Courtesy: San Jose State Athletics Dick Tomey and the Spartans will on the move from now to the start of spring practice on March 7. (Photo by Ron Fried)

Opening Remarks

This was a tough year. It is all a process when you are trying to build a program and part of that process is players learning how hard it is to win.

A year ago it was kind of like a perfect storm. Except on very rare occasions, things always seemed to go our way. As a program, we needed to go through this. Last year, we had virtually nobody injured. This year, we suffered greatly in that area, but you have to overcome it. So, to finish this year the way we did, even though we didn’t meet our goals, was an important part of the developmental aspect of our program.

I think it was a real credit to our players that we could come back and shut out a program like Nevada in the second half, because they are a very powerful offensive team. The amazing thing is that the difference in who won and who lost that game was tiny, but the difference in the way you feel after the game is huge.

We are pleased to end the season with a win and if Nevada wins this week we will end up in a tie for fourth place in the WAC. Fourth place was not our goal entering the season, but compared to where we were in 2005; it is progress. We are 16-11 in our last 27 games. We have brought winning football to San Jose State. Our guys know what it takes to win and we just need to keep moving forward. The future is bright with the guys coming back and we will work very hard during the off-season to replace the ones we are losing.

Question: Compared to where San Jose State was when you arrived, where is the program today?

We are far in advance of where we were in 2005. We have got continuity in our coaching staff and have a positive mind set ingrained in the players. We are going to use the fact that this season was a tough season to make our guys understand that we are not guaranteed anything. We have to work hard and re-double our efforts. And we as coaches have to be hard-nosed as to what we expect.

The frustration that developed this year and the way that we preformed, the way that we didn’t meet some of the goals that we had will hopefully help us and lead us to a more intense off-season.

I think that we will have very intense competition on our team because we have more players coming back than we have had in previous years.

Question: What are some of the holes that you are looking to fill for next year?

Well, we are losing some terrific seniors, but you always do in college football. The guy that will be the hardest to replace will be Adam (Tafralis) because we don’t know who his replacement is. It will be one of several guys. We just don’t know who right now. You can’t win a quarterback job in practice. We are going to have to get the contenders into some scrimmages and see who can play. We have four or five guys right now. We will get it down to two or three for the fall and one of those guys will have to win the job on the field.

Adam has done a phenomenal job. We have the right guy coaching that position (Marcus Arroyo). Adam grew so much and a lot of that growth needs to be attributed to Marcus and the work he did with Adam. We have a lot of candidates right now and that is a good thing.

We are going to miss Dwight (Lowery), but I think Coye Francies (SR, DB) will be able to step in there and do a nice job even though he hasn’t been on our team very long. He has shown that he is a tremendous prospect.

We will miss Matt Castelo, Waylon Prather, John Booker; really all our seniors will be missed tremendously. But there aren’t as many seniors on our team as many other teams have, so hopefully we will not be as hurt by losing some of our players

Question: Will Sean Flynn (SR, QB) be one of the players in the mix at quarterback?

I expect that Sean Flynn will be granted another season. He fulfills every one of the criteria that the NCAA looks at in granting a sixth year of eligibility. Nothing has happened that indicates that he won’t get the year back. I said to Sean last night that we have to get him back to the point that he was at a year and a half ago.

Jordan LaSecla (FR, QB), Myles Eden (SO, QB) and Kyle Reed (SO, QB) will all compete for the job. Hopefully, Chad Bozzo (SO, QB) will be fully recovered from his shoulder injury and will also be able to compete. Chad has been working really hard and we are optimistic that he will be ready to go in the fall.

Question: What positions are you focusing on in your recruiting efforts?

Every year we are recruiting for the next team rather than for way in the future. We have to make sure that we get the manpower for next year’s team. We need a junior college linebacker and junior college safety. We need a couple of real outstanding high school running backs, two or three young defensive lineman to add into the mix we have and a cornerback. With the limited number of scholarship we have we just have to be careful. In general we need some tough, physical football players who can run. We are also trying to recruit a long snapper and a punter.

Question: The team struggled to run the ball this year. Who should we look for to run the ball next season?

We hope Yonus Davis (SR, RB) can get his year back. We hope that Patrick Perry (JR, RB) will fully recover from his injury. We are very encouraged by the efforts of Chris Reese (JR). From what I have seen of him on the scout team leads me to believe he can be an outstanding running back. Dominique Hunsucker (SO, RB/DB) showed some flashes of his potential this season. Cameron Island (SO, RB) is someone that we continue to believe will be someone special. I think we have some good people here and we will add a few recruits and we will be fine. We just need to get two big, tough strong guys that can run fast and knock somebody over.

Question: Can you talk about the progress Adam Tafralis made from his junior to senior seasons?

Not to minimize his junior season, but that was an easier year. He had veteran players all around him, but his year everything changed. His offensive line was all new except for one player. He didn’t have his top running backs or tight end and his receiving corps was all new. The amazing thing was that he handled it all without losing his confidence, blaming anyone else or being adversarial. He did a phenomenal job managing a tough situation. He became a better runner and probably did a better job passing than he did last year.

Question: Talk about the players you think can move on to the next level.

I think Adam will get a chance. He has given himself an opportunity. He is going to play in an all-star game and get a chance to show what he can do at that level. You never know what the pros are thinking, but I think he will get a shot.

We have had a couple of guys come back during there bye week and talk to the players about the NFL and attend practice and then attend a game. John Broussard (WR, Jacksonville Jaguars) came back this season for practice and then came back for the game on Saturday.

My focus is not on the guys getting to play in the NFL, but certainly we want to do everything we can to help them. My focus is on the guys getting their degree and helping them get their resumes out and taking full advantage of there college education.

Question: Can you tell us who will be participating in all-star games?

We have five guys that have been invited to post season all-star games. Dwight Lowery has been invited to the East-West All-Star Game, Waylon Prather (SR, P) has been invited to the Hula Bowl and Adam (Tafralis), John (Booker) and Matt (Castelo) have been invited to the Texas vs. The Nation game. We are waiting to see if the Senior Bowl will invite any of our guys as well.