Fresno State Athletics
Week Three of Spring Football Concludes
4/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 18, 2009
FRESNO, Calif.- - The third week of spring football concluded on Saturday with a scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium where several hundred fans showed up to watch the team perform. Saturday's scrimmage was an opportunity for coach Pat Hill to put his team through game-like situations.
After the scrimmage the Bulldog head coach said he was pleased with the way his team performed.
"We learned a lot today," Hill said. "We had only one delay of game. Today we had coaches in the press box. This was the first time quarterbacks were signaling plays. I thought it went very smoothly for the mechanics that you don't get to till the first game of the season."
Saturday was a scrimmage where quarterbacks Ryan Colburn, Derek Carr and Ebahn Feathers were put into live situations. All three quarterbacks performed well throughout the course of the afternoon and made big plays.
"This scrimmage was a little different than most scrimmages," Hill said. "We need our quarterbacks to see it as close to a game situation as possible. That was as close to a game type of situation that you can put them in. We put them in live with all out pressure. We have some escape ability which is good."
All three quarterbacks showed their ability to run the football as Feathers ended the scrimmage by scoring on a 25-yard touchdown run up the middle. Colburn broke loose for a 17-yard run and Carr had a 12-yard run.
Running back Michael Harris broke loose for two big plays as he scored two touchdowns, one being a 33-yard run and the other was a 62-yard touchdown reception from Colburn on a third-and-nine from the 38-yard line.
"Michael Harris did very well and so did A.J. Ellis," Hill said. "They have a chance to be two really good players for us. This scrimmage and next scrimmage will be important for them. I don't know how many downs they will get next year but I think they are putting themselves in a position to be players."
Colburn completed three passes for 30 yards or more as Darren Newborn caught a 40-yard pass and Seyi Ajirotutu caught a 32-yard reception to go along with Harris's 62-yard touchdown. Carr completed an 11-yard pass to Newborn and an 18-yard pass to Ajirotutu.
On the defensive side of the ball, there were four sacks and a fumble recovery. The teams' ability to get to the quarterback really pleased Hill.
"There were a lot of things I liked," Hill said. "I liked the way we ran on defense. I think we have improved our team speed and I think we are finding some pass rushers. From a defensive standpoint we played well most of the day. We gave up a few big plays. For most of the day we kept a lot of pressure on the quarterback. We did a good job against the two-back run game."
Andrew Shapiro connected on a 40-yard field goal while Kevin Goessling hit a 42-yarder.
Next week is the final week of spring football practice. The Bulldogs close out spring ball on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the annual spring scrimmage at Bulldog Stadium.
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