Who will throw passes for San Jose State (and who will catch them)?

SAN JOSE — San Jose State entered training camp last week with a new-look offense and plenty of questions after losing its starting quarterback and three of its top wide receivers from last season.

With 2025 starter Walker Eget transferring to Duke as a graduate student, the quarterback for the Aug. 29 season opener at USC will be determined by a camp competition.

Senior Hawaii transfer Luke Weaver enters training camp with the most collegiate experience. He will compete with redshirt freshman Robert McDaniel and true freshman Daniel Rolovich to win the Spartans’ starting job as SJSU seeks to rebound from a 3-9 season.

Weaver, a Manteca native, played in five games for Hawaii last season, throwing for 628 yards and six touchdowns as he stepped in early for injured starter Micah Alejado. His biggest moment came in the Hawaii Bowl, when he came off the bench and threw the game-winning touchdown pass in a 35-31 comeback victory over Cal after Hawaii rallied from a 21-0 deficit.

Weaver’s experience in Hawaii’s Run-and-Shoot offense was one reason he was appealing to San Jose State. The system has similarities to offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann’s Spread-and-Shred offense, giving Weaver familiarity with a pass-heavy scheme built around timing and reads.

“The intriguing thing about Luke when he got in the (transfer) portal was he was going to be familiar with some of the things that we do by the nature of where he was last year,” Stutzmann said.

Weaver, who played three seasons at Modesto Junior College before transferring to Hawaii, said adjusting to Stutzmann’s offense has still required work.

“It’s been a learning curve for sure, just because there are slight tweaks from where I was previously at,” Weaver said.

Although Weaver enters camp with the most experience, the starting job is not guaranteed.

McDaniel, a Hughson native, was rated a four-star recruit by Rivals coming out of high school and initially enrolled at UCLA before transferring and redshirting last season with the Spartans. Rolovich, a San Marin graduate and three-star recruit who is the son of Cal offensive coordinator, gives San Jose State another local option in the quarterback room.

Stutzmann said the competition will continue throughout fall camp before a decision is made.

“I think he’s going to challenge Robbie and Daniel for the starting job,” Stutzmann said of Weaver. “We’ll see how this thing unfolds here in the next few weeks.”

Eget spent five seasons in San Jose and took over as the starting quarterback midway through the 2024 season. He finished his San Jose State career with 5,563 passing yards and 30 total touchdowns and is expected to win Duke’s starting job.

The receiver departures come from a position group that has become one of the Spartans’ strengths. Nick Nash won the receiving Triple Crown in 2024 and Danny Scudero followed by leading the nation in receiving yards in 2025, helping SJSU earn a reputation as one of the top passing offenses in the country. Scudero left in the winter for Colorado, while fellow wideouts Kyri Shoels and Leland Smith transferred to Utah and UCLA, respectively.

The receiver room will look much different this season as San Jose State, which went 3-9 last season, searches for new playmakers. Malachi Riley returns after missing nearly all of last season due to an injury in the opener against Central Michigan. The Arizona transfer will compete for a larger role alongside Penn State transfer Anthony Ivey, San Diego State transfer Jerry McClure and Cooper Hoch.

The Spartans are also counting on transfers like Ivey and McClure to make an immediate impact after limited opportunities at their previous programs.

Replacing that production will require multiple players to step up, something Riley believes the offense has prepared for since spring practice.

“I’ve seen the offense progress at a rapid pace from the spring, from the new guys we got in until now,” Riley said. “Everybody’s making the right reads now. Everybody’s playing together.”

McClure is also expected to compete for a larger role after spending the offseason building chemistry with the quarterbacks.

“It’s been great,” McClure said. “Just really getting to know the guys, getting connected with the QBs and understanding each other.”

The tight end room will also have to replace Jackson Canaan, who graduated after starting the past two seasons, finishing his SJSU career with 71 receptions for 718 yards. With his departure, the tight end competition is open. Redshirt sophomore transfer Max Friedman joins after two seasons at Modesto Junior College, where he helped the program win a league championship. Returning players such as redshirt junior Kamaehu Kopa-Kaawalauole and Ryan Boultwood will also compete for an expanded role.

San Jose State has just under four weeks to develop its passing chemistry before kickoff against the Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.