← Cover 3 College Football
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- [00:00]
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- [01:04]
Bud Elliott
Malachi, Tony, is he going to be ready? Dante Moore, he, he showed improvement, better command. What's going on, y'?
- [01:17]
Jackson Moore
All?
- [01:17]
Bud Elliott
Bud Elliott here of the COVID 3 podcast. And this is summer school. We are back in session today, joined by our buddy Jackson Moore. The barkboard.com everything you need for Fresno State. Like the Fresno State source out there. Jackson, how you been man?
- [01:30]
Jackson Moore
Been good. Thanks for having me on.
- [01:31]
Bud Elliott
Good to see you, man. So pretty nice year for Fresno. Last year, 9 and 4, 7 and 2 in Mountain west they beat. Shoot. Who'd they beat in the ball game? They won the ball game.
- [01:40]
Jackson Moore
Beat Miami of Ohio.
- [01:41]
Bud Elliott
Ohio. There we go. Okay, that, that's, that's solid. Matt Inc. You know, entering year two, year one, like pretty successful season I would say for him. We were kind of wondering like how the transition would go. Remember we did last year's episode. What's kind of the general vibe there now in Fresno around the program?
- [01:57]
Jackson Moore
Yeah, vibes are up. You know, you wondered how someone would come in and transition it like the way he did, if it would be reflected well by the players personalities. You're going from Coach Tedford and Coach Skipper who are very well known around here, to a guy that no one knew much about in Coach Inc. And I mean he hit all the right notes. And I think even more evident than the nine wins last year was this offseason where guys that have been here for a long time could have gone and probably gotten more money elsewhere. Maybe even played in, in some cases at receiver. Some better schemes. They all opted to stay pretty much. The Bulldogs were like third in the nation as far as teams that did not lose players to the portal as production wise. Really. Richie Anderson was the only player that left to Texas A and M. So you can see not only did they have success in the win column last year, but the guys are bought in. It wasn't a one year thing. It doesn't look like.
- [02:50]
Bud Elliott
So you mentioned receiver and you mentioned like the offense. I want to kind of dive in there. So Josh Davis comes in as OC right from San Diego State, which is obviously, you know, Sean Lewis's system there. Are they gonna start running the veer and shoot under mad ants? Like is that, is that happening? Am I reading too much into this?
- [03:08]
Jackson Moore
So Davis was from the other sdsu, the South Dakotas.
- [03:12]
Bud Elliott
Oh, South Dakota. Oh, my bad. I, I read SDSU on my sheet. I was like, wait a second. Okay, yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That yes, like maybe not quite as friendly for receivers.
- [03:22]
Jackson Moore
But it is a good question though because they've, the coaching staff said they're going to run the ball a little more with the quarterback so they're going to be more pro style. But I think what they found out last year, they kind of let a guy go and Joshua Wood who was a runner and then they got to the season and they had a great running game and not a lot of great quarterbacks and it would have been nice to have a runner. So I think they're getting that ready now so in case the passing game's not there, they can run the quarterback too.
- [03:45]
Bud Elliott
Well, let's go to QB then. So Martin comes over from Maryland and they still have what Jaden Mandel, who you know is kind of the in house, knows the system coming out of spring. Like, do you have a read on, on who's ahead here?
- [03:57]
Jackson Moore
Well, on paper it should be Christian Martin. You know, we haven't gotten to see a lot of access of the 11 on 11 to see where it's really at, but they put in a lot of effort. You know, they had some money set aside for Nil to go get a quarterback. I don't think they kind of checked all the boxes. Probably they were hoping to with that cash, but they got the best available. And Christian Martin, he was the backup at Maryland, got stuck behind Malik Washington and wanted to play and it seems like a pretty ideal fit and I think he's a good fit for the system too. Nice one read. Quarterback with a good arm and he's like 6, 3, 6 4, 230 pounds, big body and can push ahead and get some yards with his legs if he needs to. So it seems like a good fit. But it's been him and Mandel at the top. They've been battling out and Mandel was here last year. He's a fan favorite, a local, and he also can do some things with his legs too.
- [04:44]
Bud Elliott
Do you have a read on how Ins is going to play? Like, if it's truly a battle down the stretch, they have this like major opener at usc, but then you get, you know, Sac State and at San Jose, which. Which lost quite a bit. Like, I feel like you have two much softer games after, you know, clearly the opener at usc. Is there any hint that, like he might play both early or do you think he's. He's more the type of guy to name a starter and just roll with it?
- [05:08]
Jackson Moore
You know, it's as good as last season was. You know, on paper, you talk about the expectations and where they ended up. The quarterback situation kind of left a sour taste in some of the fans mouths and maybe even within the team. They started E.J. warner for a lot of the year. He never really went over the fans and then they went to Carson Conklin and immediately got shut out at home it was. And then they go back to Warner at the end of the season. It left a lot of people scratching their heads. So I don't think you can count out really anything when it comes to the quarterback situation here, but curious to see if maybe they dial it back based off how last year was a little more volatile. I assume Martin's going to be the guy and I think they would write him until there's a reason not to. But still to be determined.
- [05:51]
Bud Elliott
So quarterback a little bit uncertainty running back. No uncertainty with Ran. Luke coming back was one of the very best running backs in the conference last year anywhere. They're expecting him to be better and like, who else is going to compliment him in that room?
- [06:04]
Jackson Moore
Yeah, Luke. I think the biggest thing for him is just expanding his role. They had five running backs last year. They played. He got dinged up a bit and I don't think they really realized how versatile he was till late in the year. I think maybe he was probably going to be more of a gadget back and then he really became the guy until he got too worn down to do it anymore. So I think they're going to look for different ways to get him involved, maybe more of the featured guy. But Bryson Donaldson, he had 23 carries in one of the first couple of weeks of the season and just kind of faded away. He's also, he had surgery this offseason, so I don't know if maybe he wasn't quite all there. I think the two of them are going to be really important together. And then they brought in Tariq Thomas, who had 1500 career yards at Bucknell the last two years as an underclassman, he should be involved. And they also bring back Brandon Ramirez, who had a role. He might be out with injury. We're keeping an eye on that. Julius Gillick, a red shirt freshman, is a banger. So I mean they could be very well four or five deep again this year, but you want to get the ball to Luke as many times as he can. They're fortunate he stayed for sure.
- [07:07]
Bud Elliott
So Freeman comes back as the number one receiver really like as you mentioned at the top, like the kind of the whole receiver group comes back here. Is there anybody who we think is kind of close to making the leap to, you know, being much better than they were last year and kind of shake this thing up?
- [07:23]
Jackson Moore
Yeah, last year for most of the season, I think if you said all the receivers were coming back, that might have been a bad thing. Receiver unit wasn't great and Josiah Freeman was supposed to graduate and you figured maybe if he got an extra year he'd probably go somewhere else and get money. Apparently Ole Miss came in when they weren't supposed to and he turned them down still, so that's been a big storyline. But the end of the season they started to turn a corner. Ezekiel Abbott was win healthy, the number two guy, and it was easy to forget about him when he missed some time in the middle of the year. He's healthy and he should play a big role. But the big one to watch is Harold Duvall. Was a four star recruit last year for the Dogs and didn't enroll early. Didn't quite catch on until like November. The last couple of games he saw more action and he could be a breakout guy for the team. The only problem is him and Freeman kind of play that same role. So we did see the last couple of weeks they tried to get all three of those receivers on the field at the same time and it seemed like a pretty good recipe. I'd also add a tight end, Brock. Liam was supposed to have a huge role last year. First drive of the season, catches a pass and hurts his knee and we don't see him again. And that was, I believe, his first career catch. So not a name people know very much, but he should be as valuable as a top end receiver, I would say so.
- [08:36]
Bud Elliott
Offensive line wise, new name here. Interestingly, Brian Ference coming into coach. Offensive line, how does this line looking this year?
- [08:47]
Jackson Moore
The line was probably the biggest point of the transition last year. I think from about 20, 21 to 24. Fresno State probably had success on offense in spite of the O line. They just had a lot of good quarterbacks and receivers that came through the Jake Hayner most notably. But I mean, they got it done. They found a way to turn it around. They filled that starting line largely with reserves that never did anything at Fresno State before these coachings showed up and not so much from the transfer portal. And then you get to the end of last year and it's like, oh gosh, three of these guys are graduating. We got to do it all over again. But Roland Fullwood at right tackle, a big old body 6, 6, 3, 20. He gets an extra year back and like Josiah Freeman decides to stay. So now you only got to replace two. Braden Walton was a huge piece for the Bulldogs last year as a true freshman that started at left tackle and he's staying. So that's big. Edward Fanua starts left guard. I think they've got about three interior linemen. They feel good about rounding out things. So the fact that Full would stayed at a position where they it would have been near impossible to get a new transfer as good as him to fill that spot. I think they're in good shape to round out the interior for sure.
- [09:57]
Bud Elliott
All right, we'll hit our first break here. We come back with a little Fresno State defense, talk schedule and get you out of here, man. Appreciate it.
- [10:06]
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- [10:36]
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- [11:02]
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- [11:35]
Bud Elliott
Hey guys, we're back here on summer school talking all things Fresno State with Jackson Moore of Barkboard. All right, let's get into this defense now. Obviously, you know, pretty solid last year and defensive line gets three portal editions in no. And then, oh shoot, I didn't write the other guys names down. Excuse me. But like should they be pretty good again?
- [11:55]
Jackson Moore
They should. And you know, it's, it's a deep defensive line and they lose a couple of key pieces but all in one specific role. That third down edge rusher Finn Claypool was a huge addition last year as a one and done. And then the five star Corey Foreman has graduated. So. But the D tackles are back. The other DNS are back. They've got some jumbo DNS that aren't necessarily going to play that role. Jason Jax is a big piece for this D line. Sonny Zepra is a big DN for them at tackle. They bring back Dejan Lafitte and Martin Owusu who started basically all last year. They've got about four or five players that were injured all last year or most of last year that are reinforcements that are going to be playing some roles too. But that last piece at the end that, that rushing edge you mentioned, Maverick Noonan, might be a guy from Nebraska. I like Dylan Hampston who comes from sac State, had 8 1/2 sacks I believe last year and could be that pass rushing specialist. And also Sione Noah, who was the guy that was hurt last year, has played a lot of snaps at Fresno State in that role. So a lot of depth. I mean they feel like they're well beyond four deep at all those positions and if they have a guy that can get that exclamation point on third downs that they had last year, they should be in really, really good shape.
- [13:10]
Bud Elliott
Nice. All right, so when I look at this depth chart, just you know, reading the reports and whatnot safety kind of stands out as, as an area that really have some, some questions about, like what tyranny's back, I think. And then how is this shaping up like they were. They were pretty good there last year.
- [13:26]
Jackson Moore
Yeah, they had about four or five safeties end up kind of rotating throughout the year between injuries. Cameron Braca was the one real steady guy and he's graduated. Jaden Davis might have been in that starting lineup had he stayed. He, he hit the portal, went to UConn. One of the few defections on this roster. But they did bring back Ethan Tierney, who was, you know, borderline two starting the first couple of weeks. Got hurt. He would have had a lot more numbers had he been healthy. Of course they also get an extra year back from Ryan Wilson, who was on the depth chart to start last year, and then ends up starting most of the season. So that's a big addition. He hasn't been out at spring. He's coming off of a surgery too, so a lot of the other guys getting reps, but I think they, they got about four more options behind the starters and they're sorting that out in spring to figure out who's going to step in as the next player up. But Taylor Powell from niu, it's a big six foot, three long nickelback they had there that the Bulldogs are putting that safety. And Tierney and Powell, both from niu, that's where the defensive coordinator, Nick Benedetto is from. So he's been able to piece some of his former players into this defense.
- [14:33]
Bud Elliott
It. If they need this defense to kind of carry them in the earliest part of the season as quarterback gets figured out in the passing game, kind of comes together. Obviously they'll lean on the run game a lot. Is there a part of this defense? I mean, you, you mentioned, you know, third down pass rush, you know, some of the, the mystery in the secondary. Is there another part where it's like, all right, this is kind of going to make or break them that they really need to step up?
- [14:52]
Jackson Moore
I think it's got to be cornerback. They're losing Azilian Hamilton and Jakari Embry, who played almost the whole season. And then, you know, you turn the page to this year. They didn't go out to the portal much. They have a lot of confidence in the players that are coming back, but not a lot of experience between them. Joe Briggs is a red shirt senior who was a big time recruit and it's just been hurt pretty much all his career and last year he saw some time and Then got hurt again. So a lot's riding on him to be that number one guy. But there's a bunch of redshirt sophomores that are lined up. Keontre Harris might end up being that other starter. He's a local, which is always fun for Bulldog fans. And then loyal Muzan from New York across the country, he also is another candidate. So J.D. williams, that cornerback coach, you know, he's always figured that situation out, and if he does it again here, it's hard to find another hole in the defense.
- [15:42]
Bud Elliott
Love it, man. All right. Schedule is. I'm not saying it's not crazy hard, but it's certainly not easy, especially where you have to play some of the games. But I do like that they get Boise at home. Obviously, like that. That, that's. That's nice. They actually have to come to Fresno at usc, you know, if you don't spring the upset there, it doesn't really ruin the season. You'd like to have a good showing, maybe a chance, you know, to pull a shocker, you know, going into the fourth quarter. Like, some of the trips are difficult, right? Like, you know, San Jose, San Diego State was pretty good last year at Wazoo, at Utah State, at Texas State. But you do get Oregon State at home. You get Colorado State at home. Might be missing one more home game here. Like, is there a number in the conference that you feel like, like, obviously it's. It's the new league. Like, is there a number where you feel like, all right, if they get, you know, six wins in conference or seven wins in conference, I feel pretty good about them getting to, you know, back to the conference championship game.
- [16:34]
Jackson Moore
A part of it, the math is, I'm curious to see, because they're only going to count seven games towards the conference championship. Yeah, it's a weird setup.
- [16:42]
Bud Elliott
This is
- [16:45]
Jackson Moore
tiebreakers, could be interesting. And I think there's a lot of parity, so I wouldn't be surprised. You know, maybe you have one, one loss team and a bunch of two losses. Log jammed. Two or three trying to get that second spot. So I think you got to try to aim for six at least to have a shot. And that's going to be challenging with the parody again in this conference, not a lot of games you can say for sure if Fresno State's going to win that one, but there's a lot of toss ups. And I think last year this team was built to win those types of games, and they should be in the same spot this year.
- [17:17]
Bud Elliott
Man, Jackson enjoyed this as always. This is like definitely one of the G5s we gotta, gotta keep our eye on this year. And again, if you're looking for Fresno stuff, you have to go to Parkport. Like, it is the source. And thankfully for being the source, it is awesome. And you guys do a great job over there.
- [17:33]
Jackson Moore
Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.
- [17:35]
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