Marshall Sperbeck is the ninth Hornet football coach and was inked with a five-year, $120,000 per year deal on Jan. 13. This makes him the highest-paid football coach in Sacramento State history.

“We were attracted to Marshall (because of his) overall experiences and success at Foothill College,” Athletic Director Terry Wanless said.

Sperbeck spent 15 years as the coach of the Foothill Owls, compiled a 109-53 record and appeared in 11 bowl games.

Sperbeck called the plays that helped Foothill become one of the top offensive teams in the state in 2006. The team led all California junior colleges with 478.8 yards per game. It was ranked at the top of the list with 590.2 all-purpose yards per game, 7.2 yards per play and 9.6 yards per pass attempt. Foothill was named second in the state, amassing 58 touchdowns and 42.8 points per game.

“(He is) noted for someone who developed players on the offensive side, (and that’s) something our program needed,” Wanless said.

Wanless said that Sperbeck being a Sacramento native was another factor in getting the job.

“We felt that he would be able to help rejuvenate the community interest,” he said. Wanless said since Sperbeck was hired, the community has begun showing interest in Hornet football again.

Wanless said he’s excited about the approaching fall season.

The former Foothill coach has joined a team that finished 4-7 last season, and he is ready to turn that around.

“I’m looking forward to building the program,” Sperbeck said. “(I want) to build it for the future with good student-athletes.”

Sperbeck places a big emphasis on grades.

Defensive coordinator Lou Baiz said if Sperbeck has the choice between two outstanding players, Sperbeck is going to choose the one who has better grades.

“We are going to go with the better students,” Baiz said.

Sperbeck has set up a mandatory study hall for his student-athletes who have a GPA of 2.4 or lower on Monday-Thursday from 7:30-9 p.m.

Going into next season, no one has a set position, and everyone has to show Sperbeck he deserves the spot.

“Everyone was getting a fresh start,” Baiz said. “(All players will be) held to a standard, and they will know where they stand.”

Not only are grades and beginning with a fresh start important to coach Sperbeck. He brought structure to the team, with guidelines for everyone, and has been very organized during his short time at Sac State.

Starting middle blocker Cyrus Mulitalo said that Sperbeck is different from former coach Steve Mooshagian because he brings structure to the program.

“For the past two years, the program has been unorganized, and that affected our team,” Mulitalo said. “There is a lot of discipline and organization, which carries to the field.”

“He’s surrounding himself with winners. He’s been doing a good job,” he said.

Anyone can see that the team has changed since Sperbeck was added to the coaching staff.

“There is a new entergy,” Baiz said.

Starting tight end Raymond Navar said being out on the field this year is a “completely different 180 turnaround.” (That quote makes no sense. Paraphrase it to say only the 180 degree part)

“There’s positive attitude, and he let everyone know there are no favorites. Everyone is equal,” Navar said.

Navar said the atmosphere brings in new competition, which was something the team had been lacking.

“It brought the team together, and we will play better,” he said.

Biaz said the team is getting bigger and faster than it has ever been.

“They are going to work hard. They are up to the challenge. We didn’t like being 4-7. They want to win,” Biaz said.

Mulitalo said the players have set high standards for themselves with a goal of wining the Big Sky title and earning a playoff berth.

“The bar is set high,” he said. “We know we have the talent and potential and the right coach. The pieces of the puzzle are coming together.”

“We are looking to be conference champs,” junior walk-on right tackle Nick Macias said.

Senior free safely Brett Shelton said that the team wants to make the playoffs, but he also wants the city have a winning football team.

“(We want) to show the city we will be successful,” he said.

The green highlighting points out the disagreement to the statement that no one has a set position. If they want to list theirs, fine, that’s cool, and we can do that, but saying “starting” is assuming an awful lot. Maybe they started last season, but it may change.