Hornets Football Program
Gaining Ground

2009 Hornet Football ScheduleLast spring, head football coach Marshall Sperbeck found himself in an unusual position.

For the first time in nearly 20 years he concluded a season with more losses than wins. To complicate matters, the team was moving into the brand new Eli & Edythe Broad Fieldhouse, forcing coaches to work out of boxes as spring practice commenced. What a difference a year makes. Hornet football has a whole new look and feel.

The team surged to a 6-6 record in 2008, all the boxes have been unpacked in the fieldhouse, the pictures are on the wall, and the brand-new weight room has begun to show its benefits. Six wins are the second-highest victory total in the University’s Division I era. On top of that, Sac State defeated UC Davis, 29-19, in front of a capacity crowd at Aggie Stadium and a large Northern California television audience.

“Last season will hopefully serve as a building block for the program. We definitely had some high points but also experienced some growing pains, which is common for a young team,” says Sperbeck, who previously coached at Foothill College in Los Altos.

Last year’s Hornets featured a pair of Football Championship Subdivision All-Americans, and 12 players were named all-Big Sky Conference. Wide receiver Tony Washington had arguably the finest season by a receiver in school history, as he caught 83 passes for 1,279 yards and 12 touchdowns. Washington and linebacker Cyrus Mulitalo were each named All-America by The Sports Network.

Six of the 12 all-conference selections will return for the 2009 season, and Sac State will look to showcase some of its youth for the upcoming season. The returners are guided by junior quarterback Jason Smith, who battled through a series of injuries to throw 16 touchdowns and complete nearly 60 percent of his passes last year.

Sperbeck will also welcome a talented group of newcomers. The website Rivals.com ranked the Hornet recruiting class second in the FCS.

The 2009 schedule returns to the standard 11 games and will see Sac State play three teams that qualified for the NCAA playoffs last season (national runner-up Montana, Weber State, Cal Poly) as well as a trip to Las Vegas to play UNLV.

—Sports Information