Fresno State Athletics
Defensive Dominates First Spring Scrimmage
4/3/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 3, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. - Despite all of the chatter on radio talk shows and coffee break rooms about Fresno State's vacant quarterback position, the Bulldog defense made the most noise in the first scrimmage of the spring session.
The Bulldog held an 80-play scrimmage on Friday afternoon as approximately 300 fans watched from the grass berms of the practice facility. The Dogs enter a week off and spring break for the student-athletes.
Fresno State's defense, which returns nine starting players, swarmed to the football, batted down pass attempts, and made some big hits. It only allowed two touchdowns on the day.
Leading the way were the three of the WAC's top defensive players, junior linebacker Ben Jacobs, senior safety Moses Harris and junior end Chris Carter. All three earned All-WAC honors last season. Carter had two sacks in the scrimmage.
A few youngsters played well in the scrimmage, including redshirt freshman end Matt Akers who had two tackles for losses and a quarterback sack. Junior end Chris Lewis had a couple tackles for losses while sophomore Zak Hill had a sack and broke up a pass.
"It was evident out there that we have improved our team speed, especially on the defensive side of the ball," said Hill. "We ran around pretty well and closed to the ball. I've been impressed with that during this spring. We are a faster football team that we were last fall."
The scrimmage started with an over-the-field segment, but the defense didn't allow a play longer than 15 yards. A swarming band of Bulldogs stopped the run, harassed the quarterbacks and knocked down passes before receivers could get their hands on the football.
The Bulldog defense prevented the offense from getting into the "compete zone" in all six attempts in the middle portion of the scrimmage.
The offense performed better in the "compete zone" - or red zone area - converting on two touchdowns and two field goals. Quarterback Matt Faulkner threw a touchdown pass over the middle to Darren Newborn for an 11-yard touchdown and Jamaal Rashad added a touchdown run of 12 yards.
Kevin Goessling kicked a 37-yard field goal and Andrew Shapiro hit from 42 yards, both kicking into a stiff breeze. Goessling ranked second in the WAC in field goals last season as freshman, and drilled a school-record 58-yard kick that beat Utah State as time expired.
The battle for the starting quarterback position continues to be a tight race. Hill addressed that situation afterward.
"We are still evaluating and are not ready to name a starter," he said. "We have a lot of work left to do. There were some good things going on out there, but the defense also limited what we could do. We had too many dropped balls by some of our veteran receivers and we need to work on that. With the wind and the defense, it was a tough day for the quarterbacks overall."
The Bulldogs have eight spring practices remaining, but Hill is pleased with the progress he's seen thus far. He's pleased with the development of some of the younger offensive lineman, especially freshman Matt Hunt, who's pressing for a starting position after just seven practices with the team.
"Matt has really picked up the offense," said Hill. "He's made some mistakes but he's learned fast. He is a powerful player. We have some other young guys who are doing well, like Austin Wentworth and Bryce Harris. We are going to be much bigger in the offensive line than we have been. We have some legitimate size with Devin Cunningham, Kenny Wiggins and Andrew Jackson. All of those guys are 6-feet, 5-inches or taller."
The team returns to school and practice on April 13. The annual spring scrimmage will be held April 25 at 2 p.m. in Bulldog Stadium. Admission is free.
Join the State - Fresno State! 2009 Fresno State football season tickets are available for sale. Click on the tickets icon at the top of this page or call the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-DOGS. Fresno State's home schedule features five games, including two in the first three games of the season.
