Ryan Skidmore doesn't want you to forget McKenna Pascoe, just give this season's tight ends and H-backs a chance to perform without the big Bear.
Pascoe was a full-time starter for three seasons at Fresno State before being drafted in April by the San Francisco 49ers. Pascoe, by the way, caught a two-point conversion for the 49ers during their preseason game against the Denver Broncos.
Now it's up to Skidmore, Isaac Kinter, Vince Pascoe and Tapa Taumoepeau. Career catches for the group: 43. Career touchdowns: six. Bear last season: 40 catches, four touchdowns.
"To people on the outside looking in -- fans, the media -- we're definitely in the shadow of Bear. How could you not be?" Kinter asked. "He was one of the biggest names ever to come through Fresno. He was Fresno State football. ...
"A lot of people are looking at us as question marks with Bear gone [and] me being the only guy who really has experience in a game as a [tight end]," Kinter continued. "That's definitely a question mark. I don't blame people for having a question mark, but we know as a group that we're going to come out and handle our business."
Fresno State tight end Isaac Kinter, out with a groin injury, lifts weights on the sideline during a fall practice workout.
The team has been working often in three- and four-receiver sets and was pushed to use a two-tight end package during Saturday night's scrimmage because four receivers were injured, coach Pat Hill said.
"We weren't going to get into that until this week," Hill said.
The tight end group includes H-backs, a hybrid tight end/fullback position that can line up in a number of different places including in the backfield, as a wing, on the line, and in the slot. While Kinter, a senior, can play both tight end (or the "Y") and H-back, his body type (6-foot-1, 240 pounds) more fits the H-back mold. Skidmore (6-5, 240 pounds), a sophomore, is the only true tight end.
With Kinter out because of a groin injury, Skidmore appeared to get most of the first-team repetitions Saturday. He had a ball go in and out of his hands on the first drive of the scrimmage, and he allowed 5-foot-10 cornerback Isaiah Green to slip inside him for an interception on a pass that could have been a touchdown.
Hill said Skidmore has to block out the defender with his body in situations like that to make the play.
After that error, though, offensive coordinator Jeff Grady went to Skidmore on the very next play, calling a waggle pass where quarterback Ryan Colburn rolled out and hit Skidmore for a 5-yard gain.
Redshirt freshman Taumoepeau had a 4-yard catch and later a one-handed grab while Vince Pascoe, a junior who is also Bear's cousin, had an 8-yard reception in which he brushed off the tackle of safety Moses Harris.
"There were some mistakes, but we needed to get a lot of [repetitions] with them," Hill said. "Their blocking at times was really good. We have to get them in more live situations."
If the receivers don't heal as planned, those situations will come sooner than later. Skidmore wants the opportunity not just to play, but to prove to fans his position group is capable.
"I'm not saying forget [Bear's] name, I don't want that," Skidmore said. "But I want to show people and have the fans understand that we can get the job done here without Bear. It's not knocking Bear. I feel we have the personnel to get the job done."
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