Fresno State Athletics
Looking Back at 1997
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Briefly...
Fresno State season notes...
Quarterback
Billy Volek, only a sophomore, was one of the WAC's biggest surprises in 1997, throwing for 17 touchdowns and just six interceptions in his first season ... Volek, who had not taken a major college snap at QB prior to the 1997 season, completed 56 percent of his passes for 1,853 yards and fifth in the 16-team WAC in passing efficiency ... during one long stretch, he put together a streak of 204 consecutive pass attempts without an interception before the streak was snapped on a deflected ball at Colorado State ... Volek's six interceptions were a league low for QBs with at least 300 pass attempts ... Volek threw at least one TD pass in all but two games and was picked off in just five of 12 contests ... he had three 200-yard passing games, including a career-best 288-yard outing in an overtime loss at Oregon ... perhaps most impressively, Volek, whose father is the head coach at Sacramento State, had Fresno State in the lead in the fourth quarter or overtime in nine of 12 games ... he performed extremely well in pressure situations, leading the Bulldogs on three consecutive fourth-quarter scoring drives when he led the 'Dogs back from a 37-20 deficit in an eventual 43-40 OT loss to Oregon ... he also rallied the 'Dogs from a 17-10 fourth-quarter deficit in an eventual 20-17 win at then No. 18 Air Force ... Volek's backup, true freshman David Carr, completed 5 of 11 passes for 53 yards.
Running Back
Fresno State featured one of the WAC's top running back tandems in senior tailback Michael Pittman and junior Jaime Kimbrough ... the pair, who carried the ball 71 percent of the time, combined for 1,541 yards, 68 receptions, and 17 touchdowns ... Pittman averaged 96.1 rushing yards to rank second in the WAC and 25th nationally ... the 6-0, 212 pounder finished his career No. 1 on Fresno State's career list for most carries (647) and No. 2 on the career list for rushing yards (3,017) ... Pittman rushed for 100 yards or more in six games this season and in 10 of his last 16 games dating to 1996 ... he trails only former Bulldog Ron Rivers (3,473 yards from 1991-93) on the school's rushing list ... Kimbrough is just 5-8, 296, but he again was an all-purpose contributor who ran, caught and blocked with effectiveness ... Kimbrough averaged 5.1 yards per carry (484 yards total) and turned five of his team-high 36 receptions into touchdowns ... Kimbrough had both of Fresno State's TDs in the 20-17 win at Air Force Oct. 18 ... he moved into a tie for 10th place on the school's career reception list (with 80) ... Bulldog running backs did not lose a fumble during the 1997 season.
Wide Receiver
Normally an area of strength for the Bulldogs, who currently have seven former wideouts in the NFL, this was a group lacking in experience compared to recent seasons ... only two receivers who caught passes in 1996 returned ... one of those was junior Anthony Tucker, who ranked tied for second on the team in catches (32) ... Tucker also had three TD catches, as did junior college transfer Terrence Jones, who had 17 receptions.
Tight End
Three Fresno State tight ends combined to catch 37 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns ... junior Scott Thompson led the way with 24 catches for 225 yards and two scores ... they were the most passes caught by a Bulldog tight end since Thompson's brother, Marty, grabbed 19 balls in 1992 ... 10 of Thompson's receptions came against Oregon (the most ever in a single game by a Bulldog tight end) ... Thompson started the final eight games of the season ... sophomore Vince Branstetter had nine catches for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and senior Warren Fortier had four catches for 10 yards ... all three tight ends started at least one game.
Offensive Line
The offensive front, featuring three senior starters, was solid all season for the Bulldogs, paving the way for Michael Pittman, who went over 1,000 yards rushing for the second consecutive season, and providing pass protection to QB Billy Volek, who threw 17 TDs and just six interceptions ... the featured performer on the offensive front was 6-7, 280 pound left tackle Chris Conrad, who was selected in the third round of the NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers ... the other two senior starters were center Michael Carr and guard Chris Lee ... returning players who saw significant playing time in '97 were left guard Ken Foersch, tackle Josh Kobdish, and guard/tackle Jeremiah Ross.
Defensive Line
Senior nose guard Andrew Jones was a second team All-WAC Pacific Division selection after leading the Bulldogs' young defensive front ... Jones, a 12-game starter, totaled a career-best 76 tackles and tied for second on the team in sacks (4) ... Jones had 32 tackles in the last four games ... Fresno State's young front featured three true freshmen (Jake Probst, Justin Johnson and Russell Harding), one redshirt freshman (Kevin Jordan), a sophomore (Seandale Jackson) and a first-year JC transfer (Patrick Machado) on its two deep ... Probst stated nine games and totaled 29 tackles; Machado started eight games and totaled 29 tackles and five stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Linebackers
The Bulldogs were led by senior A.J. Gass, who earned first team All-Pacific Division honors for the second consecutive season ... Gass, who led the league in sacks for much of the season, shared the league lead in sacks per game (1.0) and finished No. 2 in the WAC in average tackles per game (13.7) ... Gass totaled 273 tackles over the course of the 1996 and '97 seasons ... Gass, the 1996 WAC tackle leader (150), was in double figures in tackles in all nine of his appearances in 1997 and 19 of his last 20 games overall ... Gass was a two-time WAC Defensive Player of the Week ... his starting linebacker mates were redshirt freshman Tim Skipper, and senior Bobby Brooks ... Skipper was the WAC's top freshman tackler, with 117 stops (9.8 per game) to rank 14th in the league ... Brooks rounded out the top three tacklers for Fresno State, with an average of 7.2 per game ... key backups included redshirt freshman Giachino Chiaramonte, a standout on special teams, and Jeremy Luginbill, who had a pair of interceptions.
Secondary
Led by the secondary unit, the Bulldogs had their best team interception total (17) since picking off 19 passes in 1992 ... the Bulldogs also finished 43rd nationally in pass defense, with a pass efficiency defensive rating of 116.57 ... junior Efrain Guizar, a walk on thrust into a significant role because of injuries to others, totaled six interceptions to rank 11th in the country ... it was the highest single-season interception total since Rod Webster had six in 1985 ... Guizar was a second-team All-WAC Pacific Division selection ... a number of seniors closed out their collegiate careers, including cornerbacks Marlyn Jackson, who totaled 61 tackles, a team-high second breakups and two interceptions, and Antonio Pratt, who finished second on the team in interceptions (3) and also had 52 tackles ... junior free safety Cory Hall finished fifth on the team in tackles (8.1 per game) despite missing four games with injuries.
Kicking Game
Sophomore place kicker Jeff Hanna overcame a sluggish start -- he missed his first four field goal attempts -- to hit 12 of his last 14 tries and earn second team All-WAC Pacific Division honors ... Hanna was 12 of 18 on field goals and 32 of 35 on extra points to finish with a team-high 68 points ... the highlight of his season came when he connected on a 51-yard field goal to lift Fresno State to a 20-17 win over then 18th ranked Air Force, handing the Falcons their first loss in eight games ... junior punter Jeff Roberts earned honorable mention All-WAC recognition ... Roberts punted 72 times for a 43.7 yard average and had 22 of his punts land inside the 20 ... only four of his punts resulted in touchbacks ... Roberts was named WAC Pacific Division Special Teams Player of the Week in the season finale vs. Wyoming after punting for a 45.4 yard average and setting a stadium record with a 73 yard punt ... as a team, the Bulldogs ended the season No. 33 in the country in net punting average (37.3) and No. 37 in the country in punt return average (10.3).
