San Jose State football looks to build off strong 2019, end bowl drought

Defense seeks to improve mightily to get to postseason

San Jose’s defensive struggles in 2019 is what in large part kept them from ending their bowl game drought.

The Spartans defense finished 106th in the nation in total defense as they allowed 443.8 yards per game and 125th in run defense as they allowed a whopping 244.1 rushing yards per game.

While overall San Jose State’s defense struggled, their secondary actually put together a solid year. The Spartans finished 43rd in the nation against the pass.

They’ll need some help from younger players to repeat that success against the pass as cornerback Brandon Ezell who grabbed a team-high four interceptions and hybrid safety and linebacker Ethan Aguayo, who led the Spartans in tackles are now graduated.

Some names to watch in the secondary include sophomore cornerback Nehemiah Shelton and Senior safety Bobby Brown II who both grabbed three interceptions last season.

Upfront, the Spartans will look to find a way to get to the quarterback. Jesse Osuna led the team with three sacks last season but has now graduated, leaving the pressure on Junior Kyle Harmon and Senior Ricco Tolefree, who both recorded two sacks to be the teams’ primary pass rushers.

For San Jose’s defense to improve, they’ll need to continue their production at slowing done the pass but also stop the run and get to the quarterback as a much higher clip than 2019.