It became common in recent years to see San Jose State among the early offers for several eventual Power Five recruits across the West. Brent Brennan and his staff made it a habit of identifying and offering prospects prior to other programs jumping into the mix.

So, the fact that the Spartans were one of the first programs to offer Hughson, California standout quarterback Robert McDaniel last year is no surprise. Hughson, which is right outside Modesto, is less than 100 miles away from San Jose State making the connection an easy one.

After picking up the offer from Brennan's staff, in addition to other schools joining the race, McDaniel went on to finish out one of the most productive 2023 seasons for a quarterback in his home state.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior closed out the season with a career-best 2,839 yards and 33 touchdowns through the air in addition to rushing for three more scores. He eventually decided to stay closer to home and commit to Cal in March, but by the end of that month he continued to see his stock rise with Arizona then coming into the fray.

After visiting with the Wildcats and rebuilding his relationship with Brennan's staff in Tucson, McDaniel announced his commitment to UA on Sunday following a decommitment from the Bears earlier in the week.

The bond that began building in earnest last fall had blossomed once again giving McDaniel the confidence to make his choice.

"Prior to Cal offering, I had an offer from SJSU and had an idea of how their staff worked and how their offense worked," he said. "There are multiple things that drew me into making my decision to become a wildcat commit. Some of these include building relationships over time with Coach Lyle (Moevao) and Coach (Dino) Babers. Not only did I get to let those relationships build I also had the opportunity to work with Chevon Coredeiro a little during his draft prep, and he had nothing but good things to say about Coach Lyle and Coach Brennan.