Matt Hamilton (@MattHamilton19): “What does our QB room look like presently? Is Butter excited about the new OC?”
SJSU’s quarterback room features its new commit Dorian Hale, Jay Butterfield, Trevor Voss, Walker Eget, Anthony Garcia and Alonzo Contreras.
The Spartans’ newly minted offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Craig Stutzmann told me Butterfield is excited to learn his “Spread-N-Shred” offense at Ken Niumatalolo’s introductory press conference. But that was before Hale, a bounce back from Sacramento State, committed to SJSU. So I wouldn’t be surprised if Butterfield’s initial excitement has decreased. Or, maybe, the added competition lit a fire under him.
Nov 19, 2022; Orlando, Florida, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo looks on during the second quarter against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports
Nicolas Sarabia (@sjrugby): “Given our current roster and next years schedule, what’s the early predictions for next seasons record?”
I have SJSU going 4-8 in year one of the Niumatalolo era. There are just too many guys to replace — nine potentially on offense, including quarterback — and the Mountain West slate could be dangerous. That said, I do think the Spartans will upset a woeful Stanford at home and use that win as proof they could return to bowl games heading into the 2025 campaign.
Keep in mind, my prediction comes to you months before the 2024 Spring Game.
Here goes:
Sacramento State – W
Kennesaw State Owls – W
Washington State Cougars – L
Stanford – W
Air Force – L
Colorado State – L
Fresno State – L
Boise State – L
Nevada – W
UNLV – L
Wyoming – L
Oregon State – L
Jenni Steele (@JenniSteele): “What can you tell us about the new OL coach?”
Nothing at the moment because no official announcement has been made. But once it is, I’ll do an in-depth look on that and all future staff hirings.
San Jose State head coach Ken Niumatalolo must prove he can succeed without triple-option.
The idea that San Jose State could be in a 2024 New Year’s Six Bowl is hard to picture – scratch that – it’s unfathomable. SJSU has finished in the Associated Press Top-25 poll once and may not return nine of its 10 All-Mountain West honorees from last year.
And yet, newly minted SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo said that was his goal in his introductory press conference Tuesday afternoon.
But Niumatalolo’s lofty goals shouldn’t be the topic of conversation right now. Rather, the focus needs to be on whether or not Niumatalolo can build a sustainable winner in San Jose without the triple-option.
Sep 10, 2022; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo walks through the bench during the first half against the Memphis Tigers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
He used it as a head coach for 15 years at Navy en route to winning 109 games – 55 more than any other coach – and from 2015-19, was selected as American Athletic Conference coach of the year three times as the Midshipmen finished in the Associated Press Top-25 poll four times. This was all done while recruiting smaller, less talented players who had to meet the Naval Academy’s high academic enrollment standards. Plus, players would have to serve after their playing career so he couldn’t recruit to offering players the chance to play in the NFL.
The answer to this conundrum? Running the triple-option.
But then came the 11 combined wins from 2020-22 which led to athletic director Chet Gladchuk Jr. relieving Niumatalolo of his duties.
The downturn was a byproduct of the Navy being unable to offer NIL (name, image and likeness) deals, utilize the transfer portal and players weren’t granted an extra “Covid Year.”
Now at SJSU, Niumatalolo can access all of those. Except, he won’t be running the offensive scheme that he used to build his resume.
Inside the Spartans’ media room, while talking to Niumatalolo and his newly hired offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Craig Stutzmann, it was easy to believe he could adapt. Never mind the fact that SJSU may not return 10 of its 11 starters on the offense from last year.
Stutzmann beamed about the simplicity of his “Spread-N-Shred” offense and how excited SJSU’s quarterback room of Jay Butterfield, Anthony Garcia and Tyler Voss are to run it.
The style is adapted from offensive mastermind June Jones’ “Run and Shoot” and has yielded success at Stutzmann’s stops at Division III Emory and Henry, Hawaii, Washington State and last year at Texas State.
As TSU’s wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, Stutzmann helped it rank top-15 nationwide in total offense (457.6 yards/game) and 12th in the country in scoring offense (36.7 points/game).
Stutzmann’s vision will balance with Niumatalolo’s and former SJSU offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kevin McGiven’s who will move to wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator. On the surface, this can seem awkward. McGiven was foundational to previous SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro’s success and has been the Spartans’ offensive coordinator since 2018.
“I get it, it’s a difficult transition for him [McGiven]. You know, ‘What does it look like with the players, what does it look like for him [McGiven], what does it look like within the building?’” said Stutzmann, who worked with McGiven at Memphis in 2010. “ … I think Coach Ken even talked about it. Everywhere I’ve gone that we were successful – everybody – all the coaches were able to check their egos at the door.”
Therein lies the complexity of introductory press conferences.
Everything seems fine now, but what’ll happen in the hypothetical scenario where SJSU’s new pieces aren’t gelling and McGiven doesn’t see eye-to-eye with Stutzmann? Will egos remain checked at the door?
While shepherding the Midshipmen to 10 bowl games and six bowl wins, he turned down opportunities at bigger programs.
“I had several PAC-12 in-person interviews, a couple of BIG-10 in-person interviews, and when we [Navy] were humming, every year I would get two to three interviews and people didn’t even know,” Niumatalolo shared. “When I talked to people, some of them were very enticing. It was a lot of money. But I was at peace with my job so I wasn’t looking to go.”
Then, after he was let go in 2022, those opportunities decreased.
Niumatalolo guessed that “some of it was because of the triple-option. ‘Could I do other stuff?’… I’ve also found in this world that most of it is like, ‘What’s the new hot toy?’ and I was doing really good at first and I was the new toy many people wanted to play with and then you start to lose and then it’s like, ‘Don’t forget about me,’” he joked.
This past coaching carousel, Niumatalolo interviewed at San Diego State, but didn’t get the job. As a result, he was going to stay at UCLA for the second straight year and become its tight ends coach.
Then SJSU AD Jeff Konya came into the picture and offered him an opportunity to replace Brent Brennan last week. “We asked the direct question and we weren’t really interested in being Air Force 2.0,” Konya said … “We’re going to be running a version of the air raid in the Spread-N-Shred. We are going to be a really fun team to watch.”
Programs that turned down or looked away from Niumatalolo are justified in doing so. But is that fair? Niumatalolo used the triple-option at Navy as a coach for 25 years out of necessity – not by choice. And he succeeded until college football’s changing landscape had other plans.
But whether it was or wasn’t fair, Niumatalolo can now prove that he turned the triple-option into a success. Not, the triple-option turned him into a success.
His head coaching career and the Spartans’ continuing their unheralded boom may hinge upon it.
Personally, I’m using one of those really long, retractable leashes.
I’m not expecting much the first two seasons. Hopefully he could win 4-6 games so fans and the donor base don’t lose belief in him. But let’s face it. Niumatalolo is running a completely foreign offensive scheme with an offensive coordinator he’s never coached with before and several of SJSU’s best players have either graduated or hit the transfer portal.
Recapping today: – Chubba Purdy decommitted from SJSU and transferred to Nevada – RB Quali Conley hit the portal – LB Bryun Parham hit the portal – DE Tre Smith hit the portal – DL Soane Toia hit the portal
No. Leadership transition is always a hectic thing. Those same players who hit the portal could realize they won’t find a better opportunity than SJSU and be back in San Jose by next fall. Plus, Niumatalolo has built a career on developing under-recruited talent and did so under stiff academic restrictions, too.
Sep 10, 2022; Annapolis, Maryland, USA; Navy Midshipmen head coach Ken Niumatalolo walks through the bench during the first half against the Memphis Tigers at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Yes. He’s essentially starting from scratch and doesn’t even know what his entire staff will look like nearly a week out from February.
Other than Sacramento State and Kennesaw State, I don’t have SJSU as a clear favorite over any other team. But let’s remember it’s January 22. Lot’s can change.
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Ricky Delgado (@RickyDe70535587): “How much change in culture do you anticipate? Coach Ken is not a carbon copy of Brennan but to my understanding, he amasses some of the same qualities.”
I think similar qualities start and end with an ambition to be a leaer and win football games.
If SJSU was to make another Hawaii Bowl appearance, I wouldn’t expect Niumatalolo to run shirtless with swim trunks, Viper shades and a thick coat of sunscreen on his nose to announce it like Brennan did.
Which isn’t bad. Maybe the Spartans could use someone who is more of a heavy.
King Tut (@KingByari): “I don’t know about this hire. Safe I guess but no splash. Offensively I know he is not bringing in triple option but that’s all he knows. We need a young splashy OC – who will our next OC be?”
Drumroll please … the new offensive coordinator is Craig Stutzmann who comes to SJSU a year after guiding Texas State to a top-15 ranking nationwide in total offense (457.6 yards/game) and 12th in the country in scoring offense (36.7 points/game).
On paper it makes sense and offers hope that Niumatalolo can succeed without the triple option.
Sarah (@Smwallace06): “How many assistant coaches do you anticipate being back next year? And related, how many will they lose to Arizona/going with Brennan?”
Very hard to tell right now. But the only lock is OC Kevin McGiven who is now passing game coordinator/WR coach after Niumatalolo hired Stutzmann to become OC/QB coach.
As of right now, Alonzo “Zo” Carter (SJSU associate HC/RB Coach/Recruiting Coordinator), Joe Seumalo (DL coach), Josh Oglesby (OL coach), Matt Adkins (TE coach) and Cullen Carroll (strength and conditioning coach) are following Brennan to Arizona.
If Stutzmann doesn’t bring anyone in, it’ll be a battle between redshirt sophomores Jay Butterfield and Tyler Voss and true freshman Anthony Garcia. I’ve considered the job Butterfield’s to lose, but with a new OC/QB coach I think the playing field has evened out. Simply becomes whoever is best at running Stutzmann’s “Spread and Shred” offense will play.
I’m curious to see if Stutzmann brings Jordan Shoemaker over from Texas State. In their first year together, that helped Texas State rank as a top-15 offense in the country in 2023.
Or, if he goes with Mark Weber who was on the same staff as him at UH in 2019 when the Rainbow Warriors posted the nation’s fifth-rated passing attack and at Washington State in 2020 when the Cougars had the Pac-12’s top red zone offense and third-best passing game.
Playa (@J_Rawwbante): “Do you expect to see additional incoming transfers anytime soon?”
100%.
Just need some time for Niumatalolo to put the rest of his staff together.
I’m leaning toward AD’s feeling that he was too tied to the structure and triple option at Navy to deliver success elsewhere after he was let go in 2022. It could also be him not wanting to take a job for the sake of taking a job.
If he stayed at UCLA for another season in 2024, his name could build buzz worthy of him getting looks he couldn’t have before in the 2024-25 carousel.
Charles Myer (@CharlesMyer_UT): “Let’s go!! I love the hire, but truly hope he does not try to implement the triple option.”
Don’t worry he won’t, although, I am a bit disappointed.
I think it’d be fun for the funding of a school that brands itself as cunning and progressive to rely upon an offense that’s conservative and old.
Matt Hamilton (@MattHamilton19): “I think it’s a great hire. Ten winning seasons and three-time coach of the year in the AAC. A year at UCLA gave him time to reflect and experience more growth. Could this actually be a great shot in the arm for our program?”
I think so.
If Niumatalolo can adjust to a completely new set of circumstances, then he’ll succeed. I just don’t think fans will feel as attached to him as they did with Brennan – and that’s fine. Because at the end of the day, want to know how to make a fan and donor base like you? Win games.
Karl (@Born_ont): “San Jose State University. I extend my sincerest wishes for nothing but the utmost success to you all. Congratulations on making a truly exceptional hiring decision for San Jose State University. I genuinely wish you all nothing but the very best of luck moving forward.”
Cue the Epic Handshake meme and photoshop a Spartan logo over Arnold Schwarzenegger and a Wildcat logo over Carl Weathers.
Probably not. I don’t imagine him being promoted from special teams coordinator and linebackers coach from someone who didn’t initially hire him.
San Jose State head coach Brent Brennan reacts to a play during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Auburn, Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022, in Auburn, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
“Arizona AD Dave Heeke was fired for “financial & operational mismanagement, resulting in an athletic department financial ‘disaster,’ loss of major donors & mishandling of former coach Jedd Fisch’s contract.”
And according to 247 Sports’ Jason Scheer, “There is an audit on Arizona Athletic Department that will be released within the next week or so and the results were not good.”
If Arizona president Robert C. Robbins also gets fired, Brennan could lose his two most important supporters. Simultaneously Brennan better hope that no wrongdoing found in that audit could be deemed by the NCAA as ‘sanctionable.’
Chris Daniel (@ChrisDanielSRA): “1) When is the introductory News Conference, 2) Any word on which coaches are staying, 3) When will coach make his pitch to the players (and try to stop the portal hemorrhaging)?”
1) Not sure, but likely within the next week. 2) That list is mentioned above. 3) I believe that initial pitch was made Monday morning but likely to be an ongoing one.
San Jose State Hires Craig Stutzmann As New Offensive Coordinator
On Monday Jan. 22, San Jose State announced that Craig Stutzmann will be hired as the team’s new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Stutzmann’s hiring marks newly minted SJSU head coach Ken Niumatalolo’s first staff hire after replacing Brent Brennan who left for Arizona.
The move from Niumatalolo, the winningest head coach in Navy history, means current SJSU offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven will slide over to wide receiver and passing game coordinator.
Stutzmann comes to San Jose after guiding Texas State’s offense to the most yards per game (457.6) in the Sun Belt and the 12th-most points per game in the nation (36.7) last season.
“Having played for June Jones and working with Nick Rolovich in the run and shoot system, I’m looking forward to having the chance to bring the Spread-N-Shred offense to San José State,” Stutzmann said in an SJSU issued press release. “Coach Niumatalolo has been a coaching mentor to me from the beginning and I can’t wait to get started.”
His hiring is especially important because it answers a critical question: How will Niumatalolo transition away from the triple option? It was the only offense Niumatalolo ran in his 25 seasons as a coach at Navy and 15 as a head coach.
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From 2007-22, with Navy Niumatalolo at the helm, Navy went to 10 bowl games, and from 2015-19, he was named American Athletic Conference coach of the year three times and the Midshipmen had four AP Top 25 poll finishes.
With running back Quali Conley announcing he’d enter the transfer portal on Monday, SJSU’s offense won’t return its starting quarterback, top-two rushers, tight end and four offensive lineman from last year. It’s likely Conley will follow former SJSU associate head coach, running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Alonzo “Zo” Carter to Tuscon.
The news of Stutzmann’s hiring also comes hours after Brock Purdy’s younger brother, Chubba, flipped his transfer commitment from SJSU to Mountain West foe Nevada.
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Potential quarterbacks to run the “Spread-and-Shred” are Jay Butterfield, Trevor Voss, Anthony Garcia and Walker Eget. Although, it would be interesting to see if Stutzmann will try to get former LSU, Auburn and Texas State quarterback T.J. Finley to flip his commitment from Western Kentucky to SJSU.
Before Stutzmann was at TSU, he was at Utah Tech in 2022 and at Washington State for two seasons from 2020-21 as co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Cougars had the third-best passing attack in the conference in 2020. And while working for Rolovich at Hawaii, the Rainbow Warriors had the ninth-ranked passing offense in the nation in 2018 and fifth-rated passing attack in 2019.
Several years earlier, he coached Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota at Saint Louis High School.
In three seasons as a wide receiver at UH, Stutzmann totaled 2,025 receiving yards — fifth-most in school history.
It’ll be intriguing to see how SJSU’s offense will do with Stutzmann working alongside McGiven, who’ll help replace former Spartan wide receiver coach Eric Scott.
McGiven has been offensive coordinator at SJSU since 2018 after spending several seasons with Brennan at Oregon State and has been the Spartans quarterbacks coach since 2021.
There’s plenty of work cut out, but if the offense can adapt SJSU could make three-straight bowl games for the first time in program history.
