SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — The San Jose State University football team is ready to get the 2022 season off to a strong start as they begin training camp. The Spartans are looking to establish themselves atop the Mountain West Conference after finishing 5-7 overall and 3-5 in conference last season.
Players and coaches say it’s the culture built by Head Coach Brent Brennan that sets this program apart.
“We have an amazing team. Everyone is bought in and the amount of extra everybody is doing is better than I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here,” said Defensive End Cade Hall.
“Once I got here they treated me like family. It’s really a good time, it’s like family here. It’s like 24/7 in the locker room, just playing around and having a good time,” said Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro.
The positive atmosphere is what led Cordeiro to transfer to SJSU from Hawaii, where he played under center for three seasons. The 6’1 Honolulu native has quickly emerged as a leader of the Spartans offense.
“We get each other better. Iron sharpens Iron, and it’s fun. We’ve got talent, we just got to put it together. When it comes to Saturdays, we’ve got to perform,” said Cordeiro.
“We’ve got to keep watching film, we can always can get better. I’m very hard on myself and I know I could’ve gotten better today. It should be a good season.”
Brennan says he’s been impressed with Cordeiro’s work rate. He added that the junior transfer has been a natural fit with the team.
“When you plug him into our offensive group with our O line and our skill players they’re excited to play with him because they know what he is. And that’s a fun thing to watch and a fun thing to coach,” said Brennan.
On defense, the Spartans return a majority of their starters from 2021. San Jose State’s defense was 4th-best in the MWC in total yards allowed and 3rd in rushing yards allowed.
Hall, who was named the 2022 preseason Mountain West Co-Defensive Player of the Year, says the expectations for the group are sky high.
“We have a lot of returning guys; I think being able to play with each other and all be on the same page is going to make a really big difference,” said Hall.
“There’s a lot of experience, a lot of football has been played and they’ve been together a long time. They’ve been to the top of the mountain, they’ve been at the bottom and everything in between. They expect a very high level of effort, intensity and focus from each other. Offensively it’s very hard to play against,” said Brennan.
The Spartans’ focus for training camp is simple; get better every day. Brennan took a program that was 1-11 in 2018 and led them to their first Mountain West title in 2020.
Now the team looks to sustain that success and carry out the team’s “climb the mountain” mantra in the season to come.
“When you look back to 5 years ago to where we’re at now, we’re excited about where we’re at now. We’ve got a great coaching staff here, we’ve got great leadership, we’ve got great administration supporting what we’re trying to do with Spartan football and now it’s up to us to put in the work and put the pieces together and put something on the field that everybody can be proud of,” said Brennan.
San Jose State hosts Portland State in their season opener on September 1.
