"We need to take care of the ball on offense and create more turnovers on defense,’’ Hill told The Spartan Daily. "We had 11 fumbles and 23 interceptions. Even if you’re a good team it’s going to be hard to overcome those kinds of numbers.’’
Some good numbers did help the Spartans win three games. The offense scored more than 60 points in two of the three wins and averaged 429.0 yards per game.
Hill knows the key to a turnaround in 2002 is improvement by the defense.
"We didn’t tackle very well as a football team last season,’’ Hill said.
But things began to look a little better in the spring.
Despite the amount of work still to be done on offense and defense , Hill remains focused on his quest to improve his team’s performance.
"So far everything looks good and positive,’’ Hill said. "We’re trying to get the attitudes right. Our theme for the spring is called ‘operation commitment.’ We’re trying to make sure that we do all of the things right.
"If a player is not on time and doing the right things off the field, then that’s what they will do on the field, so we keep our emphasis on academics as well as developing the whole student athlete.’’
Hill said in the spring that many position starters probably will not be filled until practice resumes on Aug. 4, when 18 additional players, including many new recruits and some of what Hill described as "good non-scholarship players,’’ will be added to the roster.
QUARTERBACKS
Senior Marcus Arroyo (6-1, 195) is a three-year starter, but he will be challenged for the No. 1 spot by red-shirt sophomore Beau Pierce (6-3, 224).
Arroyo, a fifth-year senior, has been outstanding at times, setting an NCAA record for single-game passing efficiency and leading the Spartans to wins over nationally ranked TCU and Stanford during his career.
Arroyo ranks among the school’s top 10 in career passing yardage (seventh), career total offense (seventh), number of completions (seventh) and efficiency rating (eighth).
After the spring game, Hill said Arroyo has an edge for the starting quarterback position because of the experience he has as a starter despite the fact that he was stripped of his starting duties last year at mid-season.
"I know what Marcus can do,’’ Hill said. "We’re giving the other guys more time right now because they can’t get any better without the experience.’’
Quarterbacks Scott Rislov (6-2, 216) from Ellsworth College and Demonte Johnson (6-2, 200) of McClymonds High School in Oakland are also in the quarterback picture.
RUNNING BACKS
The Spartans must replace running backs Deonce Whitaker and Julien, who have generated plenty of excitement at tailback the last four years.
The key returnees are sophomores Lamar Ferguson (5-5, 143) and Clarence Cunningham (5-10, 169). They both averaged better than 5.0 yards per carry as freshmen last year.
Also in the picture is another sophomore, Lance Martin (5-10, 203), who was used mainly as a blocking back last year. He will get a chance to establish himself as a top contender for the starting tailback spot.
Junior Jonathan McDaniel (6-1, 240) is a big-sized back who could also make an impact, as well as several more junior college running backs who will join the team in the fall.
In the spring game, Martin led all rushers with 50 yards on nine carries.
At fullback, the key returnees are seniors Brandon Miles (6-0, 253) and Kollie Moore (6-2, 214).
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Senior Charles Pauley (5-10, 166) and junior Tuati Wooden (6-0, 184) were the Spartans’ second and third leading receivers a year ago.
Pauley is an all-purpose threat who ranked among the conference leaders in all-purpose running (eighth), punt returns (eighth) and kickoff returns (fifth). He caught 41 passes for 669 yards and one touchdown and had the second best single-game all-purpose yardage game among Division I-A players in 2001 when he accounted for 355 yards in the Nevada victory.
Pauley needs to step up to fill the void left by Shepherd.
"The wide-out corps are trying to turn it up as a group of guys to try and replace what Edell did last year,’’ Wooden told The Spartan Daily.
Wooden was one of the Spartans’ pleasant surprises a year ago. He caught 37 passes.
Red-shirt freshman Rufus Skillern (6-0, 177), junior Debin Cowell (5-7, 167) and senior Juan Walden (6-1, 215) will battle for playing time against some talented junior college players who will join the team in the fall.
In the spring game, Wooden had four catches for 53 yards and Pauley caught three for 18 yards. Skillern had a 30-yard reception.
"We weren’t clicking,’’ Wooden said after the spring game. "There were a lot of missed assignments.
The Spartans’ tight ends caught only eight passes in 2001. Senior Marcus Helfman (6-5, 241) is the key returnee. Courtney Anderson (6-7, 270), whose junior college career was as a defensive end, is the only projected tight end hopeful. Johnson is the biggest tight end ever to join the team.
OFFENSIVE LINE
A good nucleus returns in the line, led by three-year starting right tackle Tim Provost (6-6, 281), a senior.
Provost should be among the top offensive linemen in the WAC. He played on a line that yielded just 24 sacks in 24 games over the last two seasons.
Another key returnee is senior left guard Joseph Hayes (6-4, 291), who moved into the lineup early in 2001 and remained a starter the rest of the season.
A key move is the return of senior LeMons Walker (6-3, 269) to the offensive line. He split time between defensive tackle and tight end, but moved to center in the spring.
Senior Charley Dahoney (6-2, 294) is a capable player at guard and at tackle. Several junior college transfers will also compete for playing time, along with returning red-shirt freshman John Toensfeldt (6-8, 293) and junior Kevin Israel (6-2, 309).
KICKERS
Senior Nick Gilliam (5-9, 185) returns as the place-kicker. He was the Spartans’ leading scorer with 61 points last year.
In the spring game, Gilliam was perfect on field-goal kicks from 20, 32, 39, 46 and 53 yards.
DEFENSIVE LINE
After the defense gave up 500.8 yards per game last year, every position is up for grabs.
It all begins in the defensive line, where the anchors at tackle are expected to be junior Jason Gustus (6-0, 298) and senior Adonis Forrest (6-3, 294).
Help at end will come in the fall from the junior college signees, as well as senior Chip Kimmick (6-4, 257), senior Ethan Allen (6-2, 245) and junior Stephen Nash (6-2, 251).
"Defensively, we have some bigger bodies in our front seven,’’ Hill said.
LINEBACKERS
The situation at linebacker last year was chaotic. After injuries to junior Paul Okumu (6-0, 234) and senior Luke LaHerran (6-1, 233), the Spartans went through six different starters at inside linebacker and several more at one outside linebacker spot. Okumu and LaHerran are back and healthy this year.
"Our linebacker corps is healthy and we have some depth there with Paul Okumu and Luke Laherran back from injuries,’’ Hill said.
"Coach Hill is always going to be tough, but I think that the motivation has to come from within the player," Okumu said. There is only so much a coach can say to get a player motivated.’’
Junior Philip Perry (6-3, 230) from Cerritos College, a 2001 all-state pick, is the only linebacker in the signing class. He is an inside linebacker possibility.
Senior Brian Foreman (6-1, 215) and junior Michael Smith (5-11, 220) are hopefuls on the outside.
’’We just need to be more consistent on defense,’’ LeHerran told The Spartan Daily. "The whole time I’ve been at San Jose State, we’ve been able to make a big play but then we’ll give up a 50-yard play.’’
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Junior Melvin Cook (5-10, 197) is the only returning starter on defense, and he will move from safety to cornerback.
Veterans Carlos Koustas (5-9, 185), a senior, and Kevin Boyer ( 5-8, 167), a junior, hope to avoid injuries and earn playing time at cornerback.
Senior C.J. Arnold (6-1, 189), who saw most of his action as a special teams player, is first in line for time at free safety. Junior Zack Rance (5-11, 210) is a safety hopeful who suffered an Achilles tendon injury and won’t be available until mid-season.
Several incoming recruits are very talented and could give the defensive backfield an entire new look in the fall.
Junior safety Gerald Jones (6-0, 196) intercepted passes on the first two offensive possessions in the spring game, taking the second one back 16 yards for a touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS
With Gilliam back at place-kicker, Carr back as the punter, and Pauley back to return punts and kickoffs, this should be a team strong point.
Another story line is the return of special teams player Neil Parry (6-0, 177) after 18 months and 20 surgeries. He suffered a compound fracture on Oct. 14, 2000 against the UTEP that resulted in his right leg being amputated 18 inches below the knee. Now, Parry is ready to make his comeback.
Two seasons later, Parry is as determined as ever to get back on the football field.
"I feel like I’m probably ready to play in the fall,’’ the junior told The Spartan Daily.
The last of his 20 surgeries was performed in February to remove bone spurs from his leg and to fuse his tibia and fibula. If not for the bone spurs, Parry said he would have played last season.
"During the beginning of last season I was feeling pretty good,’’ Parry told the paper. "I was healthy ... then I had to stop running because of the bone spurs. After I get healthy from this [surgery], I should be on my way."
Parry wasn’t able to participate in contact drills during spring practice, and despite being confined to the sideline during the spring games, he thinks he will be OK.
The only thing holding him back now is a new prosthetic leg made for running. After the last surgery, a new leg had to be made for Parry because the surgery changed the shape of his leg.
Hill wasn’t the coach at the time Parry was injured, but is behind him nonetheless.
"Everything is on Neil’s schedule,’’ Hill told the paper. "I told him if he can’t resume his full capacity of playing, he has a place with me coaching.’’
RECRUITING CLASS
Three first-team junior college All-Americans, the largest number in many years to join a San Jose State football team at one time, highlighted the 2002 Spartan recruiting class.
Defensive tackle Eddie Brown, Jr., (6-3, 295) from Blinn College, wide receiver Kendrick Starling (6-1, 195) from Navarro College, and offensive guard Justin Arrington (6-3, 305) from Laney College were the first-team junior college All-Americans who signed with the Spartans.
San Jose State also signed a pair of first-team California Community College all-state selections and two high school prospects picked among the nation’s best at their position.
"We’re very pleased with the athletic ability of this recruiting class,’’ said Hill, who had his first full year to recruit. "Most importantly, I think we have some good young men to bring some stability to the program. We’re trying to build stability with each recruiting class. We helped ourselves in a lot of areas. We look at the size and the athletic ability of the guys we signed and we definitely will be a better football team.’’
Of the 25 prospects who joined the team, 10 were enrolled in school at mid-semester. Ten of the 25 were defensive players. The other 15 are spread throughout the offense. The offensive and defensive lines along with the tailback spot and defensive secondary received the most help.
With 13 starters gone, San Jose State turned to the junior-college ranks for 17 of its 25 signees. One of those was wide receiver Jamall Broussard (5-10, 190), a starter in six games as at Texas Tech University as a freshman.
San Jose State even signed three members from the same family -- freshman tailback I’Lario Vital (5-11, 207), the San Francisco Chronicle’s 2001 East Bay Player of the Year from McClymonds High School in Oakland; his older brother Mario Vital (5-9, 187), a first-team all-state defensive back at Laney College last year; and the Vital’s first cousin, safety Chris Baloney (6-1, 185) from Langham Creek High School in Houston, Texas.
Brown, Jr., headlines a defensive line group that includes tackles Jason Gustus (6-1, 295) from Hartnell College, Dorsey Mitchell (6-4, 327) from Compton College, who also may be an offensive line candidate, and high school senior Larnell Ransom (6-3, 230) from Verbum Dei High in Los Angeles.
Vital and Baloney, along with Ashanti Davison (5-10, 190), a junior who played four seasons of minor league baseball before returning to college, safety Donald Richardson (6-4, 205) from Beverly Hills High School and cornerback Quincy Washington (6-0, 165) from East Los Angeles College are the defensive secondary hopefuls.
Hill believes his team’s overall speed has improved.
"Speed gives you the chance to make big plays on offense and preventing the big plays on defense,’’ he said.
Besides Vital, junior college teammates Damarcus Ingram (5-10, 210) and Oscar Rigg (5-11, 215) from Shasta College, Rayvon Johnson (5-10, 185) from West Hills College, and published poet Trestin George (5-8, 187) from St. Mary’s High School in Berkeley, Calif., are the tailback candidates. Ingram and Rigg combined to rush for more than 3,200 yards at Shasta College, while George rushed for 3,809 yards in his last three varsity seasons.
With the loss of three 2001 offensive line starters, having Arrington, Matt Cantu (6-3, 290) from Capistrano Valley High School, center Jeff Gordon (6-5, 295) from Iowa Central College and Elliott Tupea (6-3, 292) all enrolled at and available to participate in spring football gave the Spartans a chance to rebuild quickly in this area.
Starling, Broussard and James Jones (6-1, 185) from San Jose’s Gunderson High School are the wide receiver hopefuls.
