Jody Sears inherited a program on the brink of breaking through but wins have been hard to come by in California’s capital city over the last two years.
Marshall Sperbeck led Sacramento State to winning records in 2010 and 2012. In 2013, Garrett Safron burst onto the Big Sky Conference scene, setting the stage for a 2014 season with high expectations as Safron and All-America wide receiver DeAndre Carter returning for their senior year.
In the off-season, Sperbeck was abruptly terminated amid a cloud of controversy stemming from an internal investigation that resulted in self-reported violations to the NCAA. Sears, who had been hired as Sac State’s defensive coordinator after a two-year, four-win stint at Weber State, was suddenly the interim head coach at a second Big Sky school in three years. Sears inherited the Weber State job after John L. Smith bolted Ogden for Arkansas before the 2012 season.
In 2014, Sears, Safron and Carter guided the Hornets to a 7-5 mark. If not for a last-second loss to Montana State in a 59-56 shootout won by the Bobcats, the Hornets would’ve had eight wins and earned the first playoff bid in school history.
Safron piled up more than 4,200 yards of total offense, threw for 34 touchdowns and rushed for four more, guiding Sac to 38.2 points per game. Carter caught 99 passes for 1,321 yards and 17 touchdowns and has been bouncing around the NFL ever since. Darnell Sankey had his first of two straight 100-tackle seasons; the standout linebacker signed with the Oakland Raiders late last month.
But the 2015 and 2016 seasons have not been kind to Sears and the Hornets. Last season, Sac State finished 2-9 with one win coming over NAIA Eastern Oregon and the other, Sac’s lone Big Sky Conference win, coming over cellar-dwelling Idaho State in Sacramento.
The Hornets played three quarterbacks — Daniel Kniffin, Kolney Cassel and true freshman Nate Ketteringham — on the worst statistical offense in the Big Sky. The Hornets averaged 19.6 points per game, the only Big Sky team that didn’t score at least 22 points per outing. Sac managed just 360 yards of total offense per game, including just 107.5 rushing yards, dead last in the conference as well.
This season, the offense turned a corner during the first two Big Sky Conference games before running into North Dakota’s stout unit in Sacramento last week. Sac State rolled up 547 yards of total offense and notched 26 first downs in a 42-34 loss at Idaho State. The following week, Sac ran 94 plays and gained 510 yards of total offense in its first win and only win, a 41-38 victory over Montana State in which the Hornets rallied from a 38-21 deficit.
Sac State managed just 272 yards of total offense and 13 first downs in a 40-7 beat down at the hands of UND on Saturday to fall to 1-2 in league play.
Sacramento State plays surging Montana in Missoula on Saturday afternoon.
QUICK HITS
Location: Sacramento, California
Nickname: Hornets
Founded: 1947. One of California’s largest universities located in the state’s capital, Sac State is designated as a “Center of Academic Excellence” by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency (NSA).
Enrollment: The student body totals 30,284 and the endowment is $35 million.
Stadium: Hornets Stadium. Opened in 1969, the 21,195-seat venue was less than half full last season on average. The Hornets drew 8,8796 fans per game for five home games in 2015. Sac drew 6,558 in its home opener and the attendance has increased thereafter. A turnout of 7,759 watched Sac beat Montana State while 9,614 watched UND and the Hornets.
THE TEAM (1-2 in the Big Sky, 1-5 overall in 2016)
Sacramento State head coach Jody Sears/by Brooks Nuanez
The Coach: Jody Sears, third season at Sac State. As an interim coach who took over for Marshall Sperbeck two seasons ago, Sears helped Sac to a 4-4 mark in Big Sky play, 7-5 overall. The success helped the longtime Big Sky coach earn a three-year contract extension. Sears spent the 2012 and 2013 seasons at Weber State. The former Eastern Washington defensive coordinator (2003-2008) is 9-25 against Big Sky competition, 14-34 overall as a head coach.
WHO TO WATCH — THE OFFENSE
Nate Ketteringham, quarterback, 6-3, 200, sophomore — The former three-start recruit intended to redshirt last season before being thrown into the fire in Bozeman after Sac’s 1-4 start.
At halftime of what ended up a 35-13 loss to Montana State, MSU’s defense took out Kolney Cassel. With Daniel Kniffin already on the shelf, Sears turned to Ketteringham. As a true freshman, the athletic righty threw for 287 yards and four touchdowns in Sac’s lone league win against Idaho State, threw for 335 yards and a touchdown against Cal Poly, totaled 339 yards and four passing touchdowns in a loss to Northern Arizona, and threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in a loss against rival UC Davis.
Opponents continue to stack the box against Sac State to force Ketteringham to beat them. He threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns in the
Hornets’ 38-30 loss to Division II Western Oregon. He completed just 11-of-30 passes for just 98 yards and two interceptions over the next two weeks, losses to Fresno State and Weber State.
Ketteringham nearly rallied Sac back from a 21-0 deficit against Idaho State. His rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter drew the Hornets to within a score, 42-34 at Idaho State before falling by that count. Ketteringham threw for 327 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 96 yards and a score but his interception that ISU returned for a touchdown with five minutes left kept Sac winless.
Against Montana State, Ketteringham broke through for his first win of his sophomore year. He threw for 356 yards and four touchdowns, including two scores to Jaelin Ratliffin the final 4:28 of the game to help the Hornets erase a 17-point deficit in the 41-38 win.
Ketteringham completed just 15-of-34 passes for 177 yards against UND. He was sacked three times.
This season, Ketteringham is completing 53.8 percent of his passes for 1,328 yards (221 yards per game), nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. He is also averaging 3.3 yards per rush and has scored a three rushing touchdowns.
Jordan Robinson, running back, 5-11, 185, senior — Robinson played a key role on the Sacramento State offense that averaged nearly 40 points per game in 2014, earning honorable mention All-Big Sky honors by rushing for 862 yards, catching 30 passes for 236 yards and scoring nine total touchdowns.
Last year, despite a season plagued by injuries — he rushed for more than 100 yards in the first half against MSU in Bozeman before leaving with an ankle injury — Robinson still rushed for 809 yards and four touchdowns to earn honorable mention All-Big Sky honors again. He also caught 27 passes for 170 yards and a score.
This season, Robinson has had a hard time getting going with teams punishing Sac State in the run game and daring the Hornets to throw. Robinson managed 66 yards on 20 carries against Western Oregon, 24 yards on eight carries against Fresno State, 43 yards on 11 carries against Weber State and 49 yards on 12 carries against Idaho State.
He rushed eight times for 60 yards and caught six passes for 58 yards, scoring two rushing touchdowns in Sac’s lone win over MSU. He rushed six times for 44 yards and Sac’s lone score against UND.
This season, Robinson has 286 yards on 64 carries (4.4 yards per carry) and has scored three times on the ground. His 29 catches rank behind just Isiah Hennie for the team lead.
Isiah Hennie, wide receiver, 5-7, 155, junior — One of the slightest players in the Big Sky is also one of the league’s fastest.
With Carter, and All-Big Sky selections Nnamdi Agude and Shane Harrison gone, Hennie is now Sac State’s go-to option on the outside. Last season, Hennie caught 45 passes for 442 yards and two touchdowns. As a freshman, he returned a kick for a touchdown against Menlo and against Eastern Oregon last season, he took a punt to the house for a touchdown, becoming the only player in Sac history to have a kick return and a punt return for a touchdown in his career.
This season, Hennie leads Sac in catches with 32 receptions and his 364 receiving yards are almost double any other Hornet. He has three touchdown receptions as Ketteringham has thrown five scoring strikes. Hennie is also Sac’s primary kick and punt returner
WHO TO WATCH — THE DEFENSE
Manoah Pearson, middle linebacker, 6-0, 225, sophomore — Pearson broke into the starting lineup midway through the season last fall as a true freshman and ended up finishing second on the Hornets with 77 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.
This season, the preseason All-Big Sky selection is among the Top 15 tacklers in the league with 43 tackles, averaging 7.3 tackles per game. He notched 16 tackles in Sac’s loss at Weber State and 11 more in the Hornets loss to Idaho State.
George Obinna, defensive line, 6-3, 230, sophomore — Obinna started four games as a redshirt freshman last fall and still managed to lead the team with 5.5 sacks, tied for third in the Big Sky. He also had 7.5 tackles for loss in his first year of action.
This season, he has continued to produce. He is tied for the league lead with four sacks and his 5.5 tackles for loss are among the top totals in the Big Sky.
Tyler Meteer, outside linebacker, 6-2, 220, junior — Meteer played next to Sankey in 2014 as a true freshman, notching 38 tackles, including 16 against Idaho State. Last season, he started the first five games of the season and managed 23 tackles, including one tackle for loss. He scored a touchdown on a blocked punt against Davis.
This season, Meteer is the Hornets’ leading tackler with 51 stops, including a 5.5 tackles for loss, tied with captain Ben Sorensen for the team lead. He also has a sack. He had13 tackles and three tackles for loss against Fresno State and 15 more tackles against UND on Saturday.
Nick Crouch, safety, 6-0, 195, senior — One of the only seniors on Sac State’s defense, Crouch has started 25 games in his career for the Hornets, including 12 in 2014 and five last season.
As a sophomore, he had his best season, making 66 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Last fall, he started the first five games of the year before losing the rest of the season to injury. He totaled 28 tackles, forced a fumble, intercepted a pass and recorded three pass breakups.
This season, he has 45 tackles, including 20 solos and 1.5 tackles for loss. He also has one of Sac’s two interceptions, which came against Fresno State. Crouch had 13 tackles and a tackle for loss against Idaho State. He had 12 tackles against UND.
Photos courtesy of Sac State Athletics or noted. All Rights Reserved.
