Fresno State concluded spring ball with its Spring Showcase, a practice and scrimmage in front of its fan base Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
Various positions stood out, but when discussing the game’s most important position of quarterback, Fresno State head coach Tim DeRuyter said he is leaning more toward redshirt freshman Chason Virgil at this point. As the team concludes spring ball, DeRuyter said Virgil is one step ahead of [Ford] Childress and [Kilton] Anderson for the starting job.
“We’ll meet with the offensive staff, go through all the stats and make a determination on where we want to go from there,” DeRuyter said. “I anticipate we’re still going to keep it open until the first couple weeks of fall [camp]. Coming out of spring, Chason is a step ahead of everybody else. But I like what Ford got done this spring, I think he made big strides, and Kilton made some plays, but he has to be a little more consistent.”
Virgil took reps with the first team in Saturday’s scrimmage, while senior Childress and Anderson received reps with the second and third teams.
“It was a lot of fun being in front of the Red Wave again,” Virgil said. “Last time I was in front of them, I went out with an injury, so I was definitely looking forward to being back in front of them. With this new team that we have, we have something to prove to make sure that they come back.”
Virgil, a West Mesquite, Texas, native, appeared in three games last season before suffering a broken collarbone against Utah that ended his season.
“I just have to keep working, earn trust from my teammates and earn trust from the coaches as well,” Virgil said. “I’m just going to keep working hard and pushing everybody. When fall camp comes, it’s still going to be a competition so just keep working, just keep getting better.”
The Bulldogs will report to training camp in the fall, where they will engage in 29 practice sessions before opening the season Sept. 3 at Nebraska.
“We have a long way to go,” Virgil said. “We still have summer and fall camp until our first game, but I think by the time that point comes, we’ll be where we want to be.”