Big Brothers: Capra brothers ready for Mountain West football at SDSU

For the most part, life has been good for the Capra brothers, Jacob and Joey. Sharing a two-bedroom apartment, snorkeling, boogie boarding and spotting tropical fish – when classwork and football practice at San Diego State permit – are favorite pastimes of the Placer High School alumni. "It's such a killer experience," said Jacob, the 6-foot-5, 315-pound starting left guard for the Aztecs. "It's awesome. It's like living with your best friend." Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020-21 season hasn't always been as easy as hitting the beach and soaking up the San Diego sun. Jacob Capra completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon before transferring to San Diego State in time for younger brother Joey to arrive as a freshman in 2019. Already with a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice, Jacob still has one year left of football eligibility as he works toward his Master's degree in homeland security. He just wasn't sure if he'd get to play out that final year. The Mountain West Conference canceled its 2020 football season on Aug. 10 in response to surging and spreading coronavirus infections, leaving players like Jacob Capra stuck, buried in the sand. "I kept thinking, 'Are my days numbered?'," Jacob said. "I went from studying film and opponents to looking at job listings online. It was a big scary change, but I was super thankful when they put the season back on." The Mountain West reversed its decision on Sept. 25 and opted to play an eight-game conference-only season with an abundance of safety measures in place. At San Diego State, all players have a plexiglass face shield on their helmets, and when helmets aren't being worn, masks are. Spaced-out markers on the sidelines ensure social distancing, and trainers are the only ones allowed to touch water bottles. "There's a lot of strange rules, but football is still football," said Joey Capra, the 6-4, 300-pound guard/center who's anxious to see some snaps after redshirting his freshman year. "When things got kicked back into gear, it was like a 'let's-go' moment. We were super hyped we were getting the season underway." With the Aztecs preparing with a renewed purpose, the younger brother is soaking in as much as he can with the benefit of his big brother as his roommate. "I chose the right school, especially being with (Jacob)," Joey Capra said. "It's amazing, especially getting back from practice and turning on film and taking in all of his knowledge." Joey Capra is taking in his own knowledge with six classes on a path to be the third Capra brother to graduate early and pursue a Master's degree within five years. Before Joey and Jacob was Johnny Capra, the oldest of the three who graduated early from the University of Utah and is pursuing his Ph.D. while teaching communications courses at Chapman University. The Capra lineage helped spark an active run of eight straight league championships for Placer football, starting in Johnny's sophomore year in 2012. None of the three brothers knew a varsity football season without a league title. Although too humble to ever brag publicly about it, Joey Capra is the only one of the bunch to help the Hillmen claim a Sac-Joaquin Section banner. The only thing eluding the Capra household is a collegiate conference championship, something Jacob and Joey Capra hope to help claim in this COVID-shortened season. The quest begins at 7:30 p.m. Saturday against UNLV at Aztec Stadium. "It's just been a whirlwind of a year," Jacob Capra said. "But this will give us some normalcy to just play this game we spend so much time preparing for."