The Recruiting Road So Far: San Jose State

This is part two of our twelve-part series to kick off the recruiting season. The aim of these articles is to provide a detailed look at what each team has done thus far on the recruiting trail, what to expect come December 20th, and what work still needs to be put in before NLI day in February.

San Jose State: 11th in MWConnection Recruiting Rankings

With a brand new staff coming in under Coach Brennan this year, growing pains were expected. The buzz was certainly there, but unfortunately the results lagged behind. Just two wins coming almost three months apart was not the way they wanted their first season to go. Beating FCS Cal Ploy was nice but closing out their season with a win over the Josh Allen-less Cowboys was a nice highlight. They also played Fresno State and Hawaii to close contests.

The Spartans base offense is a 3 WR set with a TE and RB. The slot receiver is usually a bit undersized but makes up for it with shiftiness and speed. The outside wideouts often have a bit more size, with at least one being more of a deep threat. The tight end most likely will have to be balanced in pass-catching as well as blocking in the run game. Definitely, they run a 3-4. The DL is key here, as there is lots of size across the board. The NT (310+ range) plays the right on the ball and the goal is someone who is disruptive enough to need multiple blockers. Each end usually play the 3 and 5 (280-300 range) techniques, so think of them are more DTs in a 4-3 scheme. The OLBs are more speed orientated plays skilled at rushing the passer while the ILBs are responsible mainly for stopping the run game.

The Road So Far:

The Spartans have secured 7 verbal commitments so far, and three in the past week. Thus far, they have put a lot of focus into the trenches, where 5 of their pledges play on either side of the line. OL commits Jamie Navarro and Tyler Ostrum compliment each other very well as the former is a project with a high upside and the latter is someone who could see the field sooner. Both project to be interior guys. Brand new commit Korey Mariboho gave his pledge just yesterday following his visit and as a JUCO player, he should bridge the gap the new two seasons until the younger guys are more seasoned.

On the other side they have DE tandem who have both committed in the since the regular season ended. Both Dimitri Sakalia and Cade Hall possess the desired knack for rushing the passer, with Sakalia specifically being a tremendous pickup for Brennan and his staff. He could develop into an all-conference type of player.

At the skill positions, CB Charlie Bostic and RB Lorenzo Burkes are two great in-state pickups. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see either play right away and both appear to be playmakers in their respective positions. Bostic has great size at 6’1 and Burkes has the size to take the pounding when running between the tackles.

Number Expected to Sign in December: 5 recruits said they intend to sign this month, with a possible 6th

Number Expected to Enroll Early: None were confirmed but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Mariboho arrive on campus in time for spring ball.

Top Targets Remaining:

OL Jake Parks, OL Anthony Pardue, DB Jalen Nelson, DB Andrew Jenkins, RB/SS Kairee Robinson, LB Craig Francois, RB Danny Smith, WR Michael Thompson, LB Isaak Togia

The Road Ahead:

With only 12 outgoing seniors, the Spartans class is about halfway there already. Given there is always attrition, most teams end up taking a few more incoming players then they have outgoing. 12-15 is a safe bet.

Right now they are heavy on OL and DL players, so the remainder of their class will likely be made up of skill players. They still need their quarterback in this class and 2-3 WRs as well as DBs would also be nice, especially if they could grab one of to play right away. Throw in a few LBs and all of a sudden their small class looks pretty good. It wouldn’t be a bad strategy for them to take a chance on some pure athletes and develop them at specific positions in the next year or two to continue building for the future.

The best case scenario for the Spartans would be if they land Smith to create a nice tandem with Burkes in the backfield. Nelson or Jenkins come aboard and with Bostic, form a similar due in the secondary. They flip Francois away from the new staff at Oregon State to give them a talented LB who can step in right away. Spots fill up at other school and they land both Parks and Pardue to complete a really nice OL class. Finally they secure an under the radar QB and get a WR like Thompson to start building chemistry with.

While all of the above isn’t likely to happen, the more pieces they can collect, the better off they will be in the long run. They have a great opportunity to continue to gain some wins on the recruiting trail, which should lead to more wins on the field next season.

Up Tomorrow: Utah State

Previous Articles:

• New Mexico