As the scoreboard clock hit zero at the football practice fields at South Campus, SJSU football players jumped, clapped and cheered as they had just completed their first day of spring football practice.
Head coach Brent Brennan, rocking a pair of black Ray-Bans, uttered five words:
“God damn that was fun.”
The Spartans returned to the field for the first time since their 41-27 loss to Eastern Michigan on Dec. 20, 2022.
SJSU lost some key pieces of last year’s team to graduation and the NFL draft such as wide receiver Elijah Cooks, cornerback Nehemiah Shelton, linebacker Kyle Harmon and defensive tackles Viliami Fehoko Jr. and Cade Hall.
However, some of the most impactful players from last season are back on the field.
Quarterback Chevan Cordeiro returns for his second season with the Spartans. Last season, the QB from Hawaii passed for 3,251 yards, 23 touchdowns and 6 interceptions while receiving All-Mountain West second team honors.
“It felt good to come back out here,” Cordeiro said. “I feel blessed to be able to compete against the boys and have fun with them. I feel it was a good first day.”
Even with the subtractions, the Spartans reloaded in key areas on the field. One of those key additions is quarterback Jay Butterfield.
Butterfield was a four-star recruit coming out of Liberty High School in Brentwood, California. He spent the last three seasons at the University of Oregon, where he played in just two games and completed just three passes.
He said he hopes to gain confidence through the spring practices.
“I just [hope to be] confident in myself,” Butterfield said. “I know my abilities, but sometimes I think too much about what the play is or what defense it is. I just gotta go out there, play my game and just really be confident.”
Butterfield is expected to play behind Cordeiro this season and will look to battle it out with returner Walker Eget for the backup quarterback spot.
Brennan said he believes that having a strong quarterback room can help the team going into next season.
“Chevan is our quarterback and we all know that,” Brennan said in a Feb. 1 press conference. “But I also think there’s real value in healthy competition. I’m hoping they push the heck out of each other.”
Another big addition that was on the field on Tuesday was running back Quali Conley. He transferred from Utah Tech University this Spring.
Conley rushed for 1,095 yards and 8 touchdowns in 11 games for the Trailblazers last season.
The running back room expanded this season for the Spartans as they added four other players for the role while also retaining last season’s leading rusher Kairee Robinson.
Conley said he’s fit in well with the running backs group.
“They all welcomed me in and it just felt like a family,” he said. “They truly genuinely want us to be here.”
One of the more noticeable aspects of the first spring practice of the season was the energy level on the field.
When the team got into live scrimmages, both offense and defense squads cheered loudly when they made a great play. There was also a good deal of trash talk on both sides of the field.
“The energy was there. We’ve been competing in our spring workouts and we’re already starting to talk trash,” Cordeiro said. “At the end of the day, we’re all brothers. We're getting better with one another. We love the competitiveness.”
The team will have 13 more practice days before they compete in the spring football game on May 6. The game will be a live-action scrimmage at CEFCU stadium, which will have the Spartans competing against each other in front of fans.
SJSU is scheduled to play its first regular season game on Aug. 26 against top-ranked University of Southern California at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
The Spartans are scheduled to play their first home game against Oregon State University on Sept. 3.
