The Spartans are heading north again.
San Jose State’s football team will begin its 2021 preseason training at Humboldt State’s campus in Arcata, just like it did in 2020.
SJSU will arrive Wednesday and practice for a week and a half, leading to an Aug. 7 scrimmage open to the public. They’ll leave Arcata the next day and resume training camp in San Jose on Aug. 10.
An SJSU official said one significant reason for returning to Arcata is that the SJSU campus will host the Mubadala Silicon Valley tennis tournament from July 31-Aug. 8.
Last year’s Spartans moved five-plus hours north to avoid Santa Clara County’s rules banning sports practices and games amid the coronavirus. This year’s team, according to a release from Humboldt State, is “fully vaccinated” from the coaches to players to staff. The release provided no evidence of vaccination, but both schools are subject to the Cal State system’s vaccination requirement announced Tuesday, which does include medical and religious exemptions.
The Humboldt State release said the team will live and practice on campus, effectively maintaining a bubble, and use campus recreation facilities while it is closed to avoid interaction with HSU students.
Sixth-year graduate transfer quarterback Nick Starkel and senior defensive end Cade Hall are racking up preseason accolades. Starkel is on the watch list for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards. Hall, the reigning Mountain West defensive player of the year, was picked to repeat that award and is on the watch list for the Nagurski and Bednarik awards. Offensive tackle Jack Snyder (Outland) and tight end Derrick Deese Jr. (John Mackey) are also getting preseason buzz on trophy watch lists.
Eventually, the 2020 team returned to San Jose in time for its regular season as SJSU worked out an agreement with the county. Later, as cases spiked again, the Spartans — and all other college and pro sports teams in the county — were banned from practice and games in Santa Clara County. The Spartans spent the last several weeks of their regular season in Las Vegas, where they hosted and won the Mountain West title game.
The Spartans open their season Aug. 28 with a home game against Southern Utah. Then they’ll visit USC before beginning Mountain West play Sept. 18 at Hawaii.
