SAN JOSE — Craig Stutzmann uses a whiteboard to fully explain the high-flying offense he has unleashed at San Jose State.
Even when discussing his philosophy and route concepts with a reporter, words aren’t enough for the Spartans’ third-year offensive coordinator to describe how his vision has transformed San Jose State into one of the most prolific passing schools in the nation. And as Stutzmann sketches out his novel ideas, his passion for teaching – and winning – resonates clearly.
“We have answers for everything,” Stutzmann said. “And the way that we teach it, and the way that we practice it, it makes sense to the players. It looks very complicated from the outside in, but I’m a firm believer that it’s as simple as you teach it to the players. So they’ve done a really good job.”
San Jose State enters the season looking to play in a bowl game for an unprecedented fourth time in five seasons. The debut of the spread-and-shred in the Bay Area couldn’t have gone much better in 2024. The Spartans finished fifth in the nation in passing offense and extended their post-season streak with a Hawaii Bowl appearance. Last season the Spartans went 3-9, but they were still 14th in the nation in passing offense.
San Jose State Spartans offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann gives instructions to San Jose State Spartans quarterback CJ Lee (16), San Jose State Spartans quarterback Robert McDaniel (12) and their temmates during the San Jose State Spartans spring football showcase at CEFCU Stadium in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, April 18, 2026. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
When head coach Ken Niumatalolo succeeded Brent Brennan in 2024, he brought Stutzmann with him to be a first-time offensive coordinator. Stutzman, 45, had been the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Texas State.
San Jose State is the latest stop in a roundabout career path that has taken the Hawaii native across the mainland, from Portland State to Memphis, Rhodes College, Weber State, Emory & Henry, Washington State, Utah Tech and even a season with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers.
Those locales had one thing in common: They all were led by some of the most innovative offensive minds in football, trailblazers such as June Jones, Jerry Glanville and Matt LaFleur.
Stutzmann, who grew up in Honolulu, also took inspiration from the offensive systems of Chip Kelly, Art Briles, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay. Though he never worked for Kelly, his connection with former St. Louis School quarterback Marcus Mariota, Kelly’s pupil at the University of Oregon, exposed him to the Ducks’ groundbreaking blur offense.
But the spread-and-shred is Stuzmann’s distinct creation. It marries influences from Jones’ run-and-shoot – which Stuzmann first experienced as a slotback for Jones’ Hawaii Warriors from 1998-2001 – as well as Kelly’s run-pass options and blistering tempo, Briles’ wide-split veer-and-shoot and the McVay-Shanahan-LaFleur wide-zone run game.
Like the signature Hawaiian dish kalua pork, it’s a blend of flavors distilled over long hours, a labor of love that spans the depth of Stutzmann’s unique coaching journey.
The pairing at first glance appears to be a mismatch. Niumatalolo’s Midshipmen primarily ran the ball. Navy ranked first or second in the nation in rushing six times during his 15 seasons as head coach.
Only three of Niumatalolo’s Navy teams attempted more than 150 passes in a season, and none completed 100 passes in a season. In the first season of the spread-and-shred, San Jose State quarterbacks attempted 552 passes, and Nick Nash led the nation with 104 receptions. Last season, Danny Scudero caught 88 passes.
“In my conversations with Craig, he’s very impressive as a person, but most of it was this system,” Niumatalolo said. “Even though it’s completely philosophically different from what I’ve been used to doing, I knew it was a system of offense based on some of the things that I believed in. It’s based on numbers, based on advantages for the offense.
“They have answers for however you play them. It’s not a ton of different routes, but he’s very precise in his teaching and how he attacks people.”
Niumatalolo first noticed Stutzmann when the latter played receiver at St. Louis High School and then the University of Hawaii. He followed Stutzmann’s career path through two decades of coaching, beginning in 2003 at Kapolei High in Honolulu.
When Niumatalolo was getting ready to accept the SJSU job, he had Stutzmann in mind to run his offense.
San Jose State offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann talks to his team at SJSU’s first training camp football practice on the practice field at San Jose State University in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“He’s a pretty well-known guy in the Islands,” Niumatalolo said.
Niumatololo also remembered the way, several years earlier, that Hawaii beat his Navy team 59-41 with Stutzmann on the Rainbow Warriors’ coaching staff.
“They won a ton of games in Hawaii,” Niumatalolo said. “We played them in 2018 and they killed us. I mean, they crushed us, and I was really impressed with what they did on offense. So I’d watched a lot of his stuff, and then my son told me a lot about him, and then we kind of started to talk a little bit for different reasons.”
An integral part of Hawaii’s Polynesian culture, family – known as ohana – connected the two from there. Niumatalolo’s son Va’a was a graduate assistant at Hawaii and overlapped with Stutzmann, then Niumatalolo hired Stutzmann’s younger brother as a graduate assistant at Navy.
Stutzmann said Niumatalolo’s approach to coaching, which is rooted in that communal philosophy, made it more attractive to decamp for San Jose.
Entering Year Three, there are new challenges facing the spread-and-shred and the Spartans.
The conference has a new look. The Mountain West added North Dakota State, Northern Illinois and UTEP after losing Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State to the Pac-12.
And the Spartans’ roster experienced significant turnover. Scudero transferred to Colorado, so who’s next to be a potential breakout star? Senior Cooper Hoch is the leading returning receiver with five catches for 43 yards.
SJSU added some intriguing receivers through the transfer portal, including Jordan Anderson, who had 24 receptions for 361 yards at Sacramento State, and Jerry McClure from San Diego State.
“This offense is very explosive, and it fits all different types of receivers,” Hoch said. “It doesn’t matter what your play style is, you’ll fit into this offense on the outside or on the inside. It’s very versatile too. There’s a lot of different concepts that apply on different levels, and coach Stutz usually knows when to call the perfect concept at the perfect time, and get the correct player the ball in certain situations.”
But the spread-and-shred is not all about passing. SJSU is looking to improve its run game, which struggled a year ago. UCLA transfer Isaiah Carlson could bring some juice to the backfield.
“This year, we’re more solid as a whole,” Stutzmann said of his offensive personnel. “You’ll see the distribution of the football will be better.
“If we could have run the football (last season), we probably would have hit seven or eight wins. So that’s going to be a key focus for us this year.”
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San Jose State 2026 schedule
at USCSaturday, Aug. 29, noon NBC/PeacockThe Spartans are winless in six games against the Trojans, and the average margin of defeat has been 27 points. But the 2000 team put a scare into the ninth-ranked Trojans before falling 34-24.
at Eastern MichiganFriday. Sept. 4, 3:30 p.m. ESPN+The teams are playing for the third time, but for the first time it’s not in a bowl game. The most recent meeting was in the 2022 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl when the Eagles won 41-27.
vs. Cal PolySaturday, Sept. 12, TBD, MW+The Mustangs have won two of the eight previous meetings, but those were back-to-back victories in 1957-58. The most recent meeting was 2023 when the Spartans won 59-3.
vs. Fresno StateSaturday, Sept. 19, 8 p.m. FS1The Spartans face their arch rival for the first time since the Bulldogs joined the Pac-12. Fresno State leads the series 46–39–3, but the teams have split the past four games in San Jose.
ByeWeekend of Sept. 26The Spartans were 2-0 after a bye week last season, beating Idaho and Hawaii at home. Since 2000, San Jose State is 11-4 coming off a bye.
at HawaiiSaturday. Oct. 3, TBD, MW+This is the Spartans’ conference opener. SJSU has all sorts of connections to the Islands, starting with their head coach. San Jose State has won three in a row in Honolulu, most recently a 35-0 rout in 2023.
vs. WyomingFriday, Oct. 9, 6 p.m. CBSSNSan Jose State has won six of the past eight meetings between the Mountain West teams, but five of those games were decided by a touchdown or less.
at UTEPSaturday, Oct. 17, 6 p.m. MW+The Miners join the Mountain West from Conference USA. The teams have played 10 times dating to 1966 but have not met since 2004, when they were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
at NevadaSaturday, Oct. 24, 2 p.m. MW+This is the third road game in a four-game stretch that could make or break SJSU’s season. San Jose State has lost 11 in a row in Reno, including a 55-10 loss last year that ended their bid to become bowl-eligible.
vs. New MexicoSaturday, Oct. 31, TBD MW+The Spartans have won four straight in the series, but the Lobos are no longer a joke after nearly a decade of ineptness. They went 9-4 last season, including a bowl loss, and were picked to finish second in the MW preseason poll.
vs. Northern IllinoisSaturday, Nov. 7, TBD MW+The Huskies join the Mountain West for football and women’s gymnastics after 29 seasons in the Mid-American Conference. The only previous meeting was in 1995, when they were both members of the Big West Conference.
at Air ForceSaturday, Nov. 14, 4 p.m. CBSSNKen Niumatalolo faces the Falcons for the 37th time as a player or coach. His teams are 8-9 vs. Air Force, including a split at SJSU. The Falcons won 26-16 in San Jose last season after the Spartans won at the academy in 2024 for the first time in four tries.
vs. UNLVSaturday, Nov. 21, 4 p.m. CBSSNThe Rebels were the preseason favorites to win the conference coming off consecutive double-digit-win seasons. The Spartans hold a 21-7-1 series lead and had won four in a row before last year’s loss in San Jose.
vs. North Dakota StateFriday, Nov. 27, 12:30 p.m. CBSSNThe Bison join the Mountain West after dominating at the FCS level, winning 10 national championships between 2011-24. NDSU was picked to finish third in the conference preseason media poll.