Fresno State Athletics
First Scrimmage Pleases Hill
4/5/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 5, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. - Head coach Pat Hill would have preferred to have a few more live scrimmage plays Saturday, but overall he was pleased with the nearly 40-play live plays he saw from his squad.
Since a handful of key Bulldogs were not available for the scrimmage, Hill used the day to let some younger players get live repetitions. That didn't stop a couple marquee players from making some big plays on the sunny Spring afternoon at the Bulldog practice facility.
Hill and the Bulldogs spent nearly two hours on the field for practice, with less than 40 minutes of that dedicated to the scrimmage. Several hundred fans lined the hillside of the facility to watch.
"We saw some good things there today," said Hill. "The Spring is always a time to look at and develop the younger players and we had a lot of young guys get in there in live action. We can look at film and evaluate them. I saw some good things."
Quarterback Tom Brandstater, a two-year starter, saw limited action with the first team. He attempted four passes and completed two for eight yards. Reserve Ryan Colburn got the lion's share of the reps completing 4-of-7 passes for 74 yards and threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Seyi Ajirotutu.
Redshirt freshman Matt Faulker completed all three of his pass attempts for 46 yards and had a 25-yard touchdown pass to sophomore receiver Devon Wylie.
"With Tom, what we like is his continued development, his footwork and decision making," said Hill. "He's having a very good spring in those areas. The other quarterbacks continue to get better and that's what we need from them."
Fresno State's running back trio of Ryan Mathews, Lonyae Miller and Anthony Harding all saw plenty of action. Harding led all rushers with 34 yards on eight carries. Mathews averaged 11 yards per carry and scored on a 16 yard touchdown run. Miller had 16 yards on six carries.
No Bulldog receiver had more then one reception. In addition to the two touchdown grabs during the scrimmage, tight end Vince Pascoe had one reception for 22 yards and walk-on Isiah Barton had one for 21 yards.
Some bright spots from the Bulldog defense came senior end Michael Stuart who had one sack for three yards and one tackle for a loss. Safety Dorian Penn had three tackles and redshirt freshman Austin Raphael had two tackles, one for a loss. Junior Quaadir Brown had a tackle for a loss and sophomore end Chris Carter finished with two tackles.
The Dogs return to practice on Monday and will have another scrimmage next Saturday at 2 p.m. on campus. Fresno State will hold its annual spring game April 19 at Bulldog Stadium. While fans are welcome to attend the spring scrimmages, Fresno State will no longer allow video footage of any of the scrimmages or practice to be shot by fans.
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