2011: 5-7 (3-4 WAC, T-4th)
Mike MacIntyre enters his third season as the head coach of
the San Jose Spartans.
MacIntyre led San Jose
State to a 5-7 record in 2011, including a one-point win at home against
Hawai’i. The Spartans also welcome two new
position coaches to their 2012 squad, Fred Guidici and Brian Lindgren.
Guidici, an alumnus of San Jose State, was
most recently the head coach of Menlo College in Atherton, Calif. from
2009-11. He will be the acting Spartans
special teams coordinator and running backs coach.
Lindgren joins the San Jose State staff as
the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He held the same positions at Northern
Arizona for three seasons from 2009-11.
Junior receiver Noel Grigsby headlines a young and dangerous
receiving core that will be the Spartans greatest strength in 2012.
Grigsby was named to the All-WAC Second Team
last year as a sophomore, catching 89 passes for 886 yards. Grigsby’s 89 receptions set a San Jose State
school single-season record in that category.
He enters this year ranked 12th nationally among FBS players for career
catches per game.
Senior tight end Ryan Otten, junior receiver Chandler Jones,
and sophomore receiver Jabari Carr round out the Spartans deep threats. The trio, along with Grigsby, accounted for
235 of 297 receptions and all 13 Spartans touchdowns in 2011.
Otten was named to the All-WAC First Team, and
was one of only two FBS tight ends in 2011 to rank in the top-100 in receptions
per game, receiving yards per game, and total receiving yards. He finished the year catching 52 passes for
739 yards and five touchdowns.
Quarterback play could be the only thing holding back the
San Jose State receivers this year. Last
year’s starting quarterback Matt Faulkner graduated, leaving an opening for
junior Dasmen Stewart.
Stewart was the
backup last season and completed 40 percent of his passes in four appearances. He will be protected by senior tackle David
Quessenberry, who in 2011 was named to the All-WAC Second Team and has started
in every game since the 2010 season.
In total, San Jose State returns seven offensive starters and
five defensive starters.
Seniors defensive end Travis Johnson and safety James Orth,
and junior linebacker Keith Smith return to the Spartans defense after
finishing 2011 as three of the team’s top four tacklers.
Smith was the team’s leading tackler with 50
and was named to the All-WAC Second team.
Orth was second with 44 tackles and led the team with four
interceptions. Johnson was named to the
2011 All-WAC First Team.
The Spartans return punter Harrison Waid but lose their
starting kicker Jens Alvernik. Alvernik finished
last year 18-for-25 on field goal tries, including 4-for-8 on attempts between
40-49 yards. Waid begins this season
ranked 12th among active FBS punters with a career average of 43.38 yards per
punt as a junior.
The Spartans will be a competitive team if their
underclassmen can perform at a high level, and a possible dark horse to win the
WAC if their passing game lives up to its potential.
No comments:
Post a Comment