It’s no secret what the guys in the trenches want to do in a football game.
At the snap of the ball, the offensive linemen — the two guards, the two tackles and the center — want to unleash on the big guys in front of them.
That’s the case at Sacramento State, where the linemen for decades have been known as “The Hammerheads,” and that theme continues to resonate under position coach Kris Richardson.
The offensive line has been Sac State’s foundation since the Hornets rose to power, with Richardson its constant figure, including the Hornets winning their first Big Sky Conference championships in 2019, 2021 and 2023 under head coach Troy Taylor, and also reaching the FCS playoffs in 2024 under head coach Andy Thompson.
Heading into the 71st Causeway Classic at UC Davis on Saturday in a Big Sky Conference finale under first-year head coach Brennan Marion, the Hornets will stick with what has worked: the run game imposing their considerable will. Sac State leads the Big Sky in rushing touchdowns with 35, which ranks the Hornets third nationally in the FCS and FBS.
Marion has called “Coach K-Rich the best in the country,” and he has praised the linemen for their work. Marion challenged the Hammerheads to hammer away earlier this season, and they have responded.
“We’re definitely a power run-team,” Richardson said. “We’re gonna smash you in the face and come at you and attack you with various run schemes. At the end of the day, my guys are going to ram into you harder than anyone is going to ram into us.”
Richardson has developed relationships with his linemen after a championship coaching career as head coach at nearby Folsom High School, where the Bulldogs’ success was rooted in the trenches. Richardson and wife Kelly annually host Hammerheads for holiday meals. No one goes home hungry. These are his guys, and the coach is their guy. In an era of players coming and going, Sac State linemen have remained loyal to the program and to their position coach.
“I stayed here because of Coach Rich,” veteran lineman Aidan Meek said. “I think that’s the case with all of us.”
Assistant coach Kris Richardson leads players through drills at Sacramento State on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2019. The longtime position coach has consistently fielded homegrown talent on the Hornets offensive line. Paul Kitagaki Jr. Sacramento Bee file
Linemen with Sacramento roots
The mainstays up front include local products who were sold on Richardson’s vision of line play, such as Sawyer Hays of Christian Brothers High School, Kenndel Riley of Rocklin and Dean Abdullah of Antelope. Jose Soto and Meek have been mainstays up front with Jordan Herman, Bryson Summers and Jeremiah Stallworth all receiving playing time.
In 11 games this season, Sac State has averaged 256.8 yards rushing per game, the most for a single season in the 71-year history of the program. The 2022 Hornets team that went 12-1 averaged 243.3 yards rushing.
Sac State’s 35 rushing touchdowns are the second most in program history to the 36 in 2022. Sac State this season showed it can run in all weather, including rainy wins at Weber State when the Hornets rushed for 397 yards and at Eastern Washington when the team chugged and sprinted for 376 yards.
The Hornets running backs credit the big guys for their success, including leading rusher Rodney Hammond Jr., who said, “It all starts with the offensive linemen. Those guys lead the way.”
Hammond Jr. has rushed for 1,089 yards and 11 touchdowns, Damian Henderson II has gone for 551 and five, Jaquail Smith has rushed for 520 and five, and quarterback Cardell Williams has rushed for 475 and 11, including the game-winner late against Idaho last week to keep the Hornets playoff hopes alive.
A win at UC Davis greatly enhances Sac State’s playoff hopes, and everyone in Hornets green is on the same page: Run with power and purpose, and leave opponents bruised and beaten.
“Every lineman in the county wants to run the ball,” coach Richardson said. “You want to impose your will by ramming into people as much as possible, being violent, being tough, putting guys on the ground. Every lineman wants to do that, and our guys have completely bought into that and love every second of it.”
Sacramento State (7-4) at UC Davis (7-3)
When: 1 p.m. Saturday
On air: KQCA My 58 TV, ESPN+, ESPN 1320 AM Radio
Of note: This is the 71st and quite possibly the final Causeway Classic though this will be the 72nd meeting between the rivals. The schools played twice in 1988, with Sac State halting an 18-game losing streak to the Aggies with a 31-28 regular-season victory and then backing it up in the Division II playoffs with a 35-13 effort…The FCS will have 24 teams in the playoffs, 11 automatic qualifiers as conference champions with 13 at-large selections…Since 2018, the Big Sky Conference has placed at least four teams in the playoffs and had five in three of the past four seasons….Sac State’s main focus on defense will be UCD quarterback Caden Pinnick, the redshirt freshman out of Placer County who has passed for 2,221 yards and 22 touchdowns. Pinnick has rushed for 307 yards and three scores.
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Joe Davidson
The Sacramento Bee
Joe Davidson has covered sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1989: preps, colleges, Kings and features. He was in early 2024 named the National Sports Media Association Sports Writer of the Year for California and he was in the fall of 2024 inducted into the California High School Football Hall of Fame. He is a 14-time award winner from the California Prep Sports Writer Association. In 2021, he was honored with the CIF Distinguished Service award. He is a member of the California Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Davidson participated in football and track in Oregon.
