Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs open final week of spring ball
3/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 29, 2016
Photo Gallery courtesy of Kiel Maddox
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State football team returned to Bulldog Stadium Tuesday for its final week of spring football.
The Bulldogs held practice No. 12 of 15 in full pads early morning in their first practice since returning from spring break. This was the first year in five seasons now under head coach Tim DeRuyter that Fresno State did not wrap up spring practices before spring break.
"This is the first time we've split it up with spring break, it was the way the calendar fell this year," DeRuyter said. "We'll probably evaluate whether or not we want to do it again, but I think it's good in that you got guys for a little longer period of time thinking football and anytime you can stretch that part out it is good."
The Bulldogs enjoyed their spring breaks, but we back to work early Monday morning in their normal lifting groups before putting the pads back on Tuesday for practice.
"To be in football a little bit longer, be able to study our systems a little bit longer and being able to get ready for what we will go through in fall camp, it was good," quarterback Chason Virgil said of the extended spring session. "With us having the new coaches it was the right direction that we needed to go in."
With the Spring Showcase, Fresno State's last official practice approaching on Saturday, the Bulldogs are focusing in on their execution this last week of practices.
"The NCAA dictates that you can have three live scrimmages and [Saturday] will be our third and final one," DeRuyter said. "We talk to our team all the time about, those are our game opportunities. What you do in practice every day is important, but those game opportunities are really where you get a chance to shine in a live period.
"I think our guys are looking forward to it and we'll see what happens on Saturday."
When spring ball wraps up on Saturday, April 2, the Bulldogs will become just the second Mountain West program to complete its spring practices. San Diego State ended its spring session on March 19, all other league schools round up spring ball this month with four programs (Air Force, Boise State, UNLV and Utah State) set to hold its spring games on April 9.
Once spring football is complete, the team will focus on its strength and conditioning period that starts April 11 – a five week program that will take them all the way up to finals week and the end of the semester.
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