LAS VEGAS — San Jose State is not approaching 2026 as the beginning of a long rebuild. The Spartans believe one difficult season interrupted the program’s progress rather than erased it.
San Jose State finished 3-9 last season, lost six of its final seven games and missed a bowl after qualifying for the postseason in three consecutive years. Ken Niumatalolo responded by reconstructing parts of the roster, changing the defensive leadership and demanding that the smallest details become impossible for players to ignore.
The expectation is not gradual improvement over several seasons. San Jose State believes it can correct the problems from 2025 quickly enough to return to meaningful Mountain West contention this fall.
That belief begins with a defense determined to prove last season’s record represented a setback rather than the program’s new identity. Linebacker Ethan Powell is among the returning players responsible for helping Niumatalolo establish that distinction before the Spartans open at USC on Aug. 29.
Powell does not want San Jose State asking anyone to overlook what happened. He wants the Spartans to play well enough that the previous season no longer defines them.
“We want to prove that we’re not a 3-9 team,” Powell told The Scarlet Standard during an appearance on Rebel Daily Drive at Mountain West Football Media Days. “As far as the defense, we want to show that we’re physical, tough, violent and that we’re going to give effort every game.”
That is the central expectation surrounding the Spartans. They are not merely trying to improve their record by a few games or demonstrate that the rebuilding process has started. They believe a reconstructed roster, a more demanding defensive standard and greater player accountability can return the program to its previous trajectory without requiring years to complete the work.
One losing season changed the urgency around San Jose State, but it did not change what Niumatalolo believes the program should expect from itself. The Spartans had become bowl eligible in 2022, 2023 and 2024 before last year’s collapse ended that run.
That recent history makes 2025 feel less like the unavoidable beginning of a complete rebuild and more like a season that moved away from the standard Niumatalolo inherited and expected to maintain. His response has been to make the habits behind that decline visible before they can decide another game.
“We’ve got a whole new team, so we’re flushing everything from last year,” Powell said. “Coach Ken really focuses on details. If we’re supposed to be behind the line and we’re not behind the line, we’re going to be held accountable for that. I think that’s big for us.”
The example sounds simple, but it explains how Niumatalolo expects the bounce-back to happen. San Jose State is not waiting for one transfer, schematic adjustment or motivational speech to repair everything that went wrong.
A player who fails to line up correctly during an offseason workout is corrected before the same lack of attention becomes a missed assignment against USC. A defender who does not finish a drill is held accountable before the same response appears when an opponent begins controlling a game.
Niumatalolo’s teams have traditionally been built around discipline, accountability and a clear understanding of what each player is responsible for doing. San Jose State did not display those qualities consistently enough last season, particularly after games began moving against the Spartans.
The defensive numbers show why the reset carries so much urgency. San Jose State allowed 47 touchdowns, produced only 17 sacks and finished with a minus-12 turnover margin in 2025. The Spartans must generate more pressure, communicate more consistently and create the short fields that can help the entire team recover when a game begins moving in the wrong direction.
Those problems cannot be corrected through aggression alone. Powell’s description of a physical, tough and violent defense is not simply a promise to produce larger hits.
San Jose State must become more dependable against the run, more disciplined when offenses use misdirection and more capable of preventing one poor possession from becoming an entire quarter of defensive breakdowns. Physicality has to remain connected to assignment football.
The Spartans struggled to regain control after adversity arrived last season. The defense’s challenge is to become the part of the team capable of stopping that momentum rather than allowing one mistake to create another.
Niumatalolo turned to Bojay Filimoeatu to lead that reset. Filimoeatu served as interim defensive coordinator during the final two games of 2025 before receiving the permanent promotion in January. He previously coached San Jose State’s inside linebackers and coordinated the run defense, giving him familiarity with the returning personnel and the weaknesses that must be corrected.
Filimoeatu is not the only change. San Jose State also added veteran coach Brian Norwood to direct the defensive passing game and cornerbacks, while former Weber State defensive coordinator Joe Dale took over the safeties. The reshaped staff combines Filimoeatu’s familiarity with outside experience intended to improve the communication and consistency of the entire unit.
Powell believes Filimoeatu’s energy will matter, but his willingness to enforce the standard may matter more.
“He’s our new defensive coordinator, but he’s a guy who is going to bring it every day, bring energy, bring the juice and hold the standard,” Powell said. “I love that about him.”
Energy can change the atmosphere of an offseason practice, but accountability determines whether that change survives an entire season. Filimoeatu has to build a defense capable of playing with the same intensity when the Spartans are leading, trailing or recovering from a mistake.
San Jose State cannot become physical only when the game is comfortable or play with effort only when the opening plan works. The identity Powell described must remain visible after the opponent produces an explosive play or forces the defense back onto the field unexpectedly.
That consistency must also come from the players. Niumatalolo and Filimoeatu can define the standard, but returning veterans must enforce it inside the locker room, during summer workouts and between defensive series.
“I think this summer, we’ve really been trying to be player-led and hold guys accountable,” Powell said. “We have a lot of new guys, so we have to show them the standard that we’re about.”
Powell has earned a larger voice through his own development. He finished last season with 37 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass breakup after recording career highs of 43 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three pass breakups, one sack and one interception in 2024. He enters 2026 as a redshirt senior and preseason all-conference selection expected to help anchor a defense replacing much of its established production.
His role now extends beyond reaching the ball carrier. Powell must help ensure that younger players understand why one missed fit, poor angle or failed communication can become the play that changes an entire game.
San Jose State has many new faces, but Niumatalolo does not want them joining a program that continues to carry the weight of 3-9. He wants them entering a locker room where the previous season has been evaluated honestly without becoming the identity of the next team.
That requires returning players to preserve the lessons without preserving the frustration. Powell can explain what it felt like when the defense struggled to stop an opponent’s momentum, but his larger responsibility is showing newcomers how the Spartans expect to respond differently.
San Jose State wants to play faster, communicate with greater confidence and trust that every defender will handle his assignment. Building that trust presents another challenge for a program expecting a quick turnaround.
College football rosters change dramatically every offseason, and the Spartans have new players on both sides of the ball, new personalities inside position rooms and newcomers who may have only a few months to understand what Niumatalolo expects.
San Jose State cannot wait until the middle of the season for those relationships to form. Powell said the daily work has helped bring the roster together, but the Spartans have also emphasized ordinary moments away from the field.
“We grind together every day, so I think that builds it right there,” Powell said. “We have the locker-room talks, we have lunch together and nobody feels left out. Everybody has somebody they can talk to.”
Those relationships support the defensive standard San Jose State is trying to establish. A player is more likely to accept hard coaching from a teammate when he understands the message comes from trust rather than frustration.
Defenders also communicate more freely when they know the people beside them. A unit can recover from mistakes more quickly when players correct the problem instead of searching for someone to blame.
The quick rebuild depends on creating that connection without lowering accountability. San Jose State wants newcomers to feel included, but inclusion cannot mean avoiding difficult conversations or allowing the habits behind last season’s record to return.
That balance will be tested immediately when the Spartans open at USC. San Jose State will enter the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against an opponent carrying greater national attention, deeper recruiting resources and little concern for how much time the rebuilt defense may need.
Niumatalolo does not want the Spartans treating the opener as an exhibition or waiting for a more manageable opponent before deciding what type of team they can become.
“We want to compete with the best,” Powell said. “Everybody should be ready for it by the time it comes.”
The opener gives San Jose State an immediate opportunity to show that the offseason reset created something real. A victory would quickly change the perception surrounding the program, but the larger measurement will be how the Spartans compete after the first moment of adversity.
The defense must communicate, tackle and maintain its effort even if USC creates an early explosive play or takes control of the crowd. San Jose State cannot prove it has changed only when everything unfolds according to plan.
That response will matter throughout a Mountain West schedule filled with contrasting offensive styles. Hawai‘i will spread the field and challenge defenders in space, Air Force will test assignment discipline with the option and North Dakota State will bring a physical running game to San Jose for the regular-season finale.
The weekly preparation will change, but Powell does not want the identity to change with it. San Jose State must remain physical without becoming reckless, violent without abandoning assignments and aggressive without giving opponents easy explosive plays.
Film study will help the Spartans understand unfamiliar opponents, particularly the new programs entering the conference. The larger responsibility is ensuring that the defense does not become a different unit every Saturday.
That consistency is why Niumatalolo’s focus on details matters so much. A defense cannot prepare for Air Force’s option through emotion because every player must understand his assignment.
The Spartans also cannot stop North Dakota State’s physical running game through words alone. The defensive front must control gaps, the linebackers must fit correctly and the secondary must tackle when the football reaches the perimeter.
San Jose State’s expected bounce-back will not happen simply because the players want it badly enough. It will happen only if the Spartans become more dependable in the areas that repeatedly decide close games.
Powell is not concerned with where outside projections place the team. A 3-9 record naturally creates skepticism, and the number of new players gives observers another reason to question how quickly San Jose State can recover.
He views those expectations as opinions the Spartans have an entire season to change.
“If you’re at the bottom, obviously you want to get to the top, so I think that would spark the fire,” Powell said. “But I don’t really worry about rankings or anything like that because it’s just an opinion at the end of the day. We still have a whole season to showcase what we’re about.”
San Jose State does not need to win an offseason argument. The Spartans need to produce a defense that looks more connected, a team that responds better to adversity and a record that reflects the standard Niumatalolo believes the program should maintain.
Filimoeatu gives the defense a coordinator Powell believes will bring energy and enforce accountability. Norwood and Dale add experience to a staff trying to improve the secondary, communication and the defense’s ability to adapt throughout the season.
Powell gives the unit a veteran voice capable of connecting what the coaches demand with what the players must execute. The new roster gives San Jose State an opportunity to create a different team without waiting years for every piece to develop.
That does not mean the rebuild will be easy. The Spartans must still settle roles, replace production and prove the roster can remain connected after the season begins exposing weaknesses.
San Jose State simply does not believe those challenges require a prolonged recovery. The foundation Niumatalolo established did not disappear because one season ended 3-9.
Last season’s record must become an interruption rather than an identity. The rebuild has to happen quickly because Niumatalolo’s standard has not changed, and neither has the Spartans’ belief that they should be competing near the top of the Mountain West.
Watch the full Rebel Daily Drive interview with San Jose State linebackers Ethan Powell and Naseri Danielson: