Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Impressive During Scrimmage
8/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2008
The buzz continues for the nation's 25th-ranked football team.
With just five days of practice under its belt and wearing full pads for just the second time, Fresno State's offense looked like a well-oiled machine during the Fan Kickoff Night scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium Sunday.
Seventeen different players caught passes and four quarterbacks saw just 12 of their pass attempts touch the ground.
Running backs made cuts and moves like electronic video game wizards and in the end, the nearly 2,000 fans in attendance left feeling pretty good about their team.
Fresno State will open the 2008 season at Rutgers and enter the year ranked No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
While the defense had some big hits and forced a couple turnovers, it was the offense, led by 10 returning starters from the 2007 season, which most pleased the crowd.
"We ran some basic stuff...basic packages," said head coach Pat Hill after. "I'm not surprised the offense looked this sharp. We have a veteran team. It's easy to see that we have some explosive players out there. Obviously, this will get a little tougher when we start putting in more of the offense. Overall, it was a very good night. I thought Tom Brandstater played very, very well."
Brandstater is on the Davey O'Brien Watch list as one of the nation's premiere quarterbacks. A national sportswriter this week called him the third-best kept secret in all of college football.
He was extremely efficient completing 10-of-12 passes for 141 yards and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Mathews. He completed his final six pass attempts.
"We played well tonight," said Brandstater. "We didn't make too many mistakes on offense, but I will look at the film and I am sure there are ways for us to improve. The other guys made me look good."
Twelve of Fresno State's 100 offensive plays were for 15 yards or better.
One of the stars of the scrimmage was true freshman quarterback Ebahn Feathers, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for one. The California Player of the Year for his school's classification who accounted for 48 touchdowns last season, showed that type of explosiveness in his first appearance at Bulldog Stadium.
He had a 59-yard run and finished the night with six carries for 80 yards and completed 7-of-8 passes for 98 yards with touchdowns passes of 45 and 4 yards. Feathers played mostly against the Green squad defense, comprised mainly of fellow freshmen. He connected with Rashad Evans on the 45-yard touchdown pass. Evans finished the game with three receptions for 55 yards.
"Ebahn is a talent," said Hill. "That's easy to see, but he has a long way to go to be ready for a game of Division I football. I never want to throw too much on a quarterback. He can do some amazing things and is going to be a great player at Fresno State before his career is over."
Sophomore Ryan Colburn took the majority of the snaps at quarterback and showed some crispness on several passes. Colburn completed 11-of-20 passes for 142 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Colburn's touchdown, 46-yards, was to sophomore receiver Devon Wylie, who led all receivers with four receptions for 96 yards and a 24-yard per catch average.
"I had a lot of fun out there," said Wylie. "I've never had that many passes thrown my way in a scrimmage. I just want to stay focused on playing assignment perfect and contributing what I can on special teams and offense."
Mathews, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif., touched the ball six times in the scrimmage and score two touchdowns. He had five carries for 51 yards with an 18-yard touchdown run and one reception for 27 yards, which went for a touchdown. Mathews was the NCAA's top freshman scoring running back in 2007 with 14 touchdowns.
Junior Lonyae Miller had seven carries for 49 yards, while Anthony Harding had one touchdown (3 yards) and 22 total yards on five rushing attempts. Jamal Rashad had the biggest workload of the night of the running backs with 11 attempts for 25 yards.
Other receivers with multiple catches included freshman tight end Tapa Taumoepeau, three for 30 yards and a 4-yard touchdown, freshman receiver J.J.Stallworth (3 for 23 yards) and senior All-America candidate tight end Bear Pascoe, who had two receptions for 33 yards.
Perhaps the most impressive player of the scrimmage was freshman kicker Kevin Goessling, who connected on all five of his field goal attempts (43, 45, 53, 33 and 36 yards) and made his only PAT attempt. Goessling showed great leg strength and height on each of his kicks and is having a very good camp. Goessling has big shoes to fill, those of Clint Stister, who finished his career ranked No. 5 in Bulldog history for most points scored by a kicker.
Several Bulldog defensive players also put in a good day's work. In addition to being one of the nation's premier return specialists, A.J. Jefferson recovered a fumble from his cornerback position and added seven tackles. Other Bulldogs with big days on the defense included:
Sophomore linebacker Nico Herron: 9 tackles
Sophomore linebacker Chris Carter: 5 tackles
Freshman linebacker Kyle Knox: 6 tackles; 1 interception for 50 yards for a touchdown; 1 pass break up
Junior safety Moses Harris: 6 tackles
Freshman defensive end Matt Akers: 6 tackles, 1 sack
Freshman defensive tackle Anthony Williams: 5 tackles
The Bulldog offense wore all white uniforms in the scrimmage, something fans will see when the Dogs are on the road in 2008. In recent years, Fresno State has worn white jerseys and red pants for road games. The Dogs will continue to wear red jerseys and red pants for home contests.
"There were some really good things out there on the field tonight," said Hill. "We will take a good look at the film and make some adjustments and shore up some things, but I think we are in a good place to start building to our team and adding things to the playbook. When you have a mature and veteran team like ours, that's a huge help."
The Dogs will take Monday morning off and return to practice Monday evening for one practice. The remaining practices and scrimmages of fall camp will be closed to the general public.
Fans Excited for the Return of Bulldog Football
The anticipation for the return of Bulldog Football has fans throughout the Valley beaming with joy and ready for an exciting season as they packed Bulldog Stadium for the Kickoff Scrimmage Sunday night.
Julie Bruns, of Visaila, Calif., loves college football and her beloved Bulldogs. The five-year season ticket holder hopes the 'Dogs compete for a WAC Championship and potential trip to a big-time bowl game by utilizing the veteran leadership throughout the team.
"You couldn't find anyone more excited for the season than me," Bruns, a 1977 alumnus of Fresno State, said. "I start teaching next week so I am very excited to see the team and have some fun. I'm hoping they can get to a BCS Bowl, but they have to take it one game at a time."
A strong non-conference schedule, preseason national recognition, and a home date with the Wisconsin Badgers builds the buzz for William Cason, of Madera County.
"I like having the Big Ten come into Bulldog Stadium," Cason, in his fourth year as a season ticket holder, said. "Each season is like a flower because hopes are higher every year."
Dennis Pope, the owner of season tickets the past 37 years, believes the coaching staff has built a cohesive and tenacious brand of football that advances the mission of the university and community.
"I look for this team to continue how they ended last year," Pope, a resident of Clovis, Calif., said. "We have a great offense and had a great recruiting class. Coach Hill has a good program with good kids. They are playing to win and I'm excited to see how this season plays out."
The season can't come soon enough for Bulldog fans as they have big dreams for 2008.
Tickets for the Sept. 13 home opener against No. 12 Wisconsin will go on sale at the Bulldog Ticket Office Monday, August 11, at 9 a.m. Fans can buy tickets in person at the ticket office, via phone (559) 278-DOGS or by clicking the tickets icon at the top of this page.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The first Big Ten team will travel to the Valley as the `Dogs take on Wisconsin in the home opener on Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. The game can be seen nationally on ESPN2. Be sure to reserve your seat for the Wisconsin game by purchasing a season ticket, family plan or 3-game mini plan for just $99. In the month of August, get your official Wisconsin game day t-shirt at the Bulldog Shop for only $10 with any purchase. To purchase tickets, click on the tickets icon at the top of this page, call the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS, or stop by the Bulldog Ticket Office.
