By admin 
Alonzo Carter is an emotional man, a thick-bodied jovial sort who can be equal parts engaging and game-face fierce. He can love up his football players with the same amount of zeal as he can in admonishing them.
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The first-year Sacramento State coach stresses a family feel, including the brotherhood required to develop a championship team. Nothing stops a man big on big-picture discussion quite as much as talking about the most important figure his life: his mother, Mary Jean Abraham.
He lost her seven years ago. She died in her sleep, unexpectedly, in her Bay Area home. She was 69. He was on his way to visit her but did not make it in time. Carter said during his introductory news conference in December that “I am here on the shoulders of my mother.”
Carter was asked Wednesday afternoon after a hot two-hour practice if he carries her legacy with him, and if she would be smiling down on him as he prepares for the biggest season opener of his football life — and in what promises to be the most curious and telling season in the 72-year history of the Hornets program. Sac State opens its first Mid-American Conference game Saturday afternoon at Eastern Michigan.
“She’s with me,” Carter said with emotion heavy in his voice and eyes. “I’m still just a local kid from Oakland, California, living his dream, trying to carry that sense of pride with me, the things she instilled in me. The appreciation is real. I’m appreciative of Sacramento and of Sacramento State.”
This will be the first NCAA Division I FBS game for Sac State after decades of competing in the Division I-AA FCS level 30 years in the Big Sky Conference. Sac State is the first California school to transition up to the highest level of NCAA football since Fresno State and San Diego State did so in 1969.
It’s a monumental weekend for the Hornets, past and current, for Sac State president Luke Wood and athletic director Mark Orr, and the coach driving the train. Carter said it moved him when his mother would proudly introduce him enthusiastically as “Coach Carter” from when he coached high school and college ball in the Bay Area and beyond, including stints as assistant head coach at San Jose State and Arizona State.
“Being able to do this, to coach here in this historic season, it matters a lot,” Carter continued. “And knowing that she didn’t get a chance to see this is hard, but she’s watching. Pretty devastating to lose her. It wasn’t sickness. It just happened. I didn’t get to say goodbye, and that’s the hardest part.”
Mary Jean Abraham implored her son to not emulate anyone, to be himself. He has done so.
Players stand to attention when he unleashes a fiery talk, and they appreciate and applaud his silly and spirited nature.
The silly includes when he busts a move as a hip-hop dancer from yesteryear who can still entertain a room, all rooted from being a backup singer and lead choreographer for teenage idol and fellow Oakland native MC Hammer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. That era of his life included performances with celebrities like Oprah and appearances on music cable television MTV and awards shows.
There will certainly be a time to dance if the Hornets can make some noise this season.
Sac State is the great unknown in the MAC, which includes contenders like Western Michigan, Toledo, Central Michigan, Ohio, Buffalo and others. By virtue of their status as a newcomer, they’ll be an underdog: the MAC preseason conference coaches’ poll in July showed the Hornets finishing 12th in the 13-team conference.
Can the Hornets win in FBS Season 1?
Sac State is as much of a compelling storyline to the MAC as the MAC is to Sac State. Carter said “I haven’t slept much” in eager anticipation of kicking off the season after spring drills and fall camp.
He wonders how his revamped team will respond to adversity — trailing early, making mistakes, etc.
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“We have to deal with it because that’s football,” the coach said, adding, “football is organized violence. Are we mentally ready to match what I know we’re about to see? We’ve got to stand in the center of the ring and match the intensity. Can we take a punch and give it back without jabbing or ducking?”
Carter said the Hornets aren’t in the MAC just for a change of scenery. The aim is to compete and to win. Six MAC teams reached bowl games last season, and that’s one of the goals for Carter and company.
“We’re not in this for a participation ribbon or a high-five and ‘good job!’” Carter said. “No, we want to be champions. We want to win. We have to have a championship mentality.”
Sac State has recent championship pedigree, winning three consecutive Big Sky Conference crowns under coach Troy Taylor, starting in 2019. But the FBS is an entirely different animal than the FCS.
“We’ve got to show that we belong,” Carter said.
QB Conklin leads Hornets
Sac State’s weakness last season during a seven-win campaign that nearly landed the Hornets their fifth FCS playoff berth since 2019 was quarterback play. It was, at times, dreadful.
That issue was addressed through the transfer portal when a familiar face returned to the Hornets. Carson Conklin was a Freshman All-American at Sac State in 2024 when he passed for 2,876 yards and 28 touchdowns. He transferred to Fresno State after a coaching change. He said he is glad to be back, and he has looked sharp in fall camp.
“I think we’re ready to go, and it’s about time, to be honest,” Conklin said with a smile.
Conklin hasn’t been hit in shoulder pads since last fall when he started two games for Fresno State. Quarterbacks are not allowed to be tackled in practice at all levels of the sport, an effort to protect a valuable commodity. Now he’s live game come Saturday, and he cannot wait.
“It’s always that first hit that really gets you in the football mood,” the Southern California native said. “It’s been awhile.”
73 new Hornets dot roster
Thirty-four lettermen return for Sac State but only six starters, which can be a bit misleading given the impact of the transfer portal. The Hornets have 73 new players, including 24 freshmen and 19 junior college transfers with 30 portal additions from four-year programs.
Returning players include lead running back Jamar Curtis, who played just one full game in 2025 before injuries derailed his season. He has impressed in camp. The defense includes returning linebackers Alex Rocha, Fata Puloka of Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove and Derek Houston of Rocklin High in Placer County.
Now it’s up to Carter and his staff to blend it all together. Conklin said Carter is “like a father figure”.
“There’s a lot of tough love — he gets on us when he needs to, but it’s all based on him wanting us to be the best that we can be. He has the best intentions, and we have to remind ourselves of that.”
Sacramento State (0-0) at Eastern Michigan (0-0)
When: 3:30 p.m. Pacific on Saturday
On air: ESPN+, ESPN 1320 AM Radio
Of note: Eastern Michigan went 4-8 last season and 3-5 in the MAC. The Eagles are coached by Chris Creighton, in his 13th season. EM is led by QB Noah Kim, who passed for 2,817 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2025. The Eagles started their program in 1975 and have been in the MAC since 1976. The program has one conference championship and has gone 2-5 all-time in bowl games. EM plays at Rynearson Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,200.
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This story was originally published August 27, 2026 at 11:45 AM.