Fresno State Spring Game Recap

The Bulldogs still have one practice remaining, a light workout scheduled for Wednesday, but for the most part spring ball came to a close Saturday afternoon in front of more than 2,600 fans at Bulldog Stadium.

First and foremost, his team completed a 50-play live scrimmage with no injuries, always a fear for a final spring scrimmage. Another is the continued development of a batch of young players.

WR Jason Crawley after warmups.
photo by BarkBoard.com

"We saw some young guys do some good things today," said Coach Pat Hill. "I want to see the tape to see how the young offensive and defense linemen played, but for the most part I was pleased with what I saw. That was a goal for is this spring, to develop some of the young players on both lines and we made progress. We are molding this thing and in no way are we done. We are a work in progress, but we have some talented young players who will continue to develop."

For Hill and his coaches, the day represented what the entire spring has shown. There has been a lot of enthusiasm and personality shining through on the team. There were hard hits and big plays on both sides of the ball on the beautifully sunny spring day, as temperatures reached into the low 70s.

While many of the experienced players saw limited roles during the live scrimmages this spring, that opened the way for some other players to take center stage.

On offense, the leading characters Saturday were running back Kyle Duffy, Ryan Colburn and Seyi Ajirotutu. Duffy scored two touchdowns in the scrimmage, one on a 45-yard run and the other a 25-yard screen pass. Duffy was the top running back in the scrimmage with 54 yards on eight carries and had two receptions for 20 yards.

Colburn was effective at moving the ball, completing 6-of-10 passes for 88 yards and one touchdown. He completed four of his first five pass attempts, each for 16 yards or more. He found tight end Isaac Kinter in the back of the endzone for a 2-yard touchdown pass in one of the "compete zone" scrimmage situations.

Ajirotutu made one of the biggest plays of the day on a 44-yard reception from senior Tom Brandstater. He capped that drive by catching a 3-yard touchdown pass from Brandstater. Ajirotutu changed to jersey No.2 for this season, a famous digit for Fresno State fans worn most recently by Bulldog greats Bernard Berrian and Clifton Smith.

Brandstater was super in a limited role, hitting on 4-of-5 passes for 73 yards and the one touchdown.

Darren Newborn had two receptions for 42 yards in the scrimmage.

Hill also praised redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Faulker, who hit Duffy for a touchdown.

"Matt threw the ball well," said Hill. "He and Ryan both had good days and moved the offense. There's more to playing quarterback than completing passes. Making good decision is just as important and I though both of those guys did that today."

The kicking game looks to be in good hands as Kevin Goessling continues to showcase the leg that made him on the top prep kickers in California two years ago. He made 4-of-5 field goals heading into the final play of the scrimmage, when Hill called on him to attempt a 51 yard field goal. That narrowly missed, but he earlier converted on field goals of 39, 42, 47 and 49 yards.

The Bulldog defense was solid all day and several players shined. Senior end Ikenna Ike was credited with two sacks, and starting cornerback Damion Owens had the game's only turnover on an interceptions. He added two solo tackles.

End Wilson Ramos had three tackles, one for a loss and broke up a pass attempt, while linebacker Nick Bates continues his fine spring. He had four tackles, one for a loss and a quarterback sack.

Sophomore end Chris Carter led the team with five tackles, one for loss of 2 yards.

"It was good to get out of this with no injuries," said Hill. "I like the way we competed in the spring and this is a good way to head into the summer workouts. We have a ways to go and some places that we need to take a good look out, but overall I'm pleased with the work ethic and attitude of this team."

BarkBoard.com caught up with A.J. Jefferson, Chris Carter, Tom Brandstater and former Bulldog LB Marcus Riley after the scrimmage. Those audio and video interviews are coming shortly...