San Jose State freshman running back Steve Chavez-Soto gets congratulated on one of his two touchdowns in a 35-28 Spartans win over New Mexico at CEFCU Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2025. (Photo courtesy of San Jose State).
After falling far short of expectations in 2025, the San Jose State football program will have a very different look next fall.
The Spartans, picked to finish third in the Mountain West preseason media poll, went 3-9 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 2026.
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.
Niumatalolo’s coaching staff is undergoing an overhaul. Derrick Odum, the longest tenured defensive coordinator in program 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 said. “It’s just my job to make sure I get this right and we feel good about some of the guys we are talking to.”
San Jose State finished the season last in the Mountain West in scoring defense (32 points allowed per game) and ninth in total passing defense (245.25 yards allowed per game).
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 248 total yards and 25 points. However, the defense allowed 397 yards and 41 points against Fresno State in a game that also saw the Spartans turn the ball over five times.
Niumatalolo said 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 said. “It’s very evident they play hard for Bojay.”
Niumatalolo noted he has had many 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 1,291 receiving yards on 88 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. 2.
“There’s a lot of people after him,” Niumatalolo said.
Niumatalolo hopes Scudero, an Archbishop Mitty High graduate, will see his breakthrough season as a reason to stay.
“That was our sell last year to him at this time because we had Nick Nash. We told him ‘come here and that’s you,’” Niumatalolo said. “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 resources to compete in a bidding war.
“When people throw out the numbers that they do, it’s staggering,” Niumatalolo said. “It won’t be comparable, but I hope we can put together a good enough package to at least make him think.”
Most Power Four schools start with a minimum recruiting budget of around $20 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 said. “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 $3 million in revenue sharing in the 2025-26 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 said.
Amisone threw for 205 yards, three interceptions and zero touchdowns across 50 passing attempts. As a dual-threat quarterback who was used in design run packages early in the season, Amisone rushed for 160 yards on 35 attempts and scored his only career touchdown on the ground.
McDaniel, who only completed three passes in 2025 in limited playing time, was one of the last guys to join the team, 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 many reps as everybody else during the season,” Niumatalolo said. “He won’t have that excuse this next season.”
QUICK KICK
After San Jose State missed 11 of its 23 field goal attempts, Niumatalolo said getting a kicker in the transfer portal is one of the team’s top priorities this offseason.
“I’ll be honest, last year I made a mistake and just offered (kickers) scholarships,” Niumatalolo said. “We have to do a better job of offering people some revenue sharing like everyone else does, especially in that position.”
Senior Denis Lynch, who transferred from USC, was 8-for-16 on field goal attempts, including missing two under 30-yard field goals in a 30-29 loss to Stanford and a potential game winning 33-yard field goal in a 16-14 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 6-6,” Niumatalolo said after the 41-14 loss in the season finale to Fresno State. “If we kick three field goals we are going to a bowl game. 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-12 next season.
UTEP and Northern Illinois (football only) are joining the conference, which will have nine teams for the 2026 season.
San Jose State’s complete 2026 schedule has not been released, but includes four non-conference games: Sept. 5 at Eastern Michigan and home games Sept. 12 vs. Cal Poly, Sept. 19 vs. Fresno St and Nov. 28 vs. Stanford.
Originally published at Aaron Johnson