Fresno State Athletics
Wide Open Attack
12/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 14, 2001
With a corps consisting of senior Rodney Wright, junior Bernard Berrian and sophomore Marque Davis, the Bulldogs have the opponents scrambling to cover their wide receivers this season. What is the reason for the emergence of these unsung heroes? The proof lies on the practice field just outside Bulldog Stadium. The three wide receivers credit their hard work ethic for their success this season. Some say practice makes perfect, but these three players know the truth is practice is practice and what you do in practice carries over onto the field.
"It starts in practice," said Wright. "If we go into practice with the attitude of getting better everyday, you're going to get better."
Wright knows what hard work is all about. He spent a good portion of 2000 recovering from a calf injury. Before missing five games because of the injury, Wright was a go-to receiver, posting 466 yards on 38 catches. Had he not been sidelined, Wright might have recorded numbers similar to his 1999 performance of 74 receptions and 1,062 yards. This season the Bulldog has without question returned to top form. In the Oregon State game he had a career high 182 yards and two touchdowns on seven catches, leading all other receivers. After he posted the career reception yardage, he moved up to the No. 5 spot on the Fresno State receiving yardage list and took a few more strides closer to surpassing the 2,000-yard mark. To date he has 1,931 receiving yards.
Berrian couldn't agree more with Wright's outlook. "As a team, we have the focus of getting better every week," said Berrian. "The things that have happened are because we made them happen. We don't get complacent. We take it stride for stride and continue to get better."
Last season, Berrian stepped into Wright's shoes and proved just how vital he is to the squad. In his last seven games in 2000, the second-team All-WAC honoree tallied 655 yards on 38 receptions and added six touchdowns. He is back in the game this year as well. And with senior Charles Smith out of the lineup due to a knee sprain, Berrian is the perfect candidate to step in. This season he has accounted for 197 yards and one touchdown on 14 catches. In addition, the Bulldog inked 133 yards on 11 punt returns and 204 yards on six kick returns with one touchdown. The one touchdown came on a 96-yard sprint to the end zone to begin the second half of Fresno State's victory over Wisconsin.
Marque Davis, who rejoins the wide receivers' staff after missing nearly all of last season, accompanies Berrian and Wright. He immediately made his presence known when he stepped onto Folsom Field at Colorado. His performance undoubtedly contributed to the team's success in that game. En route to leading all other Fresno State receivers, he posted eight receptions, which were good for 95 yards and a touchdown. Overall, the sophomore has 13 receptions, totaling 151 yards and two touchdowns.
"When we step onto the field we all want the ball and we all want to score," said Berrian. "I think, 'I've got to score'. The hard part is so do all the other receivers. So we spread the ball around."
The three are definitely spreading the ball around. Each has been the star in a different game this season. Davis pulled away from the Colorado game as the leading receiver (eight receptions, 95 yards and one touchdown). In the Oregon State game, it was Rodney Wright who dominated the bunch (seven receptions, 182 yards, two touchdowns). And against Wisconsin, it was Bernard Berrian (eight receptions, 102 yards, one touchdown, 300 all-purpose yards).
The reliability is there for head coach Pat Hill. All three receivers have carried their hard work ethic from the practice field to Jim Sweeney Field. They have all recovered from an injury of some sort, which in turn has given them the ability to see that their hard work is leading to something. To them it's all in the attitude they have when they step onto either field. It's the same attitude every time whether in practice or in the game: "Get better everyday and you'll be better."
