Cordeiro and Nevada wide receivers Elijah Cooks and Justin Lockhart.
The trio currently resides under the same roof after migrating to San Jose back in January. All the time spent together should pay off in the team chemistry department, granted everyone does their share of dishes and other house chores.
10 years ago, a Spartan offense would never have been built on the backs of three guys who were wearing different laundry the previous fall. But in 2022, plucking conference opponents and giving them eight months to gel could be par for the course and potentially revolutionary.
Before getting lost in potential paradigm shifts, let’s get to know each player a little better first.
Serving as the follow-up to the Nick Starkel era is high-flyin’ Hawaiian Chevan Cordeiro at quarterback.
I was speaking with one SJSU linebacker during the summer about him and his biggest takeaway was his ability to shift gears. It matched flashes of moments from Cordeiro during both the Spring Game and practices from training camp.
He can go from shuffling in the pocket to a dead sprint outside the hash marks in one flick of a light switch. If he’s healthy, there needs to be someone on defense keeping tabs on him.
Cordeiro comes to San Jose following while having back-to-back seasons of throwing for more than 2,000 yards and career TD/INT ratio of 2.23.
Head coach Brent Brennan and co. are hoping that the different skill sets between Elijah Cooks and Justin Lockhart will unlock something special in Cordeiro.
A former basketball player at Nevada, Cooks is a 6’5″ goliath who could be a vacuum in the middle of the field when the team needs a four to six yards completion. There’s a twitchiness and aggressive nature which mirrors Dennis Rodman’s uniquely astonishing rebound abilities.
Cooks’ physicality and length is acutely different from his fellow transferee, Lockhart.
While Cooks stays near the first down marker, Lockhart’s sights are set on taking the top off the defense.
His best form paints him as Freddy Krueger, turning the hash marks on the sideline into his personal “Nightmare on Elm Street.”
If the three-headed monster clicks, your preconceived notion of a Spartan roster will (a) go up in smoke and (b) make you think again about bashing players on Twitter from around the conference.
“Haven’t I seen you before?”
Remember that whole transfer talk thing about revolutionizing rosters? Well, let’s flip a 180.
The Spartans’ defense hosts a multitude of guys who’ve annihilated plenty of flying saucer-sized plates from Original Joe’s (pro tip: don’t futz with salads or garlic bread, just hammer the eggplant parmigiana and 30 oz prime rib).
Among them are Preseason All-Mountain West sections Viliami Fehoko and Cade Hall (Pre-season Co-Defensive Player of the Year), linebacker Kyle Harmon, second team cornerback Nehemia Shelton and third team safety Tre Jenkins.
Having 131 games played between is an advantage, especially with such little coaching turnover the past couple of years.
The goal is for the veteran-heavy presence to force opposing offenses into momentum-shifting mistakes. In 2021, the Spartans finished ninth in sacks (27) and 11th in interceptions (6).
While not a completely direct correlation, both of these numbers can go hand in hand. In 2021, San Diego State tied for first in sacks (41) and first in INT’s (17) while Nevada shared the crown in sacks and was tied for second in INT’s (14). The concept is simple; more pressure creates more opportunities for rushed and oftentimes regrettable throws.
It has to start upfront with Hall and Fehoko double-teaming QB’s into submission like the Hardy Boyz, and Harmon putting running backs into a full nelson.
Without the Spartans wreaking havoc up front, a repeat of 2021, where the Spartans allowed the eighth most points per game (26.5) in the MW and had the ninth worst defensive efficiency (136.7) could be in the cards.
Chipping in
Shifting toward coaching, the one asset of the defense I was continually impressed by during training camp is first-year cornerbacks coach Chip Viney.
He comes to San Jose after two stints at Oklahoma under Lincoln Riley.
The video above and below illustrate why Viney could have a mountain-shifting impact on the team during 2022.
Viney’s expertise is knowing how to be a stickler, but with patience and purpose. As Shelton mentioned, Viney, like Pauly from “The GoodFellas” has constant one-on-one communication with players, making sure they understand what’s being expected.
The shining moment of this came Viney worked on goal line fades with two CB’s for a half hour after practice finished.
It felt like a PowerPoint on how to establish a winning culture.
A player seeking to fix mistakes and a coach doing everything he can to make sure the correct technique is committed to muscle memory.
Barbershop Gossip
For SJSU, the 2020 Mountain West Championship was a beacon of hope that the 11 loss and sub .500 seasons are ancient history like a still working payphone.
This is why going 5-7 in 2021 and missing a bowl game was validly frustrating for fans. As soon as they got a taste of the high life, it was snatched from them.
Heading into 2022, head coach Brent Brennan and co. are on a mission to prove that 2020 wasn’t a flash in a pan.
That mission starts week 1 against Portland State, but the initial true test will be the week 2 matchup at Auburn. If the Spartans put up a fight in the heart of SEC country-win or loss-it’s a vote of confidence that fans and the team can run with. But, if the Tigers mop the floor with the Spartans the hypothetical around can be flipped on its head.
2022 will be a year to show whether 2020 was a flash in the pan or a harbinger of Brent Brennan continuing to change the longstanding narrative of San Jose football.