Ken Niumatalolo Weekly Press Conference

[Music] well first of all welcome everyone uh super exciting as a football program it's been seven months of hard work you know assembling a staff uh We've added over you know 43 players to our roster so just the influx of roster uh our kids have been working really hard both offseason training uh we've been in Camp and super excited where we're at right now there been a lot of hard work again mostly by our players our coaches and our staff and so excited for this first game we know it's going to be a tough game against Sacramento State a really good football program you know right right now preseason number 10 in the country so we you know we recognize this is a really good team beting some division one teams last year beat Stanford um got a lot of returning players coach Thompson you know in his first year you know he's able to take his team to the playoffs which is really hard to do and so he can you know I got a ton of respect for him and the work that he's done there and they return a lot of guys and so we recognize this is a really good football team with a lot of returning guys especially their quarterback you know Katen Bennett's a really good a player hard to tackle elusive um you know got really good players up front their guard is an NFL player and so we know we got our work cut out for us but we're excited we're excited as a football program and I know our kids are tired of hitting each other and looking forward to to this game questions for Coach coach personally for yourself you with the Decades of experience uh what are like the emotions butterflies nerves if there's any at all how do you feel well it's been interesting cuz I like you said I've been doing this for so long uh as my 16th year as a head coach been coaching for 35 years but I did things one way or certain way for so long and so having to adjust having to adjust how we do things we're in San Jose schools in you know in afternoons so we have morning practices um adjusting to uh coach odms how he likes to prepare the defense coach stman how he wants to prepare the offense so just those types of things just things I've been kind of I don't know I don't know if set in my ways is the right answer but I've done things a certain way for so long and just trying to be open to how other people do things um really it's not about me um it's about our players about our coaches just to make sure that we're ready and that's been our primary focus just to make sure that you're ready um I I don't know how to do anything else I I don't know if I could do another job you know but this is what I've done this is the only thing and not that I know how to do as coach and the lead and so these kinds of things it's I don't know if natural is the right word but it's I feel comfortable in doing this um I don't I wouldn't say I'm nervous anxious we're all anxious we're excited to see what we have but you always have butterflies I really believe in this profession if you stop getting butterflies you need to get out because it what's it's what drives you it's what gets you up in the morning what it's what keeps you up at night are we doing this what are we doing that have we done enough of this have we done enough of that there's so many things that continue running your mind I mean your mind never stops of all the things that you have to do to get ready so I try to be as organized as possible um with our staff with our coordinators uh you know with Garrett our chief of staff and classie our direcor football just to make sure some of the off the field stuff as as smooth as possible so you can take away some of those variables so in the preparation stuff you can get ready to go cuz there's so many variables in this game like we're talking about as a offensive staff and well the entire staff watching the games this past week you're always trying to get ready for the unknown and you watch all those games you can't prepare for everything you're going to try your best to get ready uh but it's hard it's hard to get ready for everything but guess that was a long answer to your question I'm I'm excited I'm not nervous I've done this a long time but I'm excited to see uh the 2024 uh San Jose State Spartan football team our our young men have worked really really hard and I'm excited to see you know see them play this Thursday go uh what what has been your message to the players this week to get them ready for the first game week of this season it's always just been focused in our preparation you know just just focus in our preparation that's all we've you know talked about it's um you know probably the greatest to ever coach you know is coach Sab and he's always talked about the process just focus on the process and I I think in a lot of ways I I'm kind of like that but I always like to do both I always like to have a goal just to not that you're always focused on the goal not that you're always result oriented but this game is result oriented you got to win so I've kind of you know looked at where our what our first game is where the season is but then you focus on this and every now and then obviously you got to focus on who your you know the opponent is during the course of the leadup Spring ball uh summer workouts fall Camp just all those things you're focused on yourself um but I'm you know I I've liked our preparation and we'll see we'll see what happens um for the defensive side of the ball your defensive Year where are you most excited to see them perform this Thursday well just watching our spring and know during spring practice and in Fall Camp uh just been really impressed with what what coach odm's done with our defense I mean our guys are flying to the football uh I love the effort that they're playing with uh you know led by Swan you know Toya you know our leader up front Nella he done a really good job um our two inside linebackers we feel like we have pretty good depth at our inside linebacker with you know Jordan parlor and Jordan Cobbs you know and they've been backed up by guys by Noah uh Dylan uh we added Nas you know came from BYU so I like that group um our secondary guys is coming back you know we added rocket you know he came from Liberty he's that that kid a machine you know he's been one of the hardest workers on our team since he got here as a transfer uh our two um Corner Michael dansby's done a really good job had a really good camp and DJ DJ Harvey and so we feel like we have guys that have played uh that are going to help us you know Rivas is going to be a new um safety back there but you know I like who he is like what he does um Dylan hamon is a going to be a first year starter but that he love the way that kid works and so we're excited about that you know and we have some depth there we may not be the biggest uh defense in the country but I I love the way we play uh our outside linebackers like I said with Nella has done a really good job Ethan Powell and so just I like who we have I like the way we're practicing I like how they've bought into what coach odm has done and it's just time to turn those kids loose like I said you know we we meet here every morning we've had all these position meetings all the walkthroughs all the practices um those kids kids are ready to get on the field and just I've loved to see what they've done in day in and day out they come to work every day and so that's the thing I'm most excited about just to let them unleash all the hard work and preparation and see what it what it turns out to be hi Coach Andrew nice to meet you Andre when you first got hired you said what I'm here to do is build a family and every family there are leaders amongst that have you seen any leaders stick out or that hopefully you can build with going into the future most definitely and and you in order to have and I've always said this there can be good teams that a coach that can be coach Le and you can have good teams but to have an elite team you have to be player Le and some of the guys that have stepped out we had a we developed a Leadership Council and I thought those guys did a really good job you know they were just they were in there with really just the players um Garrett classi and Becca none of the coaches are in there cuz I didn't I didn't want to be in there I wanted those guys to let them let them hear their own voice let them lead the group amongst himself amongst peers and some of the things that have come out of those me meetings have been you know have been eye opening for me and just been very um pleasantly not surprised word but just pleased with some of the things that have come out of those meetings but it's the the guys that you would think you know on defense uh obviously it's Swani and Nella um Jordan Cobbs uh Michael Dansby uh Jaws you know Jaylen is one of our our leaders um on offense uh it's been Nick Nash and Maris have been probably the the biggest voices but other guys you know we had uh our quarterbacks that were fighting for a starting job with EMT and Walker those guys have done a nice job um Sebastion at wide receiver so I've been impressed with the amount of guys that we have on our team with leadership skills but it's it's important that it's led by them and if tried to create an Avenue for them that they would have a voice that was unfiltered that wasn't you know monopolized by me as a head coach just allow them to kind of set some parameters and it just been impressed what they've done in this off season good afternoon coach uh I was wonder if you talk about the home field advantage that you guys had at Navy and what you're expecting for your first game turnout wise on Thursday and on top of that what do it need by the players to kind of see the local community support them well we're excited we're hopeful that we get great um support at home which we're expecting you know um we're excited you know to get the our community out you know alumni of the of the University people in San Jose people in the Bay Area you know so we're excited about trying to create a product that people want to come and watch that we're an exciting football team and that's that's the hope and you know I'm hopeful that their first game is you know is packed to capacity but I if it's not or kind of where we're at I'm hopeful that they'll see the product and come like wow is just the team the San Jose State team and hopefully that will just continue to grow the excitement will continue to grow but um in this game you have to win and people want to see successful things and so we're we're excited about the product we're going to put on this Thursday and we're hopeful after that that the support will continue to go but I'm expecting a big crowd expecting um you know a lively crowd a lot of students there uh a lot of alumni and we're hoping for a great evening coach uh is the game prep a little bit different week one I know you've been around the game for a long time but is it different compared to other weeks maybe towards the middle of the Season especially with all the moving parts now within college football and the transfer portal is week one a little bit different uh um I don't know if week one's different I think in this summer was way different especially after um Spring ball because normally you know you sign guys in February and you have all of that time to get them in school admissions compliance just all those things but we had the portal the portal opening after spring practice and we were a new team and so we were able to go through spring practice and then be able to assess okay what do we need what do we need to what do we need to acquire where are our weaknesses where are our strengths and we felt defensively that you know cuz we had a staff that our coach OD him had been here and he kind of knew what he wanted coach stman just got here and so we just were able to sit down okay we need to go get this we need to go get that and so it was different that way just trying to you we were able to try to assemble a team late and so that was different and then late trying to get kids into school you know I mean just the stuff in the summertime trying to get kids into school I think that different but the preparation stuff preparing is preparing I mean it's always the same and um over the years I've played on you know Thursday nights before played on Friday nights played on Saturday nights so you just kind of adjust the days it's it's kind of weird because we just treat Thursday like it's a Saturday and then you just work backwards and it's um that's kind of what we've always done and but the first week of preparation hasn't been different I just think leading up to that all the other stuff prior to that was way different the portal the nil that was this year I think all of us I think every team in division one football were going through new hurdles and new obstacles that they've never faced before coach you mentioned Dylan hson as a first year starter what did he do to get to that spot and what do you expect him see succeeding this year well he earned it first and foremost it wasn't a handout it wasn't anything the kid just works you know I just love who he is just every day he just grinds one of the hardest workers on the team I think he came here kind of with the chip on his shoulder you know what I mean maybe a under recruited kid wasn't a scholarship you know what I mean but a kid that just came and worked and I've just been impressed with them ever since I got it I had the I think as a new head coach coming in the great thing for me was everything was unbiased cuz I was just able to judge people how they worked and what they did and by the you know by their fruits just they worked it wasn't anything that I read about somebody or any preconceived notion of their background cuz I didn't know uh any of the kids so you just kind of went out to practice and watch them work and Dylan stood out and you know obviously coach Al who just got here he was able to do the same thing and kind of assess who people were I mean everybody knew who Swan was I mean he's all conference player uh but he earned it um just by his work he's a Relentless worker and if our team plays like him and plays with the effort level that he has we're going to have a really good year I I love the way that kid Works coach uh it's no secret there's a quarterback battle going on and what not do you think there are there's an Inplay starter there's playing time that's already been talked about going on there is there anything you yeah yeah I got something to tell we know who it is I'm just not going to tell you guys you know I just um yeah so you know we've already talked with them um and so yeah we've but it wasn't something we made a long time ago we've been literally it's been going every day every day and just recently we you know we made the decision of we know where we want to go with that um coach STS you know has talked to them but it it was literally that close in the battle one day one guy would be up one day and other guy be one guy in a drill would you know overtake the other guy so as we'd watch film every day uh it was tough cuz it was going back and forth but eventually towards the end uh one of them started to rise above the other one and I want to say it was clearcut but he rose above the others and you know we're going to go with him but we also recognize in in in football I mean there's a lot of guys that play unfortunately quarterbacks you know there's you know hopefully nobody gets hurt uh but we recognize that you have to have more than one guy ready to play at all times just to follow up on that what day did you make that decision when um I'm not really sure it was it just you know just discussions that I I don't know if it was last week or you know but just might have been earlier you know this week or over the weekend but you know coach STS and I we talk a lot you know and so you know our wives are probably wondering who we're texting at night you know or whatever just you know but we we're constantly just you know talking about certain things and um I can't remember really when it happened but it was it was it was pretty recent you know wasn't at the beginning of the camp and we've been sitting on this for weeks it it materialized uh recently coach seven eight years ago coach BR was here and that that definitely felt like a rebuild but after watching and and just being around practice and everything it doesn't completely feel like a rebuild for verus like maybe a retool and now you talk about every year being you know that attrition and getting used to that can you can you describe what it what it feels like yeah I've always approached it this way even out the years I there every team is different so I've always felt like every year is a rebuild cuz you start from scratch you you tear everything down um and I feel like that's kind of how you have to do things to set your expectations set your culture set how you do things and I just been excited to see some of the things that guys are you know they're grasping and their understanding you know maybe early on we were doing things and you could tell why are we doing that what does that mean why do we have to do this why do I have to wear that why do I have to stand this way and and I I can see that guys are starting to buy in and but I think every year it is um you're building a new team building a new culture and it was even more so kind of to your questions a little bit more it was a little different this year cuz you had so many new guys coming in so there are things that when we first got got here in the spring that we were trying to establish and then we had to retach it again cuz then you guys had guys that come at the end of summer you had some guys that came at the beginning of Camp you had some guys that came at the middle of camp it was it was really a weird we had these waves of players coming in and then you're adjusting teaching them okay this is the way thing we're going to do things here but yeah I don't know I mean you that's you know you know your percept great perception from the outside looking in uh but from the inside looking out I just always tried to build our team from the inside out with some expectations some core principles and just govern that way I really believe this and I always knew this as a player um kids can see right through you and they can see right through phoniness and you know things that are superficial and and so just in the leadership style I mean I'm I wasn't trying to be coach Brandon or be anybody else I'm just me not that coach Brandon is a brad coach coach Brandon is a great coach but I can't be him it's just like when I took over for Navy from coach Paul Johnson who was a legend there at Navy I I had to be me and so just because it's the only way you can do things and when you try to be somebody else kids see it and so just um yeah so that's kind of how we Tred to build things and build this team and hopefully the retooling we'll we'll we'll see really quickly how this in a couple days kind of how everything manifest itself couple more questions for Coach uh coach one of the many changes uh going into this season is the inh helment communication you're have with the the quarterback uh is are you excited for that have you guys Incorporated that within PA camp and have you guys been able to utilize that technology and how are you to adapt to those changes cuz I know it's probably a little bit of a different uh change and are you guys going to still have all the all the funny stuff and on the sidelines the Emojis um it it's definitely been um no we've been definitely working on it it's definitely um going to be a great benefit and so we yes we we we use it every day trying to see how we can kind of get more efficient at it more effective at it and we've been trying our best to try to see trying to hold in that system try to get our protocol down exactly how we're going to do it obviously you know eventually the communication cuts off and so it's something that we're going to utilize to its fullest uh but we want to be prudent and wise as as we use it to coach again about the fans of San Jose State uh students and the San Jose Community if there's a message that you have for them come out support the team what would that message be come out it's going to be fun I think they're really going to enjoy this brand of football in this team and so you know just you know would love for all you know the fans that come out people of San Jose our our students or alumni to come see but I think they're going to really excite our football like our football team I love what coach odms does on defense exciting brand of of Defense the way what he's done over the years he's been an amazing coach and I've been super excited with what we've done on offense with you know coach stutzman's offense um you know we were really good on special teams last year here and Coach palik here has continued on with some of those things so it's going to be an exciting brand tough hard-nosed football and and we're we're expecting to win a ton of football games here final question there were a lot of familiar faces last year two players were the all-time highest play games in ten C history the a your friend brand a familiar face how do you get back starting here with week one to getting to a a feeling that with the fans the community recognize all those faces that are in the program I don't know you just I mean I don't think you can force feed I mean we're you know what I mean it's like uh I I I guess it's similar to your question just hopefully come and see the product and see what we have we just got to come and see you know I mean we can have all the media blitzes and stuff that you want and come and we're no good nobody's going come back you know what I mean so the goal has been to try to create the best football program as as possible then they come out like wow this is a really good football team and then let the fruits The Things fall where they may um again I I just feel like it's going to be a byproduct of the type of football that we put on the field um we have a amazing uh we got an amazing schedule you know I mean it's it's a really really good football schedule and you know we're playing really good teams and and with the the product that we put on the field on our side of it cuz we can't control the other side I'm excited about our team that we're going to put on the field and there's no doubt in my mind if people come and watch it they're going to be happy with the results and and for coming to the games and supporting San Jose State