The big men up front: San Jose State’s offensive line faces its moment of truth in 2026
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There’s a running joke in football that goes something like this: when the offense scores, the quarterback gets the glory; when the defense makes a stop, the linebackers usually get the credit and when nothing works, the offensive line gets the blame.
Nobody in football fits the “unsung hero” label more snugly than these guys in the trenches. They toil in relative obscurity, buried under a pile of humanity on every snap, their successes measured in negative statistics — no sacks allowed, no blown assignments, no penalties at the worst possible moment.
But here is what the football nerds know that casual fans often miss: offensive linemen are not just big bodies. They are arguably the smartest players on the field. Pre-snap recognition, line calls, protection shifts, communication across a five-man surface against a defense doing everything in its power to confuse them. These are not tasks for just footballs lugs. These are chess players who also happen to be built like refrigerators. The great ones read defenses as well as any quarterback. They just do it in silence and nobody notices until something goes wrong.
That is the reality Ramsen Golpashin inherits at San Jose State, where he arrives as the new offensive line coach for the Spartans and, notably, as a primary OL coach for the first time at any level.
Who is Ramsen Golpashin, why does it matter?
Before any talk of depth charts or fall camp, there is a story worth understanding: one that starts not with football but with family.
Golpashin’s parents immigrated to the U.S. from Iran in 1986, two years before he was born here in 1988. Son of parents who arrived in a new country and found their way. It is the kind of origin story that does not announce itself on a coaching bio but shapes absolutely everything underneath.
“Just being here as the first generation,” said Golpashin, “And the work ethic I’ve learned from my parents, as they found their way in this country fueled my work ethic and led to my first opportunities.”
It’s also not coincidental that Golpashin landed in San Jose. The Bay Area and Central Valley carry one of the largest Assyrian communities in the country.
“There hasn’t been a lot of coaches or players that come from our culture,” said Golpashin, “When I run into kids at camps or on the road, there are those who can tell I’m Assyrian and I always make time to offer encouragement.”
Golpashin also carries another unique role model: Alex Agase, an Assyrian who arrived in the U.S. in the 1920s, played college football at Illinois, served as a Marine in World War II, came back and earned All-American status at Purdue and eventually became a head coach at Northwestern. Golpashin connected with Agase when he was in high school and shared a few exchanges before Agase passed away.
“He was my early role model when it came to playing and coaching,” Golpashin said. “I’d like to pay it forward to the next generation the way Alex did.”
The football credentials are also substantial on their own.
Golpashin walked on at Oregon in 2007, earned a scholarship and made his first career start against LSU in 2011, the year the Ducks reached the BCS Championship Game. Under Chip Kelly, Golpashin learned a zone-blocking system that was rewriting how people thought about the offensive line. His coaches included Steve Greatwood, the Oregon O-line institution who shaped how Golpashin sees the position at its roots.
After Oregon, his path wound through Hawaii back to Oregon, California and on to UCLA when Kelly brought him on staff working alongside offensive line coach Justin Frye, now with the Arizona Cardinals. Golpashin then landed with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive quality control coach for the 2022 and 2023 seasons before returning to UCLA in 2024 until Niumatalolo brought him to Sparta this January.
Golpashin distills those influences with simple clarity.
“I learned the position from a lot of different influences; guys that did things their own way,” said Golpashin. “So I got to see how to run the unit from Steve at Oregon, who was older and had been doing it for many years. And then Justin at UCLA; a younger guy that had earned his big opportunities. And then the guys I was around in the NFL. Just seeing how those guys did it at that level led to my own thought process.”
The philosophy: communication, puzzle pieces & bird’s-eye views
Ask Golpashin what makes an offensive line actually work and he starts first with principles.
“It’s the only position that has five guys on the field at one time,” said Golpashin. “For some people, it could feel overwhelming. But the root of the success or failure of the group is communication. Good communications can take over in situations where one might not be as talented.”
From there, Golpashin’s approach to building the unit is defined by one concept —a puzzle. Not necessarily interchangeable pieces, but pieces that fit each other.
“For example, can I go get somebody of larger stature and then put somebody that’s a little bit more cerebral next to him. Also a lot of that gets worked out not only on the field but off. You figure out how guys learn and how quickly they process information. It’s like a puzzle and how they all fit together.”
Early in the process, Golpashin ran his linemen without fixed positions on purpose; wanting everyone to understand what everyone else is supposed to do, not just their own slice of the assignment.
“I don’t want guys to just look at a playbook and only see what the left guard does on every play,” Golpashin said. “The guys that can see the big picture and understand how their role fits in with the guys around them are typically the guys that work their way into the rotation.”
A speculative, projected depth chart
The Spartans have not released an official depth chart and spring was still a sorting-out process. But based on the current roster, returning experience and some reasonable football logic, we derive our own take.
The Spartans have 16 offensive linemen on the current roster; average weight about 291 pounds. It’s functional for the Mountain West but a tick below what the conference’s better lines carry. Golpashin’s intelligence and technique coaching will matter more here than raw mass.
Left tackle: Ikiansio Tupou (6’6”, 295 lbs, RS Sophomore, transferred from BYU) is the most natural candidate to man the blindside. His size and athleticism are exactly what you want on the edge in pass protection and getting reps against Mountain West speed should be the true test after developing behind BYU’s program.
Left guard: Lavaka Taukeiaho (6’2”, 330 lbs, RS Senior, Weber State/Oklahoma State) is the heaviest man on this roster and a natural interior presence. His experience gives him a veteran ceiling well worth something as a senior leader.
Center: Nathan Balestrieri (6’1”, 294 lbs, RS Junior) is the cerebral choice. The center position demands communication more than any other spot on the line, and Balestrieri has logged snaps in the system and knows the calls.
Right guard: Simeon Afalava (6’3”, 311 lbs, Senior, Riverside City College) brings both mass and experience. He is one of the bigger bodies in the group who should be able to create movement at the second level. This seems the season that should define his career.
Right tackle: Brian Tapu (6’5”, 295 lbs, RS Freshman, Nebraska transfer) is the most intriguing name on the roster. Coming over from a Big Ten program tells you something about his raw upside. A redshirt freshman starting at right tackle in the Mountain West is not without risk, but Tapu’s physical tools make it a reasonable gamble.
First reserves: Joseph Harbert (6’3”, 290 lbs, RS Senior) is the most experienced backup. Mitchell Jones (6’3”, 310 lbs, Sophomore, Santa Ana College) adds quality interior size. Daniel Tuliau (6’3”, 305 lbs, RS Freshman, JSerra Catholic) is a developmental piece. Manuel Serna (6’5”, 282 lbs, RS Sophomore) and Kamuela Wilhelm (6’6”, 280 lbs, Freshman, Punahou School) give Golpashin length to develop, particularly at the tackle positions.
Camp battles to watch: Mainstay Tyler Chen (6’2”, 278 lbs, RS Junior, Utah Tech/Weber State) and Mitchell Brown (6’3”, 272 lbs, RS Sophomore) will need to show they can anchor against Mountain West defensive tackles to push themselves into starting conversations. Freshmen Keenan Parks (6’4”, 265 lbs) and Johnny Notarianni (6’3”, 285 lbs) are long-term projects who could surprise if camp goes well.
What the group tells him now
Golpashin has spoken candidly about where his group stands.
“From when I first got here to now, there’s been tremendous growth from the group in terms of togetherness and I think that’s building the foundation,” said Golpashin. “Now it wasn’t easy to get to that point. There were also days in spring ball when you’re on a downward trajectory or you’re inconsistent.”
The roster he inherited was a collection of divergent backstories: veterans like Harbert and Chen who had contributed but needed to be pushed; guys like Afalava and Serna who were already on the roster but had not yet found their footing; Power Four transfers from Nebraska and Oklahoma State who showed up hungry for playing time; and a wave of incoming freshmen who needed to be folded into a culture that was still being built.
“A lot of those guys that transferred in; they just want the opportunity to play. They were at those places where they have five meals a day and all the gear they want, but at the root of it, if you’re a ballplayer, you want to play ball. Bringing those guys in forces competition amongst the guys that were already here. Even Tyler and Joe needed to earn their spot and I was very clear with all those guys.”
The moment that seemed to crystallize things for Golpashin was watching the dynamics between the older players and the incoming freshmen.
“Seeing their interactions with the older guys; how the older guys are treating them, respecting them, teaching them and bringing them along. It has all been very positive to see,” said Golpashin.
That is the foundation Golpashin is building: not a collection of individuals at their assigned spots, but a room that operates like a unit before they even reach the field.
The real concerns heading into fall
Depth at every position is a worry in the Mountain West even for established programs.
For SJSU coming off a 3–9 season in 2025, the concern is amplified. This group has one legitimate Power Four transfer in Tapu, one Big 12-tested anchor in Taukeiaho and a collection of junior college products and homegrown redshirts who have not yet proven they can sustain quality over a 13-game regular season.
Golpashin is also installing his own system with a group that was learning different terminology last season. That kind of transition can cost teams early in the year. The fact that the 2026 opener is a Week Zero road game at USC in the LA Memorial Coliseum, in front of a Big Ten crowd means there is no warm-up. The Trojans are 6-0 all-time against SJSU and will be looking to make a statement to open their own season. So, the offensive line will be thrown into the fire immediately.
The true barometer for this group will come the following week at Eastern Michigan. If this line cannot protect the pocket with consistency, the offense’s potential under offensive coordinator Craig Stutzmann’s system might get strangled before it starts.
Translating what you have absorbed into what you can install with new players in a first year is its own challenge. Spring was the beginning of that process and fall camp is where it starts to become real, as the moment of truth approaches.
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