Tyeler Davison spent last football season at nose guard in Fresno State's 3-4 front, dealing with constant double teams and all of the nasty stuff that goes on snap to snap in the interior line. He did it very well.

Davison was in on 43 tackles, including 28 solo stops and seven behind the line of scrimmage, recovered three fumbles and forced another, and was an All-Mountain West selection.

Now the 315-pound junior is getting a chance to see what life is like outside that cramped, crunching space in the middle, taking reps at end in the coming days of spring ball in a move that will boost the Bulldogs' depth up front.

Understandably, he is looking forward to it.

"I definitely want to experience that, because I haven't got to lately at the nose spot," he said. "I'm kind of excited about that, so we'll see how it goes."

But no more than coach Tim DeRuyter and the Bulldogs' defensive staff, who every week last season managed to find ways to scuttle opposing offenses despite depth issues.

With no ready backup to Davison at the nose a year ago, ends Andy Jennings and Nikko Motta got trained inside. Now it is Davison's turn to work outside, and with JC nose guard Ioane Sagapolu from Fresno City College arriving in the fall and the emergence this spring of redshirt freshman Maurice Poyadue, a spot that was a huge concern a year ago looks much healthier.

The Bulldogs also signed College of the Sequoias defensive end Claudell Louis, who is expected to have a significant impact in the fall, and high school players Jaylen Ruiz (Memorial), Ryan Steele (Kingsburg) and Nathan Madsen (Eureka).

Already with Davison, Jennings and Motta able to play nose and end, it provides great flexibility.

"It makes it where you feel really good about our defensive-end position," DeRuyter said. "When you can have 300-pound defensive ends like Tyeler is, and you've got Andy at 285 or so, you feel pretty good. Nikko Motta was productive for us last year. I think Maurice Poyadue is starting to emerge, so it gives you a lot of depth and the key thing in college football now is not having just one deep.

"You have to be able to rotate guys to keep guys fresh and you can't do that if you don't have trust, and we're starting to develop that depth now."

The Bulldogs are going to work some situational and live periods in practice Monday, so Davison is not likely to get any reps at end until midweek.

But he brings a unique skill set to the position.

"What Tyeler possesses that not many people have is he's 315 pounds, but he moves like a 275-pounder," defensive line coach Pete Germano said.

Practice report

-- They started the Saturday morning practice with a Bulldog Drill, squaring off by position groups -- O-line vs. D-line, backs vs. linebackers, and receivers vs. defensive backs before moving to the middle of the field where coaches had a few players go at it.

The defensive players won all of those matchups in the middle, the best of them redshirt freshman linebacker Brandon Hughes getting running back Marteze Waller and Poyadue taking down Travis Harvey. DeRuyter on the practice: "We got better, but we still have a long, long way to go. But it's good to see guys who consistently compete."

DeRuyter said that the Bulldogs would run some situational and live periods Monday, and scrimmage the next Monday.

-- There was quite a bit of mixing and matching with the linebackers in the two team periods. Redshirt freshman Brock Carmen, a walk-on from Clovis North, was getting some reps with the No. 2 defense at an inside linebacker spot. He came in last year as a safety.

-- Wideout Victor Dean is participating in individual drills and 7 on 7, but still no team as he comes back from a broken leg. During team, he signals plays to the quarterbacks, another sign of just how far he has come in the past year. DeRuyter said that a year ago, they wouldn't have even asked him to try it.

-- Greg Watson on the full-time switch to a slot receiver from quarterback: "I love it. It's a chance for me to play more with Derek (Carr) returning and everything. I have a lot to work on because it's a new position for me still. I only played it a little bit last year."

-- There were some players looking to get some extra work at the end of practice including wide receiver Davante Adams and tight end Marcel Jensen, who missed a day of practice this past week. They were shooed off the field -- the lacrosse team had a scheduled practice.