The sport every Hornet fan has been waiting for is back: Sacramento State football makes their debut against San Jose State on Thursday with a retooled defense and veteran offense.
There is plenty of excitement around the Hornets, as they were ranked fifth in the Big Sky Conference Media and Coach polls, and five players received recognition for their projected performances based on last season.
Communicating Wisdom
Sac State head coach Andy Thompson is entering his second season as the leader of Hornet football after learning plenty in his inaugural season to help the Hornets take the next step.
“I learned every single week; every single day something comes up, and you have to be able to use great time management,” Thompson said. “You’re in charge of the whole team and the best thing I learned last year is communication is always key.”
For a team that lost plenty of their stars, voices and leaders on both sides of the ball, Thompson made it a focus to instill that knowledge among his players.
The team building efforts have created a bond among teammates, fostering a positive culture on and off the field.
“In some locker rooms, some people just don’t talk to certain people,” senior quarterback Kaiden Bennett said. “Whether it’s a defensive back talking to a lineman or a safety talking to a receiver, this year we are a lot more connected on that side of things, so it’s been a cool, fun vibe in the locker room.”
Oh Captain, My Captain
Speaking of Bennett, he will make his long awaited return to the gridiron after suffering a shoulder injury last year that plagued most of his season.
Despite the injury, Bennett ended the season with 2,767 all-purpose yards and 22 touchdowns, ranking seventh and 10th in school history, respectively.
“I’ve never really been injured, so it was a different scenario for me,” Bennett said. “The first couple weeks back when I got healthy and started feeling good, everything started taking its way back to where I needed to be.”
The days of the old football adage “if you have two quarterbacks, then you don’t have one,” are long gone, some of the Hornets’ most successful seasons were in 2021-22 where they ran an intense two-quarterback system. There is little reason to believe that redshirt freshman quarterback Carson Conklin won’t play this season as well.
Conklin completed over 50% of his passes and ended the season with 744 passing yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions, leaving a lasting impression despite his brief stint.
Conklin’s performance last year put him in a great position to be the team’s future, don’t be surprised to see him get more opportunities throughout this season.
Under New Leadership
The only returning starter on defense is senior defensive back Gavin Davis-Smith. The defense lost 10 starters, not ideal for a defense built off of trust and communication.
The Hornets will have to step up their defense if they hope to finish on top of the Big Sky, but the loss of leaders like linebacker Armon Bailey and safety Cameron Broussard will be softened with the addition of new transfers.
Standing at 6-foot-2 and 223 pounds, Will Leota, the senior linebacker transfer from Utah Tech, is looking to make his mark in the Big Sky. Leota received all-WAC recognition in 2022 and was second-team all-WAC in 2021 and 2023. Thompson and Davis-Smith praised Leota’s leadership role on defense for the Hornets.
“He’s been a great leader for us,” Davis-Smith said. “I work with the linebackers playing Nickel, so he’s done a great job coming in from Utah Tech and helping me with the front of the defense.”
Davis-Smith also commended fellow senior defensive back Murvin Kenion III, who transferred from Big Sky Conference rival Idaho and has helped corral the younger players in the secondary.
The Trenches
Thompson gave a glimpse into his team building philosophy at the Big Sky media day on ESPN.
“A great recipe for success is when you have those guys up front that can control the line of scrimmage,” Thompson said. “And make it easy for all the speed and skill that hopefully always at Sac State we’re going to have.”
The offensive line remains mostly intact from the previous year and will continue to be a strength.
The offensive line is led by the two time first-team all-Big Sky senior guard Jackson Slater.
Slater is poised to continue on his record collecting trajectory, as he received recognition for Preseason all-Big Sky, Stats Perform FCS Preseason first-team All-American, and was placed in the Shrine Bowl 1000 and the Senior Bowl watchlist.
Take the monkey off my back. 405 new power clean PR pic.twitter.com/zNH1HLZCjp
— Jackson Slater (@jacksonslater75) March 11, 2024
On the other side, the defensive line will be revamped and used in a rotation like previous years.
Five players on the defensive line return, headlined by senior defensive tackle Brandon Knott. Knott received praise from Thompson as the leader on the defensive line with 71 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks over the past three years.
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Can someone stop them?
Tackling was a weak point of play last season that the Hornets have been focused on correcting this season. Limited chances to practice tackling due to rules and regulations have meant that opportunities to practice tackling have been reduced, but Thompson aimed to make the most of them.
“You only get so many days where you can do that,” Thompson said. “We’re going to use every one of them, so anytime the rules tell us we can tackle, we’re doing that.”
Davis-Smith was fourth on the team in tackles last year and is the number one tackler returning, but Leota had 75 tackles last year and four tackles for loss.
Hornets, Spartans: Can the real Leonidas please stand up?
The Sacramento State Hornets will head down to CEFCU Stadium to start their season against the San Jose State Spartans on Thursday.
The Hornets will theoretically be punching up as they face an FBS team from the Mountain West Conference. Thompson and crew will be facing a Spartan team with a new head coach, new stars across the offense, including quarterback, and a whole new culture.
The Spartans’ offense could struggle gelling early on in the season. Mix that with the Hornets’ defense going through their retooling and it should make for a sloppy game with either side having a chance to swing the momentum their way.
The Hornets’ defense is itching for their opportunity, and the best experience is game experience, so why not prove themselves against another exciting team?
With so many unknowns surrounding the Spartans, including who their quarterback will be, Thompson wants the team to focus on themselves.
“It’s all about us,” Thompson said. “When you go into the first game, you got to make sure everybody on your team is doing their best, and we’ve talked a ton about bringing our best every game, every play.”
