How big guys in trenches paved way for San Jose State’s undefeated season
There are many reasons for San Jose State’s historic success this season.
Quarterback Nick Starkel has been the Mountain West’s most efficient passer.
Running backs Tyler Nevens and Kairee Robinson and backup quarterback Nick Nash provide the offense with some balance on the ground.
The secondary, headlined by Tre Jenkins and Tre Webb, has made life difficult for opposing quarterbacks.
But the roots of the team’s success reside in the trenches.
“It’s been said over and over and over: everything starts up front,” defensive line coach Joe Seumalo said. “We go into a game, whether it be offense or defense, everything starts up front. This is a critical piece with our football team and with our success because these kids love to play with each other.”
The big bodies have been at the core of the team’s undefeated season, which will end on Thursday in the Arizona Bowl against Ball State.
The defensive line, led by Mountain West defensive player of the year Cade Hall, is almost unrecognizable from last year, hounding quarterbacks and clogging running lanes. The offensive line, captained by Jack Snyder, has been a near-impenetrable wall.
San Jose State is one of four teams in the country, along with Indiana, Western Michigan and Georgia State, that rank among the top 15 nationally in sacks and fewest sacks allowed per game.
Suffice to say, the lines have fed off one another.
“Going up against those guys every day during training camp, we kinda go back and forth with those days where the O-line will do better, and there’s days when the D-Line will get us,” Snyder said. “The competition between the two groups has been able to elevate us even higher.”
The offensive line was expected to be a strength after it allowed only 14 sacks in 2019, tied for the fifth-fewest in the nation. The unit did lose some contributors, including all-Mountain West honorable mention selection Troy Kowalski, but returned veterans such as Snyder, Kyle Hoppe, Trevor Robbins and Tyler Stevens.
The returning group has given Starkel plenty of time to find his slew of receivers. The Spartans have allowed only seven sacks and are tied for eighth in the nation with BYU in the fewest sacks allowed per game.
And they’re probably better than that.
Air Force and Army, which rank third and sixth in fewest sacks allowed per game, run more than 50 times per game. Buffalo, Louisiana, UAB and Washington run about 40 times per game. No team prevents fewer sacks that throw as often as San Jose State does.
Leading that charge was Snyder, who was named Pro Football Focus’ Mountain West Player of the Year, an honor that has gone to only three other offensive linemen in conferences across the country since Pro Football Focus started handing out awards in 2014.
In 282 snaps, Snyder didn’t allow a single quarterback hit or sack, only yielding two quarterback pressures. Snyder’s PFF grade of 91.2 was third in the nation among left tackles.
“For him to get that honor, it speaks volumes to the type of player that he is and the type of student of the game he is as well,” Starkel said.
Said Hall: “Jack is the best tackle I’ve played against all year. He’s significantly better than any guys I played against during the season. Getting to have competition like Jack has been huge for me because it makes all the games seem much more manageable.”
While the offensive line was expected to be sturdy, the defensive line was a question mark.
In 2019, San Jose State allowed 232.1 rushing yards per game, the sixth-worst mark in the country. The Spartans also were among the nation’s worst at applying quarterback pressure, finishing with just 17 sacks.
This season, San Jose State ranks among the top 20 nationally in sacks per game (15th, 3.14) and rushing yards allowed per game (16th, 111.0).
“If you were to look at film of them from two years ago to now, it would be a night and day difference,” Snyder said. ”They’re totally different players. They’ve just taken their games so many levels higher than when they got here.”
Hall and Viliami Fehoko, both named to the all-Mountain West first-team, are at the center of that transformation.
Hall, a first-team All-America by the Sporting News, leads the Mountain West in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (12.0). Right behind Hall is Fehoko, whose 10.5 tackles for loss are second in the conference.
“When you have players like that who can rush the passer, it just makes everything so much easier,” linebacker Kyle Harmon, a first-team all-Mountain West selection, said. “The quarterback isn’t going to have enough time to sit in the pocket. He’s going to be on the run. They’re probably going to call different schemes, probably some quick things because they know they’re not going to have time to take a shot down the field.”
The signs of improvement were clear in the season opener against Air Force.
In the second quarter, Air Force had first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Given the Falcons’ proficiency in the triple-option, a touchdown seemed automatic.
Instead, San Jose State held.
The Spartans didn’t allow the Falcons a single yard on four consecutive plays, forcing a turnover on downs.
Two months later, in the Mountain West championship against Boise State, the defensive line had its best performance of the season, only yielding 12 rushing yards.
In the first half, Hall set a tone by sacking Hank Bachmeier on back-to-back plays.
“The number one thing that stands out all across the board is toughness and physicality,” offensive line coach Joe Oglesby said. “That group is always playing behind the line of scrimmage. They force you to be technically sound because if you’re not, you’ll get exposed.”
Given the proficiency of the offensive and defensive line, the question then arises: Who would win if they had to go up against one another over the course of a full game, no holds barred?
“It would be a good game, that’s for sure,” Oglesby said with a smile.