San Jose State preview: fight the mediocrity!

Previewing the WAC seems like a good job for an intern. Unfortunately, we do not have an intern. Ugh. Today: San Jose State

 San Jose State

 Team motto: "Attack the lower tier of the WAC"

Two years ago, the San Jose State Spartans were 9-4 and winners of the New Mexico Bowl. Last year, the Spartans were 5-7 and winners over UC Davis. In the immortal words of Mike LaFontaine, "Wha' Happened?"

The 2007 Spartans had a lot working against them. They opened with a difficult schedule that saw them start out 0-3. They lost starting running back Yonus Davis for the season to injury. They forgot to recruit impact players. Taking Hawaii to overtime was a good sign, but scoring a combined seven points against Fresno State and Boise State wasn't. When all was said and done, the Spartans were stuck in WAC mediocrity, not good enough to scare anyone but not bad enough to be confused with Idaho. Enjoying the Dick Tomey era yet, Spartan fans?

Five Questions

Is Kyle Reed the next Steve DeBerg or Jeff Garcia?
Forget DeBerg and Garcia. The Spartans would be ecstatic if Reed was the next Adam Tafralis. A transfer from Cal, Reed is battling for Tafralis' old QB spot with Myles Eden and Jordan LaScela. He may have the upper hand simply because he did, at one point, have Pac-10 talent. That should be good enough to fill Tafralis' "Don't blame me, I complete 62 percent of my passes" shoes.

What were you thinking when you chose Jeff Schweiger as your preseason WAC defensive player of the year?
Thinking outside of the box is good, provided that the box is full of Hawaii players. Schweiger seemed like a good pick because we see him and the SJSU defense being a key to the Spartans' "success" this year. Schweiger, a transfer from USC, and Coye Francies, a CB transfer from Oregon State, will take on the responsibility of the departed Dwight Lowery and Matt Castelo. A better question might be why Pac-10 players want to transfer to San Jose State.

Will I have to wake up at 9:00 a.m. to watch the SJSU-Boise State game?
Fortunately, no. The Spartans love to start their Saturday games smack dab in the middle of Dragonball Z, but they won't have the luxury of catching the Broncos mid-Pop Tart this year. The two teams face off on a Friday night ESPN2 telecast. Guess we'll have to tape the Bill Engvall Show.

Tell me a joke.
What do the San Jose State offensive line and George O'Leary's resume have in common? Both are unreliable and full of holes.

Is Yonus Davis the first person in the history of football to miss an entire season due to a sprained ankle?
Yes, probably. Davis suffered the injury on the Spartans' first offensive play last season, and he was barely heard from again. His final numbers: 3 carries, 1 yard, 500 rolls of Ace bandage. Davis was awarded a sixth year of eligibility, giving him one more chance to run over WAC defenses and call dibs on the rehab hot tub. Tommy Boy quote!

Tommy: You know, a lot of people go to college for six years.
Richard: I know. They're called doctors.

Over/Unders
+/- 76 Times Kevin Jurovich is wide open and nobody sees him
+/- 4 How many games it takes for us to regret picking Jeff Schweiger as WAC defensive player of the year
+/- 10 SJSU third-down conversion percentage

Recognizing what went wrong last year should help the Spartans creep back toward moderate respectability. An easier schedule should help (Hey there, San Diego State!). The return of Yonus Davis won't hurt (not the last time you'll see "hurt" and "Yonus" in the same sentence this season). And the addition of impact transfers on offense and defense should make a difference.

Still, unless the Spartans have plans to upset one of the top teams in the WAC, they will continue to tow the line just above awful, just below talented, and all over ordinary.

Perfect situation:
Stanford and Nebraska forfeit their non-conference games, Kevin Jurovich grows six inches and learns to throw go routes to himself, Jeff Schweiger becomes an All-American, and San Jose State goes to a bowl other than the New Mexico Bowl.

Reality:
The San Jose offense struggles with a new quarterback and porous offensive line, the defense guts out wins over San Diego State and Hawaii, the Spartans get to 6-3 before losing their final three games, and Dick Tomey's lobbying for a New Mexico Bowl berth falls on deaf ears.

Final record: 
6-6 overall, 4-4 conference

Tuesday: Links with predictions

Story of the day:

RB Ian Johnson tops in the WAC? [ESPN.com]

ESPN's Graham Watson posed an interesting question on her blog yesterday: Is Ian Johnson the WAC's best running back? If Watson knows, then she's not telling as her story politely skirted the issue with open-ended statements, facts, and Johnson quotes.

But is he the best running back in a stacked WAC?

"I've seen a lot of these guys and you look at (Nevada's Luke) Lippincott and all the guys from La Tech and even the guys from Fresno, these guys are very different running backs from myself," Johnson said during WAC Media Days last week.

Johnson was the best running back in the WAC during his glory year in 2006 and was even considered a darkhorse for the Heisman Trophy. But those numbers trailed off last season as Johnson was plagued with injuries.

We live in a black-and-white world, so this article, with all its grayness and ambiguity, was hard to deal with. The answer, in our opinion, is clear: Ian Johnson is not the WAC's best running back. He lost that title last year when he struggled with injuries and effectiveness. Let the angry emails fly.

Remember, Johnson was not very good at times last year, and Bronco Nation openly questioned what was wrong with him. Sure, he is saying all the right things and doing all the right things this offseason, and to be honest, we are confident that he will regain the mantle of WAC's top running back this season. But in the meantime, we feel he is no longer the top dog.

There, Graham Watson. We said it.

Other links:

Dan Gore cut by Dolphins [Scott Slant]

We guess Miami liked losing last year more than they thought

Utah State bringing down Utah's schedule [ESPN.com]
The Aggies get replaced by Notre Dame. Boise State would do the same if it could.

Another vote for Kellen Moore [Bleacher Report]
Bush Hamdan not available for comment.

Rivals' countdown reaches No. 3 [Rivals.com]
USC and Georgia still to come--most likely in that order.

Recap of rule changes [Rivals.com]
Clock changes may shorten games from 3 hours, 45 minutes to 3 hours, 40 minutes.

Life Coach: did somebody say Lagoon?

The Life Coach believes that there are no stupid questions, just stupid Vandal fans who ask questions. His purpose is to shepherd Bronco Nation to the calm waters of illumination, guiding them through their perfunctory problems with grace, flair, and competent advice. Got a question for the Life Coach? Email him at OneBroncoNationUnderGod@gmail.com.

Life Coach,
I heard the WAC media convention was in Salt Lake City this year. How much time do you think the journalists spent at Lagoon?
Snoopy in Silverwood

Half to two-thirds. Unless you have a specific reason for being in Salt Lake – and the WAC media convention is not a real reason – then you will spend most of your time at Lagoon. I mean, for real – what’s not to like? There are rides, carnival games, candy apples, and Mormon hotties. Lagoon is the Disneyland of the Great Salt Basin – minus the cleanliness and joy.

But I hear that that weekend is going to be “Lagoon: Get WACd!” Journalists are going to go crazy.

Life Coach,
In regards to new Bronco radio color guy Jadon Dailey, should it matter that he has as much announcing experience as I do?
Sincerely, guy who has never announced anything ever


It only matters when he messes up. Anytime he makes a mistake or isn’t funny or spot-on with a comment – we will all say to each other, “Man, how old is this guy? I could do this way better than this little kid, respectively.” But if he is awesome, then we will all be like, “It is great having a fresh perspective in the booth. This guy is so much better than David Augusto!"

So should it matter that Jadon Dailey has as much announcing experience as you do? Only time will tell…

Life Coach,
I am a Boise state alum and citizen of Bronco Nation who unfortunately had to leave our beloved state capitol to pursue a graduate degree at Idaho State University. I can see the Idaho State football team practice through the windows of my classes and can't help but weep at the thought that I have to wait another month until I can watch Boise State smear them across the new Blue field turf. I was wondering... since it was brought to my attention that Boise state is supposed to beat Idaho State by like 44 points (according to some odds wizards out there), is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean, if we win by 43, did we let everyone down? Should we hang our heads in shame if we only beat Idaho State by 6 touchdowns? Please put this in perspective for me.
Perplexed in Pocatello

First of all, this is a great problem to have. I remember the worries of BSU fans used to be a lot scarier when we were getting our you-know-what's handed to us by South Carolina and Arkansas and almost every Big Sky team. So if we keep this in perspective – really, it is not a problem at all.

But, on a personal note, if we only win by 43, we should count that as a moral loss because Idaho State will be counting that as a moral victory.

And now that we are good, we hate moral victories.

Monday: Links with experience

Story of the day:

WAC coaches favor, ignore early signing period  [Statesman]

Much has been made of the proposal of an early signing period for college football. Strangely enough, even the WAC seems interested

"I'm 100 percent for it," Louisiana Tech coach Derek Dooley said. "You would save some money so you don't have to keep seeing guys and babysit and prevent the negative recruiting that comes after a commitment. It would prevent (other) schools from getting in and trying to confuse and manipulate."

The news is strange considering that there have been hardly any early commitments in the conference outside of the nine from Boise State. What difference would an early signing period make then? Do WAC schools enjoy not meeting deadlines? Are they in a rush to be turned down? Are they hoping impressionable high school kids would be more akin to bad decisions earlier in the year?

Of course, not everyone is thrilled about an early signing period, although the issue with this particular program might be its anathema to recruiting in general.

"I still like to evaluate kids during their senior year," Utah State coach Brent Guy said. "I want to see a guy get better from his junior to senior year and keep improving. I wouldn't use it."

Adding, "I hardly use the one we have now!"

Other links:

Clady's contract worth $17.5 million [AP]
$11.5 in guarantees, one wild night at Six Flags Denver.

BSU schedule featured on Wiz of Odds [Wizard of Odds]
Complete with predictable Ian Johnson age joke.

NFL-caliber Boise State QBs [BNN]
Forget who's starting! Who's third-string NFL material?

Fresno State wants to go to the BCS [Honolulu Advertiser]
Aw, they're jealous.

Oregon suspends starting linebacker [Yahoo! Sports]
Nate Potter breathes sigh of relief.

LaTech loses four players [ESPN.com]
Suspension, academics, transferring, indifference to LaTech football.

WAC has work to do [Statesman]
Breaking news: Idaho not pulling its weight.

Headlines from WAC media convention

With the WAC Football Preview (motto: "What happens in Salt Lake, stays in Salt Lake") out of the way, we can finally turn our thoughts toward the start of the college football season. Not that we weren't already anyway.

The media convention was a typical, predictable yakfest between obliging players and coaches and opportunistic media members, but that's not to say that it wasn't without some interesting stories.

Here are some of the highlights:

Boise State tidbits

Ian Johnson = media dreamboat

The most popular player in Salt Lake City was Boise State RB Ian Johnson. The buzz around Johnson wasn't quite at the level of last year's convo, which had extra hype due to the Fiesta Bowl win. Still, he provided plenty of good quotes, and several media outlets were able to cull somewhat original stories from the interviews.

No insurance policy against injury

• Johnson has chosen not to follow the financial footsteps of previous college stars in taking out an insurance policy to protect against a career-ending injury. Here's hoping that US Bank savings account holds up!

Kickoff return duties are his

• "The secret's out," Johnson said, smiling.
  Worst kept secret ever.

Speaking in third person; OBNUG likes

• “It’s definitely not as crazy,” Johnson said. “It’s been great because it’s given me time to focus on the couple issues I have — being a great husband and being the best Ian Johnson I can be for the upcoming season.”

Ian Johnson believes in Ian Johnson

• "I'm going to step up and I'm going to put this team on my back," Johnson said Thursday at the WAC football media preview. " I've gotten myself ready to take the hits for a full season and to be a punishing back for a full season. The fact that I have guys biting at my heels, I've got to prove that I am better than them and that they can't just come out and play without us skipping a beat."

Could have played in Hawaii Bowl

• Apparently, he told the coaches he was healthy enough to play. Let the conspiracy theories begin!
  "They never asked the question (whether I could play), my number was never called," Ian Johnson said. "I told them at the beginning of the game that I was ready... I try not to show too much emotion. It was a call that was made for the team and if you feel the best way to go is someone else I can be a little angry but I'm going to accept it."

Coach Pete's cryptic analysis of Johnson

• "One of the things that's probably going to help Ian is the depth that we have at that position," Petersen said. "We don't have to play him every down and hopefully get him to last the season and also to be pushed a little bit by some of these other guys that we have."

Taking the Taylor Tharp approach to QB competition

The Boise State coaches learned their lesson last year about not jumping to conclusions in the search for a starting quarterback.

“It worked for us before to be patient and work this thing out,” Petersen said. If by "worked out," you are referring solely to the New Mexico State game, then yes.

No Jeremy Childs news until August 4, so stop asking!

"I'll still say the same thing (about Childs)," Petersen said. "When we get back, we'll see. If everything checks out when we get back on the fourth, then he's a go. We'll probably put that whole thing to rest on the fourth."

Mike T. Williams not as popular as Ian Johnson

Photographic proof here.

WAC rivals tidbits

Colin Kaepernick to start at Nevada

"There is no quarterback controversy at the University of Nevada,” said Wolfpack head coach Chris Ault, obviously referring to the fact that Kaepernick could hardly be defined as a "quarterback." According to Ault, the skinny-legged "Kap" has some work to do in order to become a polished product, especially in the "noun" area. “Last year, he was a thrower, not a passer,” Ault said.

Taylor Bennett forgot to transfer his skills


The fate of the Louisiana Tech program rests in the hands of Georgia Tech transfer QB Taylor Bennett. Someone might want to let him know.

Sophomore Ross Jenkins emerged from spring practice as the starting quarterback, with Bennett as the backup. Perhaps the ACC is a lot worse than we anticipated.

SJSU excited about RB, oblivious to expectations

San Jose State, one of several mediocre teams purported to make a push in the WAC this year, received good news when former starter Yonus Davis was granted a sixth year of eligibility...and immediately started printing WAC champion T-shirts.

Holbrook confuses bulking up with Carl's Jr

New Mexico State quarterback Chase Holbrook wanted to add some weight this offseason to be able to absorb the hits he'll take this year. Mission very accomplished.

Holbrook will weigh in at 245 pounds this season. Maybe the motivational Jared Lorenzen wall poster wasn't the best choice.

Utah State embraces idea of depth

Even if the wins don't come this year for Utah State, at least their players will be less tired. The Aggies had little more than 50 players in total last season, but thanks to the recruiting prowess of Brent Guy ("We have XBox!"), Utah State will be able to field a full roster. Not necessarily a good roster, but a full one.

Greg McMackin has not watched the NFL for years

ESPN.com's Graham Watson made the mistake of assuming Hawaii head coach Greg McMackin follows football. Her bad.

GW: So you're going to play DB Ryan Mouton on offense. What went into that decision?
GM: He's so quick. He's got God-given quickness. He's a big playmaker. I just really like him. He's a big-play guy. He ran a kickoff back, he ran a touchdown back on defense, and we can just throw out a screen and let him do his thing.
GW: Is he in the Devin Hester-type mold?
GM: Who?
GW: The guy from Chicago? Uh, how about Deion Sanders?
GM: Oh, yeah, like Deion Sanders.

Sources

• Idaho Press-Tribune
• Idaho Statesman
• Honolulu Advertiser
• Scott Slant
• Reno Gazette-Journal
• Idaho Statesman WAC roundup
• ESPN.com's non-BCS blog

Ryan Clady signs with Broncos, has newfound riches

  
Former Boise State OT Ryan Clady has signed with the Denver Broncos, according to the Idaho Statesman.

The deal is believed to be worth $20 million over six years and was completed in time for the Boise State star to join the team’s first workout.

Last year's 12th overall pick, RB Marshawn Lynch, received a five-year, $19 million deal.

Training camp for the Broncos (the Denver ones) began today.

Denver Broncos sign Clady [Statesman]

Friday: Links with regret

We'll recap the WAC media convention later today. Lots of good things to learn.

Story of the day:

Coach Pete reveals roster updates [Statesman]

At the WAC media convention yesterday, Coach Pete had a veritable laundry list of roster turnover to discuss, including some disappointing news about two potentially exciting recruits.

Linebacker Jack Sula of Carson, Calif., told the Broncos staff that he will not join the team because of family issues, Petersen said.

Van Drumgoole of Vallivue High, a speedy wide receiver, plans to attend a junior college instead of Boise State to improve his academic record, Petersen said. The Broncos had planned to grayshirt him.

Petersen also said that OL Paul Lucariello's BSU career is over due to medical reasons, and DL Phillip Edwards and DL Kapono Rawlins-Crivello will not be returning to the team. Spencer Gerke, an incoming will recruit, will be the only one to grayshirt out of the incoming class.

There was no word on WR Jeremy Childs, and there was even less of a word on the starting quarterback.

Other links:

USA Today picks Boise State [USA Today]
And if USA Today says it, it must be true.

Alex Guerrero returns home [Fight Fight BSU]
The afl2 playoff chase is so on!

SJSU player arrested, keeps scholarship [ESPN.com]
Probably because no one else wanted it.

Dinwiddie's reign over CFL begins [Winnipeg Sun]
450 yards passing? Game-winning touchdown? Sounds like Dinwiddie to us.

The name says it all [Holbrook4Heisman]
Thanks for the tip, Graham Watson. Or rather, no thanks.

Oregon picked third in Pac-10 [ESPN.com]
One more reason to be scared.