Mother Nature tried its disruptive best — wind and rain — but San Jose State quarterback Chevan Cordeiro would not be denied.
During Tuesday’s practice on Saint Louis School’s football field, Cordeiro zipped passes that appeared to elude the raindrops.
“It felt good to be at my old stomping grounds where it all started,” said Cordeiro, a 2018 graduate of Saint Louis.
In a full-circle day, Cordeiro, who played four seasons for Hawaii before transferring to San Jose State in December 2021, was leading the Spartans ahead of Saturday’s EasyPost Hawaii Bowl at the Ching Complex on the UH campus.
“It was crazy,” Cordeiro said of the conditions. “All the other QBs, the players, weren’t used to this wind. But that’s how it was every practice at Saint Louis.”
The return was a bonus to a milestone day for Cordeiro, who completed work on a bachelor’s degree last week. San Jose State’s commencement ceremony was scheduled for the same time as the middle of the Spartans’ Tuesday practice.
“It means a lot,” Cordeiro said of the degree. “Not everything is about football. School is very important. It took me six years, but better late than never.”
A few days after the end of the 2021 season, Cordeiro, a two-time UH captain, opted to leave the Rainbow Warriors, due in large part to the perceived tumultuous atmosphere under then-head coach Todd Graham. Graham resigned in January 2022, and Timmy Chang was named successor. For Cordeiro, changing schools lengthened his paper chase. Cordeiro said SJSU did not accept all his UH credits.
“That’s why it took me longer than usual,” he said. “But now I’m here and graduated and ready to play in the bowl game.”
The Spartans are no longer irked with a computer formula that left them as the odd team out in a three-way tie atop the Mountain West’s regular-season standings. Boise State and UNLV played in the league’s championship game. But the Spartans appeared to be giddy with the consolation prize of a Hawaii Bowl invitation. In tribute to his late cousin and UH great, SJSU coach Brent Brennan wore a Colt Brennan jersey to Tuesday’s news conference.
“Wherever we play (in the postseason), it means a lot,” Cordeiro said. “It’s one extra game with my brothers. One final game to have in my college career. To be able to play in front of my family, in front of my hometown, it really means a lot.”
A few hours after the Oct. 28 game against UH, the Spartans departed on a flight back to the Bay Area. As a graduate and now SJSU alumnus, Cordeiro can remain in Hawaii after Saturday’s game.
“Now I get to spend Christmas with my family and do everything with them,” Cordeiro said. “Family means the world to me.”
Cordeiro recalled past holidays with his family.
“We did things,” he said. “It didn’t matter about opening gifts. It was spending time with them in the park throwing around a football or going to the beach to play Spikeball.”
Atop his Christmas list is his usual wish.
“Every time, I’ll ask my dad to make steak and beans,” Cordeiro said. “It’s nothing special. It’s not like he puts in different ingredients. But it tastes good all the time. It never disappoints me.”
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>> 5:30 p.m. Saturday
>> Ching Complex
>> ESPN , 1420-AM / 92.7-FM
