Fresno State Athletics
Young Dogs Take the Field
8/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 18, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. - With two weeks remaining for the Bulldog football season opener, coach Pat Hill took his team through its second and final scrimmage of fall camp. Due to some slight injuries and soreness to some key players, Hill was not able to use the scrimmage as a prep session for Sacramento State. Instead, he took a look at a lot of young players in different situations.
"We had some guys who weren't able to go tonight," said Hill "But that allowed us to look at some younger guys going against some of the veteran guys. It was an eye opener for some. We got some good work in that was beneficial, but because of some of the injuries we didn't get to work with our first units intact as much as I would have liked."
Hill took the team through a variety of game situations, including over the field, "compete zone", third-downs, and a timed session that emulated the end of the game, in which the offense had to drive the ball 75 yards with 1:10 on the clock and just one timeout.
The Bulldog offense was impressive in the third down session, converting six of eight plays from various distances.
As many as 20 key Bulldogs either didn't practice or had limited roles due to some nagging injuries or soreness. Among the notable players who didn't practice included kicker Clint Stitser, freshman running back Ryan Mathews, tight end Bear Pascoe and cornerback Damon Jenkins. Running backs Lonyae Miller and Clifton Smith saw limited action, combining for just seven carries in the scrimmage. Smith looked sharp with 39 yards on three carries, including a 31-year run around right end.
Anthony Harding, who missed last Saturday's scrimmage with an injury, saw the majority of the work as the first-team running back. He scored the only offensive touchdown on a 15 yard run during the "compete zone" portion of the scrimmage. He finished the night with 10 carries for 64 yards. Kyle Duffy had six carries for 14 yards.
There were several outstanding defensive performances in the scrimmage. Newcomer Sharrod Davis was impressive with two interceptions, both of which he returned for touchdowns. It was his best practice of fall camp. Davis is a junior college transfer who started his career at Oregon. He show great quickness and reaction time while leading the defense with five tackles.
"Sharrod's a great athlete," said Hill. "He showed that tonight. We hope to see him make big plays like that for us this season."
Senior end Tyler Clutts had an interception and a sack while junior end Jason Roberts made four tackles, had two sacks and forced a fumble. Charles Tolbert, returning to scrimmage after an early camp injury, had three quarterback sacks.
"Jason Roberts showed the kind of edge speed we need in putting press on the quarterback," said Hill. "He's having a solid camp. We also got to see (true freshman offensive tackle) Devan Cunningham in there against those guys. He needs to see what the speed on the edge is going to be like at this level. That's a good lesson for him. Devan's going to be a great player at Fresno State."
The Bulldog quarterbacks were not nearly as sharp as the first scrimmage, but all three were working with a jumbled line-up and some younger players on the line, backfield and receiving corps.
Junior Tom Brandstater finished the scrimmage completing 11-of-14 passes for 126 yards with one interception. Redshirt freshman Ryan Colburn completed 6-of-14 passes for 33 yards and one interception. Freshman Matt Faulkner connected on 2-of-7 passes for 7 yards and one interception.
Sophomore Chastin West led all receivers with four receptions for 56 yards. Jason Crawley was the only other receiver with at least three receptions. He had three catches for 27 yards.
With Stitser out, freshman Kevin Goessling handled all of the kicking chores in the scrimmage. He made 6-of-8 field goal attempts, connecting from 23, 28, 33, 38 and 48 yards. His misses were from 43 and 53 yards.
The Dogs will get a day off Sunday, their first since camp started August 6, and return to practice on Monday. Several players who missed Saturday's scrimmage are expected to return to the field then.
The Dogs open the 2007 season Sept. 1 hosting Sacramento State.
QB Club Tailgate Kickoff
The Fresno State Quarterback Club will hold the annual Tailgate Kickoff Party on Sunday at 5 p.m. at the Fresno Convention Center. Bulldog student-athletes and coaches will be on hand for autographs and to talk about the 2007 season.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - For information on season tickets, packages and specials for the 2007 season, click the tickets icon at the top of this page.
