Fresno State football is back in action, playing spring football for the first time in two years.
The Bulldogs were 3-3 in head coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season at the helm. Through its first four games, Fresno State went 3-1. The team’s games against San José State and San Diego State were canceled due to a COVID-19 case within the team.
Once the Bulldogs got back, they ended their season with back-to-back losses, keeping them out of the Mountain West Championship.
Over the offseason, Fresno State had seven players from the transfer portal join the team, and their 2021 signing class consisted of 16 players.
“As a coach, you feel like a kid in a candy store knowing you have a chance to come out and mentor, lead and guide these young men in this great sport,” defensive coordinator William Inge said.
Fresno State has been at it for seven weeks straight heading into spring ball, but Friday, March 26, was the first day the Bulldogs were in full pads.
“I’ve seen a lot of hard work,” wide receiver Jalen Cropper said. “Everyone is coming in with that 1-0 mindset that we’re supposed to have. Everyone is grinding and doing their job.”
“That is the one thing coach [Kirby] Moore talks about in the receiver room. ‘Do your job,’ ” Cropper said. “That plays a big part in the way we practice. We just have to keep the same thing going.”
Since last year’s spring ball was canceled, this is Cropper’s first. Some things Cropper said his goal was to get better in all aspects of the game.
“Whether it’s blocking for Ronnie [Rivers], my quarterback or just running my routes,” Cropper said. “It’s the little things. I just play my game and play it the right way.”
One new player Cropper said has impressed him is defensive back Daron Bland, who transferred from Sacramento State. Bland was an All-Big-Sky selection last season and played against the Bulldogs when Sacramento State came to Fresno in 2019.
“I’ve seen a lot of production from him,” Cropper said. “He was doing a lot for the defense and his corner group. He’s making our offense better, the quarterback and the whole team.
Quarterback room:
Starting quarterback Jake Haener is going to be the guy for Fresno State. But someone needs to be ready if Haener became unavailable.
Fresno State has less options to work with for the time being as its quarterback room went from six to three players.
The Bulldogs have spent a lot of time looking at new backup quarterback Logan Fife. The redshirt freshman took about half of the team period snaps during the first week of spring practice. Deep ball accuracy has been an issue for Fife, but the Bulldogs continue to try their backup out.
It should be noted that last year’s backup, Ben Wooldridge, spent time in multiple games. DeBoer mentioned last season that playing two quarterbacks in a game heightens competition and brings the best out of Haener.
Jalan Early ”” who was listed as a quarterback last season ”” is making the transition to tight end. Joseph Campbell appears to be the third string player, but 2021 three-star quarterback commit Jaylen Henderson out of Chaminade High School forgoed his spring senior season and will enroll later with the Bulldogs.
Henderson is a dual-threat quarterback and based on his film, plays similarly enough like Haener.
Offensive line:
The starting offensive line is somewhat of a question mark. The only surefire starter is Dontae Bull, who has started the last 14 games he’s appeared in over the past two seasons. He’s the likely starter at left tackle, which is where he played in 2020.
Bull said he and the rest of the offensive line are focusing on two areas this spring: technique and communication.
“Our goal line technique is our whole M.O. this offseason,” Bull said. “We still have a long ways to go, but I think everyone is making good strides in the right direction. We want to be able to communicate, pass off stunts, and make sure everyone on the field can hear what we’re doing.”
“It doesn’t matter if the other team knows what we’re doing. As long as we do it right, the other team can’t stop us.”
The other four spots are position battles for the time being. Two-year starting center Matt Smith will miss spring camp with injury, meaning Tyrone Sampson Jr. and Bula Schmidt have split snaps at center.
Mose Vavao was the only true freshman to play on the offensive line in 2020. He’s taken a lot of snaps at left guard this spring.
The right side of the line will miss the presence of right tackle Syrus Tuitele, who declared for the NFL Draft in early January. Dante Adkins Jr. and Alex Akingbulu will compete to replace Tuitele.
The Bulldogs also lost their starter at right guard for the past two seasons, Quireo Woodley. Nick Abbs and Elijah Carson are in competition for that role this spring.
Despite the unknown factor of the starting offensive line, Bull said this group is best described in one word — tough.
“We want to be tough people who put in the work,” Bull said. “Tough technicians who do everything right and make sure we put bodies on the ground.”
Running backs:
Heading into the offseason, one of the biggest questions surrounding the team was whether or not running back Ronnie Rivers would be returning next season.
Through four games, Rivers was off to a hot start. He had seven touchdowns during that span which included back-to-back games with multiple touchdowns.
But then, the Bulldogs’ games against San Jose State and San Diego State were canceled due to a COVID-19 case within the program.
The next game against Nevada, Rivers was tackled in the end zone for what would have been the all-time career touchdowns record.
But the touchdown was called back after a penalty, and Rivers was injured on the play. That ended Rivers’ season.
With just being one touchdown short of the all-time career record at Fresno State, Rivers said that is just a small factor into his return.
“It was the best decision for me as a person to come back,” Rivers said. “I need to take another year to get better, improve on my game and work on my craft a little bit more before I take that next step.”
But despite Rivers seemingly being the No.1 option at running back, Fresno State still added plenty of people to their running back room.
The Bulldogs added three running backs. Jonathan Arceneaux and Jordan Hornbeak are both part of the 2021 signing class, and Jordan Wilmore transferred from Utah over the offseason.
Wilmore spent two seasons in Utah. In his first year, he played 12 games but only played in two the following season.
In addition, Jordan Mims returns to the team. His career has been delayed from an injury that took place in late 2018 and forced him to miss the following season.
Through his first two years, Mims rushed for 1,063 yards and 12 touchdowns. But in his first season back from injury, Mims only had 28 carries, rushing for 145 yards and recording just one touchdown.
In an interview with The Collegian, Mims talked about what it meant to suit up for the season opener against Hawai’i after missing the 2019 season.
“I was soaking in the moment,” Mims said to The Collegian on Nov. 5. “This was real. It felt good to be back on the field.”
Rivers said that his teammates are coming in with a lot of energy and is impressed with what he has seen.
“They’re all working hard,” Rivers said. “They’re all doing their best to pick up the playbooks as fast as they can. I like what I’m seeing. A lot of guys are energized and ready to go.”
Fresno State will resume spring ball on Friday, April 9.
Written by Jesús Cano and Gabriel Camarillo.
