After bowl streak snapped, San Jose State looks to rebuild for another run in 2026

After falling far short of expectations in the San Jose State football plan will have a very different look next fall The Spartans picked to finish third in the Mountain West preseason media poll went - and finished in a three-way tie for ninth place finishing ahead of only Colorado State San Jose State s unprecedented run of three straight bowl appearances was snapped and head coach Ken Niumatalolo who just completed his second season with the Spartans will have a vastly different-looking staff and roster in On the field the Spartans will have a new quarterback to succeed senior Walker Eget the defense will lose two-time all-conference linebacker Jordan Pollard and star receiver Danny Scudero might consider another trip to the transfer portal The Spartans also are expected to sign a new kicker San Jose State s head coach Ken Niumatalolo speaks to the unit on the field during a challenge against Idaho in the first quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Niumatalolo s coaching staff is undergoing an overhaul Derrick Odum the longest tenured defensive coordinator in project history and special teams coordinator Joe Palcic were fired with two games remaining Offensive line coach John Estes and cornerbacks coach Greg Burns were let go after the season-ending loss to Fresno State None of us liked how we finished Niumatalolo announced It s just my job to make sure I get this right and we feel good about specific of the guys we are talking to San Jose State finished the season last in the Mountain West in scoring defense points allowed per competition and ninth in total passing defense yards allowed per contest After Odum was let go inside linebackers coach Bojay Filimoeatu took over as the interim defensive coordinator for the games against Fresno State and San Diego State The Spartans held SDSU to total yards and points However the defense allowed yards and points against Fresno State in a contest that also saw the Spartans turn the ball over five times Niumatalolo commented Filimoeatu had done enough to at least put his name into consideration for the full time job Against two tough teams these past two weeks as a first time coordinator I ve been impressed with them schematically and with the ability to get our guys to play Niumatalolo commented It s very evident they play hard for Bojay Niumatalolo noted he has had a large number of inquiries about the position from outside the building PORTAL POWER One of the biggest success stories this season was Scudero who transferred to his hometown Spartans from Sacramento State and leads the FBS with receiving yards on receptions and had ten touchdown receptions The challenge now for San Jose State is not to lose Scudero once the transfer portal opens for FBS players on Jan There s a lot of people after him Niumatalolo declared Niumatalolo hopes Scudero an Archbishop Mitty High graduate will see his breakthrough season as a reason to stay San Jose State's Danny Scudero catches the ball against Hawaii's Elijah Palmer during the second quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Nov Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group That was our sell last year to him at this time because we had Nick Nash We stated him come here and that s you Niumatalolo stated The one good thing this year is at least we can tell him we were true to our word Niumatalolo concedes that if a Power Four school has its sights set on Scudero SJSU does not have the tools to compete in a bidding war When people throw out the numbers that they do it s staggering Niumatalolo revealed It won t be comparable but I hope we can put together a good enough package to at least make him think Largest part Power Four schools start with a minimum recruiting budget of around million an amount Group of Six schools such as San Jose State can t muster up Obviously we re not even close to that Niumatalolo stated We ll try our best to get as much money to recruit as we can It was estimated that Group of Six teams will average around million in revenue sharing in the - academic calendar year according to NIL-NCAA com WHO S AT QB With Eget out of eligibility Niumatalolo has identified three quarterbacks to be in the mix to compete for the starting job next year Tama Amisone and Robert McDaniel made appearances this season as true freshmen and Daniel Rolovich son of Cal interim head coach Nick Rolovich is part of the Spartans recruiting class Another candidate could arrive via the transfer portal It s definitely on the table if we are able to find an older guy in the portal Niumatalolo disclosed San Jose State's Tama Amisone runs with the ball against Idaho s Matt Irwin in the first quarter at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose Calif on Saturday Sept Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Amisone threw for yards three interceptions and zero touchdowns across passing attempts As a dual-threat quarterback who was used in design run packages early in the season Amisone rushed for yards on attempts and scored his only career touchdown on the ground McDaniel who only completed three passes in in limited playing time was one of the last guys to join the band arriving as a spring camp transfer from UCLA It s unfair to judge him based on what happened last year because he didn t get as a large number of reps as everybody else during the season Niumatalolo revealed He won t have that excuse this next season QUICK KICK After San Jose State missed of its field goal attempts Niumatalolo declared getting a kicker in the transfer portal is one of the unit s top priorities this offseason I ll be honest last year I made a mistake and just offered kickers scholarships Niumatalolo noted We have to do a better job of offering people specific revenue sharing like everyone else does especially in that position Related Articles San Jose State finishes rough season with blowout loss to Fresno State What to know before San Jose State faces Fresno State San Jose State to start true freshman at QB for first time in the s San Jose State loses quarterback Walker Eget in - loss to first-place San Diego State What to know before San Jose State kicks off at San Diego State Senior Denis Lynch who transferred from USC was -for- on field goal attempts including missing two under -yard field goals in a - loss to Stanford and a probable encounter winning -yard field goal in a - loss to Central Michigan As bad as it s been at the back end of the season if we kick three field goals we re - Niumatalolo commented after the - loss in the season finale to Fresno State If we kick three field goals we are going to a bowl competition That s kind of crazy to think but it s really the truth NEW-LOOK AHEAD A long offseason of preparation awaits for the Spartans and when they return to the field it ll be in a new-look Mountain West Boise State Fresno State Colorado State San Diego State and Utah State are all leaving the Mountain West for the Pac- next season UTEP and Northern Illinois football only are joining the conference which will have nine teams for the season San Jose State s complete schedule has not been issued but includes four non-conference games Sept at Eastern Michigan and home games Sept vs Cal Poly Sept vs Fresno St and Nov vs Stanford Related Articles WSU football On the Rogers exit Cantwell s response names to consider and another twist of fate on the Palouse College Cup Aikey s goal lifts Stanford to - 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