Never stop the fight

Imagine sitting on the bench, watching your teammates play the game that you love and all you can do is sit, grab your knee and watch.

Deontae Cooper knows what it means to fight for what you love.

The Spartans starting running back is 25 years old and is in his seventh season of college football.

He has torn his left ACL two times and the right one once, but the once-touted high school prospect from 2010 is still making plays in the backfield.

“I had some unfortunate luck when it came to camp,” Cooper said. “Torn ACL my first year so I was sidelined and then I rehabbed back too early and I re-tore it again.”

Cooper did not strain his focus on only football. The Spartans senior running back has had a strong showing the classroom, pursuing two bachelor's degrees and a masters degree.

“Before the injuries I didn’t think that far ahead,” Cooper said. “After the injuries I started thinking about my academics and how I can make the most of my situation.”

“I was highly recruited out of high school,” Cooper said. “I believed in a system up in Washington with coach Sarkisian and early had some success in spring ball.”

He was a four-star recruit out of Citrus Hill High School to the University of Washington. He began his Huskies career with an impressive spring showing in camp and had high hopes for the season.

But as the season grew closer, the injuries began to hit. In August of 2010, Cooper tore his ACL during practice and was promptly out for the season.

“I have been playing this game since I was eight years old and never missed a practice or a game,” Cooper said. “Getting hurt when I got to college was a shock to me.”

He rehabbed for a year before testing the knee out prior to the 2011 season, when he then blew out the same knee.

“The way I was raised watching my dad work so hard, having a twin brother and an older brother helped me get through it all,” Cooper said. “A lot of who I am today, my family shaped me and all of them played different parts.”

Cooper said he regrets having tried to push his knee too soon and wishes he waited longer for it to heal before getting back on the field.

A year later, after having fully rehabbed his knee the right way, Cooper’s bad luck continued as he tore his right ACL as well.

Despite all this heartache and turmoil of three ACL injuries, Cooper continued to play football and was awarded captain status prior to last season at Washington.

“I always knew that I worked hard,” Cooper said. “I found out more about my character and it forced me to be more consistent, be disciplined and build some mental toughness that I didn’t know was there.”

However, while he was finally ready to take the field, the Huskies had other plans, freshman running back Myles Gaskin took the spotlight and Cooper was left as the backup.

He decided that he needed a change of scenery and wanted to make sure that his legacy was  a success story, not one that ended with being left out.

“I just was really looking for a new start,” Cooper said. “One that would end on a high note and see what I could do with an opportunity like this.”

Cooper also said after watching how much success former Spartan Tyler Ervin had in the backfield for SJSU last season, it made him think believe that this would be a great place to end his college story.

All of Cooper’s teammates support everything he is trying to do on the field after recovering from the debilitating injuries he endured. Quarterback Kenny Potter said it is nice to have someone like him in the backfield to help take pressure off of himself on offense.

“I think that it is inspirational,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “He sets his goals high as a young student athlete and he doesn’t let an injury or something of that nature set him back.”

While the NCAA has strict rules on how many years an athlete can play at the Division 1 level (four years), they granted Cooper an additional year because of the injuries he went through.

“I love that Deontae was determined to get back on the field,” Caragher said. “He did a great job at the University of Washington, picked as a captain last year and brought his talents to San Jose State.”

From Saturday to Sunday

San Jose State football may not bring in the biggest name or blue-chip recruits that other colleges around the country may, but that does not mean it can’t compete with them at the highest level. The SJSU football program has its stamp branded all over the National Football League.

Two of the more prominent former Spartans have found a home in the NFL.

David Fales, former SJSU quarterback, now a member of the Baltimore Ravens, spent two seasons as a Spartan in 2012 and 2013. He led SJSU to its first and only appearance in the National rankings in 2012 (21st in the AP Poll).

“It was a perfect situation for me being close to home,” Fales said. “I feel like I came into a perfect situation where they had all the pieces set up and they just needed someone to throw the ball.”

Fales flourished as quarterback of the Spartans, going into his second season at SJSU he was projected to be a first round pick in the 2014 NFL draft.

“I feel like my whole college career, bouncing around and being around the coaches helped prepare me,” Fales said. “Just playing against good players and good teams definitely helped me get ready and helped me adjust.”

The move to the NFL was a major wake up call for Fales however, who had become accustomed to being the star on ---the roster.

“It was a really big transition,” Fales said. “You go from getting all the reps to having to share reps here everyday and you are not the guy anymore.”

The Chicago Bears took Fales in sixth round of the 2014 draft to be the backup to longtime starting quarterback Jay Cutler.

“He is someone that has been around the league for a long time and he knows a lot and has a lot of experience,” Fales said. “Being around him everyday was a big help and I am able to pick up stuff he does and he really took me under his wing and helped me.”

While Fales was predicted to have one of the biggest impacts any Spartan has had in the NFL over the past 10 years, cornerback Bene Benwikere stole the headlines.

Benwikere took the league by storm in his rookie year after getting drafted by the Carolina Panthers. He was named to the 2014 Pro Football Focus all-rookie team, Sports Illustrated all-rookie team and ESPN all-rookie team.

The Panther cornerback spent all four years of his college career as a Spartan from 2010 to 2013 before being drafted in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL draft.

“It was a rebuilding program and we got a new coach,” Benwikere said. “A lot of the new guys got a chance to play and I enjoyed myself.”

As a Spartan, Benwikere was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference and All-Mountain West Conference teams in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

“My very first year we only won one game,” Benwikere said. “But we grew as a team and by my junior year we went 11-2 and went to the Military Bowl and won that as well.”

Like Fales, Benwikere noticed the legitimate differences between college football and NFL on day one of training camp in 2014.

“The mental state of the game is the biggest change,” Benwikere said. “There are definitely guys that are a lot bigger and stronger and you just need to learn the mental state of the game.”

Earlier this year Benwikere came back to San Jose when the Panthers were preparing to play the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.

“It was an interesting experience because I was injured and wasn’t able to do as much,” Benwikere said. “The whole week was really fun, I was embraced by the coaching staff and a lot of players and fans came to visit me at the hotel.”

As a member of the Panthers, everyday Benwikere gets to work with the 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton.

“He’s a fun and energetic guy,” Benwikere said. “He is definitely a good competition and a good guy to be around and the energy he brings everyday is definitely great.”

Benwikere said many people think Newton is just a guy that messes around and has a good time but he is one of the most focused people he has met on a football field.

Football has been a huge part of both these players lives and has shaped them to be who they are today. They both said they want to set good examples for the current SJSU football players and show them that they can achieve their goals.

“It is great getting to bring back some of our former players to talk to the guys,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “Just a sense of pride for the opportunity to play pro football and they are good ambassadors for the school.”

Week 4 preview

The Spartans will head back on the road on Saturday for a matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones. It’s the first time the teams have matched up in a football game in 36 years.

Members of the Big-12 conference, the Cyclones are 0-3 and are coming off a rough outing against Texas Christian University.

The Spartans will look to try and capitalize on the tough start to the season for the Cyclones and try to improve to 2-2 for the second straight season.

The Cyclones are 3-0 lifetime against the Spartans, the most recent of which was on September 20, 1980 when they beat SJSU 27-6.

Utah’s defense give SJSU quarterbacks nightmares

It was no secret going into Saturday’s matchup against Utah that SJSU would have to play its best football to beat the Utes.

Photo by Kavin Mistry

Considering how well the Spartans bounced back last weekend against Portland State made the idea of a upset in week 3 more intriguing. The Utes defense left all those thoughts in the dust Saturday night at CEFCU Stadium.

It was nearly impossible for the Spartans to find any consistency on the offensive side of the ball, especially when the Utes’ D were flying across the line and attacking the quarterback.

“They have an outstanding defense,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “That is how we sputtered, especially playing a team with a defense that good.”

Utah’s defense and special teams caused three Spartan turnovers resulting in 17 points. Utah also sacked SJSU quarterbacks 10 times (Utah school record).

“They did a good job getting our quarterbacks,” Caragher said. “We tried changing it up to a three step drop to get the ball out more quickly and they still got pressure on the quarterback.”

The Spartans’ offensive line had no chance against the size and speed of the Utes’ defensive line which gave Spartan quarterbacks little to no time to make a play with the ball.

Quarterback Kenny Potter spent countless plays maneuvering in and out of the pocket with the football to avoid taking big sacks.

Photo by Kavin Mistry

“Their defense upfront is pretty impressive,” Potter said. “We did a good job fighting even though we made mistakes including myself, and I take ownership of those.”

The Spartans starting QB was forced from the game after a long scramble play late in the third quarter resulted in him hitting the ground hard and he came up limping.

“I was just trying to make a play,” Potter said. “I told my guys I am going to keep competing and I was going to go for the first down no matter what it looked like.”

Despite all the struggles offensively, SJSU could have found its quarterback of the future.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Love stepped up in the third quarter after Potter left the game and showed signs of life in the passing game.

“He did some nice things,” Caragher said. “He made some throws and made some plays.”

Love finished the game with 184 yards passing on 11 of 21 completions and connected with running back Zamore Zigler on a 46 yard touchdown.

Photo by Kavin Mistry

The running game was a lost cause against the Utes only recording 56 yards. The rushing attack has been up and down after going from 53 yards in week 1 to 409 in week 2.

The Spartans will have to gather themselves and check their wounds as they prepare for a tough road game against Iowa State on Saturday.

“We are optimistic about ourselves going forward,” Potter said. “We showed signs of good football out there but we just could not put it all together.”

The missing link

While the Spartans defense had another disappointing showing against the running attack, linebacker Christian Tago could be the answer.

“He does a great job on the sidelines as an extra set of eyes for us,” Spartans linebacker Frank Ginda said. “We are excited for him to come back soon.”

Photo by Kavin Mistry

Ginda said without him they are doing a pretty good job defensively, but he will only help them improve once he is able to get back on the field.

Tago is still on the mend from injury and Caragher said he will be out again this week against Iowa State, but once he returns, he will make an immediate impact.

A football story: Big Play Andre

It is not everyday that a San Jose State defender gets compared to the number one cornerback of the defending NFC Champion Carolina Panthers.

Cornerback Andre Chachere made two interceptions Saturday against Portland State. He is the first Spartan to pick off multiple passes in one game since current Panthers cornerback Bene Benwikere did in 2013.

The former Spartan was watching his old teammates play on Saturday and commented on Twitter about the play by Chachere, “keep reppin that number right young fella! Gotta get three though.”

Both Chachere and Benwikere wear the number 21 on their uniforms and both are the number one corners for their respective teams.

“I was not expecting to see that, usually I text him after the game and tell him how I did,” Chachere said. “When he saw it and tweeted it to me I thought that was pretty cool.”

Chachere’s football influence is not only through his former teammates who are now in the NFL, but through his father Derrick Chachere. The elder Chachere played seven years in the Arena Football League, five with the San Jose Sabercats.

“My dad, every since I was born, has been playing football,” Chachere said. “He got me into it and I have been playing since I was eight years old.”

Chachere said his dad is his football world, he talks to him before and after games and he looks up to him for advice on how to improve.

“When I was young we used to watch those little tapes that he had of his games,” Chachere said. “We watched on those old VHS tapes and it was amazing watching the great athlete that he was.”

He said he talks to his dad and little brother before every game as his pregame ritual to prepare for the game.

“The day before a game I go out and buy at least two or three Pedialytes,” Chachere said. “I got to drink all of those and then game day I wake up, come to the stadium and play some pump up music and watch a little film on the other team.”

Before every game he tells his teammates to just go out and dominate, they have prepared all week and game day is the chance to show what they are made of.

“My best friend of the team is number 10 Maurice McKnight, we came in together and we are as close as they get,” Chachere said. “We (the defense) are all a pretty chill group.”

On Saturday, Chachere’s two interceptions each helped change the game when Portland State was gaining momentum.

“That was the greatest feeling ever, knowing that we got the ball back for the offense,” Chachere said. “On the second one I saw Maurice tip the ball and it landed right in my hands and I took off thinking touchdown and I ran out of gas at the end.”

Previewing matchup against Utah

This Saturday the Spartans will welcome the undefeated Utah Utes to CEFCU stadium for the second home game of the season. The Utes are on the fringe of a national ranking this season.

“They are off to a great start and we will need to be at our best against them,” Caragher said. “

It will be the first time SJSU will host a Pac-12 opponent since Stanford came to town in 2006.

The biggest question will be if SJSU can effectively run its newly confident offense against the stout Utah defense?

Utah is coming off of a disappointing offensive performance against in-state rival BYU where they committed six turnovers. Despite this, the Utes still pulled out a 20-19 victory in large part because of its defense.

“The one thing that jumps out to you about them is the defensive line,” Caragher said. “They are very athletic and they look like tight ends and slot receivers at 290 or 300 pounds.”

Injuries

The Spartans will be without linebacker and defensive captain Christian Tago for the third straight week. Meanwhile, Tago is making significant improvement through his rehab.

Defensive back Brandon Monroe (concussion) and offensive lineman Nate Velichko (leg) are also out for Saturday’s game.

Attendance at CEFCU Stadium?

While the crowd was lively and loud through the first quarter last Saturday, by halftime, the student section had scarcely any fans left when the Spartans took a 28-14 lead into the locker room.

It is expected that there will be a large showing on the Utah fans’ side of the stadium this Saturday, so SJSU will have to be well represented to counter the rival fan base.

The game will be nationally televised on the CBS sports network.

Offenses collide in CEFCU Stadium

After an underwhelming performance in week 1, the Spartans’ offense came to life and delivered the boom in the home opener on Saturday.

The 66 points scored by the Spartans were the most by an SJSU team since October 6, 2004 when they scored 70 in a win over Rice University.

In just his second regular-season game in a Spartan uniform, running back Deontae Cooper rushed for over 100 yards, the first time since Nov. 23. 2013 when he ran for 166 yards playing for the University of Washington.

“He is a work-hard young man,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “He had some tough breaks his first couple of years health wise with multiple knee injuries (...) I thought he ran hard and made some people miss and he finished forward on his runs.”

Zamore Zigler and Malik Roberson joined in the Spartans’ heavy rushing attack with 111 and 92 yards respectively.

“We did a really good job running the football,” Caragher said. “I think that our guys up front responded to last week when we went three and out too many times.”

Saturday was an early wake up call for the Spartans. Their rushing attack, which mustered just 53 yards against Tulsa, man-handled the Portland State defense for 409 yards.

“We shot ourselves in the foot a lot last week.” Cooper said. “Everyone in that locker room said we can improve, so it was good to come out here and make some improvements.”

Despite the discrepancy of yards passing (233 pass yards) and rushing (409 rush yards) on the stat sheet, it was the Spartans’ ability to establish the run that opened the door to the passing attack.

“We want to establish the run,” said Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter. “It is huge, it opens up the passing game and when the passing game

is good it opens up the running game, so we want to work together.”

Potter, who finished last season as the most accurate quarterback in the Mountain West conference, only attempted 20 passes but made the most of his opportunities, completing 14 for 233 yards and three touchdowns.

“We came out here and proved what we can do when we are all working together,” Potter said. “It is awesome the way we bounced back, it shows how much confidence we have in our team and how we are going to stick together.”

It was important for the Spartans to win the battle up front. Their offensive line provided clear running lanes for the backs, unlike last week when Tulsa sealed those holes and left no room to run.

Throughout the first half, the Spartans ran short-yardage plays directly down the Vikings’ throat. This wore out PSU’s defense and SJSU capitalized in the second half.

Those runs helped turn the momentum in the game, which bounced back and forth in the first half with each team exchanging touchdowns before the Spartans took a two-touchdown lead at the end of the half.

The third quarter was when the Spartans imposed their will on their opponent, putting any thoughts of an upset to rest and showing an ability to break tackles and create big passing plays to set up easy touchdowns.

In the fourth, it was easy pickings for the SJSU.

They were able to give some of their backups some playing time because their lead was to much for their opposition to make up.

Welcome to the show

It was a coming-out party for sophomore receiver Tre Hartley, who finished with a game high of 93 receiving yards and a touchdown.

“Tre Hartley had a really nice catch down before half,” Caragher said. “We got the touchdown with a spectacular catch and that was a big momentum swing which started 28 unanswered points.”

Hartley had two huge catches that resulted in a touchdown and helped the Spartans gain distance from the Vikings for the first time in the game This allowed SJSU to go into the locker room on a high note.

“He is a very special talent,” Potter said. “It is awesome for me to have a guy like that and weapon outside that can go up and make plays, it makes my job really easy.”

Potter said the team was excited about Hartley going into the season and thinks he can be a special player for them going forward.

Defense running wild

The Spartans defense came away with six turnovers, three interceptions (two from junior cornerback Andre Chachere) and three forced fumbles.

The +6 in the turnover game was a significant improvement from the -3 one week ago.

SJSU also made strides in stopping the run, allowing 100 fewer rush yards against Portland State than they did against Tulsa.

-For more on the Spartans defense and the big day for Chachere, check out The Mistry Spot in Thursday’s paper.

After being thrashed by Tulsa on Saturday, the Spartans look to turn it around at home

Infographic by Kavin Mistry

Despite the offseason goal of establishing a defense that could stop the run, the Spartans (0-1) had no answer against the Tulsa (1-0) running attack which ran over SJSU for 306 yards.

San Jose State’s new defensive coordinator Ron English watched his defense get man-handled on Saturday by Golden Hurricane running back D'Angelo Brewer, who ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns.

“We did have a really good fall practice,” said Spartans head coach Ron Caragher. “We had a really good week in preparation for the Tulsa game.”

It didn’t help the Spartans that defensive captain and leading tackler over the last two years Christian Tago was out because of a knee injury and safety Maurice McKnight had to sit out the first half because of a targeting penalty he received in the Cure Bowl last season.

“I think we just kind of got beat to the punch,” said wide receiver Tim Crawley. “We came out a little flat and once they scored quick, we put ourselves in a hole we unfortunately couldn’t get out of it”

The first possession of the game for the Hurricane was a sign of things to come for the Spartans defense, when Brewer exploded for a 38-yard touchdown.

While the defense continued to struggle, the offense provided little to no support.

“They ran away with it and they took advantage of our mistakes and now we’re here,” said Spartans quarterback Kenny Potter.

The Spartans were only able to score one touchdown and were unable to give the defense much time to rest on the sidelines.

The one bright spot defensively for the Spartans was their pass defense.

Tulsa’s quarterback Dane Evans was bottled up in the passing game, finishing a mere 12 of 23 for 198 yards, a severe drop off from his 332 yards per game in 2015.

Sophomores Frank Ginda and Owen Roberts led the pass rush for the Spartans, each recording two sacks in the game.

While it is easy to look at a 45-10 score and blame the defense, 21 of the 38 points Tulsa scored in the first half were due to Spartan miscues. An interception return, a fumble recovery in the end zone and a fumble by Spartans running back Deontae Cooper lead to easy points for the Hurricane.

“It was costly,” Caragher said. “We made a lot of mistakes and sometimes first year players make mistakes, it happens, but in this case veterans did in this case and that was frustrating.”

If not for those three key plays, the Spartans would have been right in the game with Tulsa, but the mistakes added to an already-horrific first half. Thirty-eight points allowed in the first half was the most SJSU has allowed in the opening half of a game since 2014 against Auburn.

“The good news is it was only one game,” Caragher said. “The team will launch forward as a result of that game and get clear of what we need to do and how we can get there.”

The Spartans will have to put Tulsa behind them as they prepare to take on an FCS opponent in Portland State this weekend in the home opener at CEFCU Stadium.

In its last 36 games against Division 1 opponents, Portland State is 4-32. Despite a lowly record, the Vikings should not be taken lightly. The Spartans still have to fix the holes they have on defense and sharpen their special teams play.

Infographic by Kavin Mistry

“We need to have a good week of practice to prepare for Portland State who is perfectly capable of creating big plays as well,” Caragher said. “They have some good players, not just guys they recruited, but a number of transfers.”

If SJSU wants to take care of business at home, it will be up to the offense to limit the mistakes while the defense will need to create takeaways and stop the run.

Injury Update

Tago completed his surgery and is now working with the team doctors on getting back into football shape so he can be ready to take the field.

Caragher said he will be out for week 2 against Portland State, but will hopefully be active when the Spartans welcome the University of Utah to CEFCU stadium next Saturday Sep. 17.