Fresno State Athletics
Fall Camp Spotlight: Wide Receivers
8/9/2023 11:58:00 AM | Football
WIDE RECEIVERS OUTLOOK
The Bulldogs have a wealth of good, young talent, but not a lot of experience following the departures of Jalen Moreno-Cropper, Nikko Remigio and Zane Pope, who were their top three wideouts a year ago in a Mountain West Conference championship season. The trio amassed 2,561 receiving yards, 67 percent of the offense's total receiving yards, and 19 touchdowns.
The challenge for Jeff Tedford and Pat McCann is to find and develop the next wave in a long line of dominant Fresno State wideouts.
Who's back: Seniors Erik Brooks and Mac Dalena, who have played in every game the last three seasons, have the most experience of the returning wideouts and an opportunity to earn starting roles.
Brooks has progressed through the ranks during his time as a Bulldog after joining the team in 2018 as a non-scholarship walk-on. He has embraced and excelled in his role within the offense, earning a scholarship in 2021 and increasing his receptions and yards every season.
Last season, he was the team's fourth-leading receiver with 37 receptions for 391 yards and three touchdowns. Two of his touchdowns came against Power 5 conference opponents Oregon State and USC, and he averaged 10.6 yards per catch.
Dalena started three games last season, totaling 11 catches for 99 yards and one touchdown while averaging 9.0 yards per catch.
Both have stepped into leadership roles, according to offensive coordinator Pat McCann, who also coaches the receivers group.
"Those two have definitely taken over the leadership of the room, but they do it in two totally different ways," McCann said. "Dalena has no problem being the vocal leader and holding guys accountable. He really understands the standards here. Brooks is much more of a lead by example guy, and he is such a good example."
Redshirt junior Jordan Brown also is back after suffering a season-ending injury at the beginning of the 2022 season. Brown has played in 18 career games, primarily on the special teams unit including some kick return duties. Senior Emoryie Edwards is currently working his way back from an injury that he sustained against Boise State on Oct. 8.
The group also includes redshirt sophomore Josiah Freeman and three redshirt freshmen in Jalen Moss, Nathan Acevedo and Joshua Johnson.
"They got a fair amount of reps last year," McCann said. "They didn't go into 'redshirt mode' because they were taking reps all season so that's a big boost for them."
Moss was Fresno State's highest-ranked wide receiver recruit since Moreno-Cropper, with scholarship offers from Arizona State, Nebraska, Oregon and Oregon State. He hardly took any scout team reps last season, working during practices primarily with the No. 1's and No. 2's. Moss ranked among the Top 5 recruits in the Mountain West in 2022.
The Menlo Park native was also the only freshman in the group that made the travel roster in 2022, seeing game action against Hawai'i.
Who's new: Seven newcomers join the wide receiver room including two Division I transfers in Jaelen Gill and Mikel Barkley.
Gill comes to Fresno State from Boston College, where he spent three seasons (2020-22) after beginning his collegiate career at Ohio State (2018-19).
He became an immediate starter for the Eagles. In three seasons he has played in 32 games, catching 54 passes for 1,092 yards and scoring two touchdowns. Gill also served as the Eagles' primary kickoff returner in 2022.
The Westerville, Ohio native was recently named to the preseason watch list for the 2023 Paul Hornung Award presented by Texas Roadhouse. The award is presented to the most versatile player in college football.
McCann is pleased with the leadership that Gill has added to the unit. "He has done a nice job of coming in as an older guy. He's been positive and encouraging to the younger guys when things aren't going their way, trying to show them the way. He's been a positive addition to our leadership."
Barkley joins the Bulldogs from Toledo. He played in 11 games for the Rockets, catching 22 passes for 289 yards with three touchdowns.
Prior to his stint with the Rockets, he spent three seasons at TCU (2019-21) and began his collegiate career at Palomar City College (2018).
Gill and Barkley bring maturity and experience to a young receiving corps, and that was a priority coming out of spring practices with such a young group.
"For us, it's been about experience," McCann said. "Guys flashed in the spring. We showed that we have talent, but we felt all along that experience was the most important thing. We just needed some more game experience, just because when the lights come on we want some guys who have done it before."
"We were very selective as far as who we brought in. There were other guys in the portal but that didn't necessarily mean we were going after them. They needed to fit the culture of what we do here at Fresno State and they needed to be wired a certain way and that hard-wiring they have I think is the big thing that has allowed them to come in and compete from Day One."
The Bulldogs also have three junior college transfers who participated in spring ball in Artis Cole, Tim Grear Jr. and Antoine Sullivan and a fourth in Jaceon Doss.
There is one true freshman in the group in Joe Dalena, the younger brother of fellow wide receiver Mac Dalena. Their older brother Frank was a wide receiver at Fresno State from 2015-19.
What to watch: Who breaks into the two-deep?
Brooks and Dalena have the most experience in the Bulldogs' offense and an advantage getting into what could be a deep rotation, but the competition level at every spot will be high.
Gill and Barkley were plucked from the transfer portal for their experience and play-making ability and have had strong starts to fall camp.
Will Gill be able to make an immediate one-year impact like Remigio in 2022? Like Remigio, he could also be a difference-maker on kick returns.
Moss resembles Moreno-Cropper in both skill and body type and had an impressive 2022 fall camp, but will need a repeat performance to earn a starting spot.
The junior college transfers that were in for spring practices all have more experience in the Bulldogs' offense and football at the FBS level, which is a significant jump with the volume of time and work in the meeting room, on the practice field and in the weight room.
Consistency was an issue in the spring, but Sullivan had a solid first spring, as did Cole. Grear Jr. has been slowed by an injury in fall camp, but has made big strides in the weight room, adding about 15 pounds of muscle to his frame. The Bulldogs also see a high upside in Doss, who joined the program this summer.
Freeman, the JC transfer who sat out last season, also is expected to have a big presence in the offense after flashing consistently in his first year in the program. He is a long (6-3), athletic wideout and could be a weapon for the Bulldogs in the red zone.
There will be a lot to sort out the final two weeks in fall camp.
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