Fresno State Athletics
Productive Spring Football Practices Winding Down
3/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 24, 2015
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State held its 13th of 15 practices during spring football on Tuesday morning, its last full-go session before Saturday's Spring Showcase in Bulldog Stadium.
For head coach Tim DeRuyter, he feels the Bulldogs have had a productive spring and gotten better over the course of the last three-plus weeks.
"I like this group, they've been pretty consistent coming out and competing against each other," DeRuyter said. "Today went back and forth between the offense and defense, some guys making plays on both sides of the ball. The thing I talked to them at the end [of Tuesday's practice] was about being consistent.
"We are not nearly consistent enough, the good news is we got 29 practices in the fall to get there. We're seeing some flashes from guys which is what you want to see in the spring time."
As has been the course for spring practice, the Bulldogs Tuesday continued drilling situational scenarios when in their team sessions. Of its three team periods, Fresno State worked operating in the red zone, drilled second down moving into third down plays trying to move the chains and had a session with the offense backed up against its own one-yard line.
The results from the three team periods went back-and-forth, good competition between both sides of the ball to the delight of the coaching staff.
"Anytime you get to see that situational competitiveness, it is fun to see our guys step up," DeRuyter said.
Last season, Fresno State's offense ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the Mountain West in red zone offense by scoring just 74.5 percent of the time. The defense was ninth in that category, with opponents scoring 86.8 percent of the time.
In the red zone period, the defense had the upper hand and in four series only allowed points one time when the offense started with the ball inside the 25-yard line. A would-be sack (quarterbacks were not live) from Xavier Ulutu on a third down led to a missed field goal when the ones were up against each other. The two defense got a three-and-out with help from a tackle for a loss by linebacker George Helmuth and short gain thanks to a tackle from DJ Reed to force another missed field goal.
Kilton Anderson led his offensive group to the only points in the four series. Anderson used his feet to pick up a first down and then hit Jamire Jordan with a touchdown pass.
The second team period saw the Bulldogs working on second and third down plays, the offense trying to move the chains and the defense getting a stop. In 2014, Fresno State was eighth in the conference in third down conversions at 37.6 percent and the defense ranked fifth at 39.9 percent.
The results on the first two groupings went the same with the offense picking up two first downs and the defense getting stops on the two other tries.
The third and final series there saw the offense successfully pick up first downs on 3-of-4 tries, and one of them went for a touchdown. Zack Greenlee found an open Justin Allen up the middle and he went in untouched for a touchdown of over 60 yards.
Fresno State ended Tuesday's practice working up against its own goal line, with the ones up against the ones and so on down the line trying to get one first down. The one and three offense both got first downs while the two defense was able to get a stop.
The Bulldogs will be out in just helmets for their practice on Thursday morning. That being said, DeRuyter still wants to see his program finish out the spring strong and enter into the offseason portion of the year with some momentum.
"I think we want to keep making steps towards being consistent," DeRuyter said of the remaining two practices this spring. "We're going to have a lot of our veterans not playing a whole lot on Saturday, but those young guys will have the opportunities the last time to show on tape what they can do. I want to see some guys try to establish can they be a dependable part of our team."
The 2015 Spring Showcase is this Saturday, March 28 starting at 10:30 a.m. in Bulldog Stadium. It is free and open to the public and following the scrimmage, the Bulldogs will hold a free youth clinic for kids eighth grade or younger and will have an autograph session on the field.
"Be Bold" - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes 1600 AM. Renew or purchase your Bulldog football season tickets by calling 559-278-DOGS.
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