Inside look: San Jose St
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By CURT McKEEVER / Lincoln Journal Star
In last week’s 2008 opener, UC-Davis was poised to erase the sour taste from its first losing season (which included a 34-14 loss to San Jose State) since 1969. But QB Kyle Reed’s fourth-and-13 strike to Jurovich — coming the play after he’d been sacked, and with his team out of timeouts — left UC-Davis coach Bob Biggs giving the ‘We-did-everything-but-win speech’ to his disappointed players.
“They’re extremely fast (on defense). They’ve got very good corners, so they can get a lot of people up close to the line of scrimmage, and they run very, very well. They played, goodness, six or seven D-linemen and every one of them could run. And then they had the coverage people behind them. We didn’t have our starting quarterback, and so we were a little bit limited in terms of what we can do in the pass game, and eventually that was a little bit of an issue. We didn’t match up tackle with D-ends, so we had to screen a lot.
“(Schweiger’s) a very good player. He played great, but, gosh, a couple of the other guys were probably just as effective. They went in this year saying that defense was going to be their strength. I think Dick (Tomey) said he thought this was the best he’s had at San Jose State. We played them last year and although we lost we were able to move the ball more effectively. This year, I was as happy as could be that we converted six of 15 third downs.
“I’m sure Nebraska matches up, but if Nebraska can’t run the ball, I do think (the Spartans’) D-line is good enough to put some pressure on the quarterback.
“We were really concerned about (Davis). He’s very good, but he just couldn’t find much room to run. They’re not as good in the offensive line.
“(Jurovich is) just a real smart player. And Kyle (Reed) was elusive and threw the ball better than I figured. He was very composed for not having played. (We punted the ball late because) they hadn’t done anything to throw the ball downfield, and so the thinking is if we could keep them inside they’re going to run out of time. ... (On the final touchdown), we rushed three, dropped eight and he looked off our backer and made a great throw.”
San Jose State averages (Through one game)
Points
Offense: 13.0
Defense: 10.0
Yards
Offense: 273.0
Defense: 254.0
Rush
Offense: 42.0
Defense: 61.0
Pass
Offense: 231.0
Defense: 193.0
Time of possession
Offense: 25:34
Defense: 34:26
Base formations
Offense: No-huddle spread
Defense: 4-3
KEEP AN EYE ON ’EM
Kevin Jurovich
WR/Sr./6-0/183 pounds
The former safety needs four catches to become the 18th San Jose State player with 100 in a career. He’s approached that milestone while playing just 13 games on offense. That’s an average of nearly eight catches per game.
Jeff Schweiger
DE/Sr./6-5/280 pounds
A key backup on USC’s 2004 national championship team, he’s found new life after a broken foot during fall camp in 2005 denied him a starting position and sent him plunging. He nearly gave up football after the 2006 season, but transferred and in his Spartan debut had five assisted tackles, a fumble recovery and pass breakup.
Coye Francies
CB/Sr./6-1/185 pounds
The former JUCO All-American started five games at Oregon State in 2006, and that season had a huge effort (six tackles and a forced fumble) to help the Beavers end USC’s 27-game Pac-10 winning streak. He should love the scene Saturday.
Quarterbacks (2 balls)
Kyle Reed played Superman last week with a second-half off-the-bench performance that saved the Spartans from losing to UC-Davis. The junior transfer from Cal who completed 14 of 18 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns, probably deserves a higher ranking. After all, Rivals.com and The Sporting News ranked him as the No. 4 high school quarterback in 2004. But last week’s game was his first as a collegian, and who knows how he’ll react to a tough road setting? Unlike last week, when Dick Tomey scripted series for both Jordan La Secla and Reed behind starter Miles Eden, no plan is in place for Eden, now the No. 2 signal caller who was 10-for-13 for 86 yards and an interception.
Running backs (1 ball)
The Spartans had one of the least-effective running attacks in the country last year, ranking 112th out of 119 teams. That was expected to change with the return of tailback Yonus Davis, who rushed for 1,007 yards in 2006 but went down with a season-ending ankle injury in the first game last year. Davis, granted a rare sixth year of eligibility, also was expected to benefit playing behind a more-experienced O-line. The bottom line is he got just 26 yards on seven carries against UC-Davis and six of the team’s 20 running plays (sacks aren’t counted) went for zero or negative yards. The Spartans also didn’t give their tailback a carry after the middle of the third quarter.
Receivers (2 balls)
Kevin Jurovich might have been the biggest benefactor of SJSU’s new spread, no-huddle offense, as he matched his single-game best of 11 catches for 99 yards, including the game-winning 17-yard TD with eight seconds to play against UC-Davis. He has a knack for finding seams. Jalal Beauchman, one of three Spartans who had 30 catches last year, added four more last week, three that produced first downs. David Richmond started the year with a six-catch, 60-yard day. Terrance Williams caught the other TD from Reed last week.
Offensive line (1 ball)
Because of injuries (three players sat out last week), the Spartans opened the season with one of the least-experienced offensive lines in school history. Left guard Nathaniel Timo, center Robbie Reed and right guard Ailao Eliapo (a defensive tackle and reserve guard for the last four games of 2007) made their first career starts. Jon Moreno (who’s moved from left to right tackle) was a starter for the fourth time, and left tackle John Konye made his second career start (his first was at tight end last season). No. 2 left tackle Fred Koloto was an eight-game starter in 2007. Short-yardage right guard Steve Lightsy is nothing like his name. He’s listed at a team-heavy 370 pounds.
Defensive line (4 balls)
The Spartans’ deep rotation here showed up in a major way last week. After giving up 10 first downs and 132 yards in the first quarter, they limited UC-Davis to just three first downs and 122 yards. Schweiger is the best-known lineman, but he’s not the only star. Tackle Jarron Gilbert, whose father, Deron, played for the New Orleans Saints, has 28 starts and was second-team All-WAC in 2007. End Carl Ihenacho is coming off a career-best, nine-tackle game that included a turnover-causing sack. Tackle Adonis Davis (15 career starts) also had his best game, statistically, with seven tackles. Reserve tackle Kalvin Cressel started five games as a redshirt freshman in 2006.
Linebackers (2 balls)
Justin Cole has started the last five games at linebacker, and 21 in his career. He was an end for his entire freshman year in 2006. Travis Jones made his first start last week and had five tackles with two pass breakups. Duke Ihenacho (the younger brother of Carl) also had five stops. Depth could be a concern here, but Pompey Festejo, a reserve safety last year, could be a pleasant surprise. He had six tackles against UC-Davis.
Defensive backs (3 balls)
The Spartans play a ton of man coverage. The addition of the speedy Francies alongside second-team all-WAC performer Chris Owens should leave them in the same kind of shape at the corners as they were last year with Owens and Dwight Lowery (now with the New York Jets). In the fourth quarter last week, Owens got his 13th career interception to stop a drive deep in Spartan territory. Francies had eight tackles in his San Jose State debut. Devin Newsome, who’s moved from corner to safety, also got a pick in the opener. Former wide receiver Kyle Flynn made his first start at safety and had four solo tackles, while Ryan Andrew rotated in and produced six tackles.
Special teams (2 ball)
Jared Strubeck is out as the place-kicker — again — after missing both of his field-goal attempts and having a PAT try blocked last week. An honorable mention freshman All-American in 2005, he missed eight of his first 10 field-goal attempts last season and was briefly replaced by Will Johnson, who missed all three of his tries before Strubeck returned to hit eight of his last 10. Johnson will give it a go this week. Punter Philip Zavala averaged 35 net yards last week while putting three punts inside the UC-Davis 20. Francies is a dangerous kickoff return man, as he averaged 30.7 yards on three returns.
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