#HaenerforHeisman? Fresno State has no-brainer chance to promote its great QB
If Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener drops back to pass, chances are really good he is going to produce a touchdown.
In fact, he is currently the leader nationwide in passing yards, with 1,842 in five games. Let’s review that again: No other quarterback — not even from college football superpowers like Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, USC or Oregon — has as many passing yards as the Bulldogs’ Haener. And he is among the leaders nationally for passing touchdowns, with 15 in the first five games.
Haener connected with wide receiver Jalen Cropper two weeks ago for the winning touchdown with 14 seconds left in the game against UCLA — a contest the Bulldogs won 40-37. UCLA was ranked 13th at the time. Now it is the Bulldogs who are ranked, at No. 18 nationally.
That performance led to some national buzz that Haener could be a candidate for college football’s highest individual honor, the Heisman Trophy.
Fresno State has never had a Heisman winner. The last Bulldog to enter the conversation was Derek Carr, now of the Las Vegas Raiders. He finished eighth in the Heisman voting in 2013.
So, it would seem logical that Fresno State might mount a media campaign to promote their quarterback and see if he could be included in the elite field of players nominated for the honor.
But, according to Frank Pucher, senior associate athletic director, that’s not going to happen. The Bulldog coaching staff and athletic department leadership are in agreement, he explained. “In an effort of helping protect him and keep the team focused on the task at hand, we will not be pursuing that kind of large-scale campaign,” Pucher said.
Social media campaign?
While the Bulldogs have been active promoting the team’s season on social media, there will be no accompanying #HaernerforHeisman hashtags, Pucher said. Nor will Fresno State take a page from Oregon’s playbook and put up a big Jake Haener billboard in Manhattan, a step the Ducks took in marketing former quarterback Joey Harrington in 2001 for the Heisman. He wound up fourth in the voting, but the 10-story billboard was a key moment in Oregon’s march toward national prominence.
Not that Fresno State is seeking such a presence. Right now, it is trying to win the Mountain West Conference. Coach Kalen DeBoer preaches a 1-0 mentality — we won this one, now let’s win the next game. And that’s understandable. Lots of coaches approach the season that way.
The odds, too, would be against Haener actually winning the Heisman. Even with the gaudy numbers so far, history shows that the last time a player from a non-powerhouse school won the award was 1990, when Ty Detmer from Brigham Young University took it.
Still, Haener is playing at such a high level that he has caught the attention of ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. After the Bulldogs defeated the Bruins, Herbstreit listed Haener the top-performing player of that weekend.
Staying in the mix
For Haener to have any shot, three things must happen. First, he has to keep playing at a high level. Second, the Bulldogs have to win the rest of their games.
Third, Fresno State athletics needs to promote him. As any college football reporter can attest, lesser schools have done big campaigns before for lesser players.
Bulldog fans can help out by going to home games and using their own social media to highlight Haener and the team.
When Haener drops back to pass, he hits touchdowns. It would be great for Fresno State to do its part to help him at least stay in the conversation for the Heisman.
Make it #HaenerforHeisman.