‘Fresno is the Midwest.’ Bulldogs football coach settles in as season nears | Opinion
Fresno lies right smack in the middle of California.
But to hear first-year Fresno State football coach Matt Entz describe his new home city, it may as well be right smack in the middle of the country.
“It’s easier than you think, because Fresno is the Midwest,” Entz replied when asked how he sells Fresno to out-of-state recruits who might conjure up false images of beaches and bikinis. “I joke, but we call it Midwest, California.
“I mean this,” Entz continued, “Fresno’s no different than Des Moines, Iowa, except it doesn’t have snow. Both are in agriculture-rich areas with a university as the hub and fan bases that love the program.”
Entz is Midwestern to the core. The 52-year-old grew up on a corn and soybean farm outside Waterloo, Iowa, attended college in Iowa and Nebraska and coached in five Midwestern states (going 60-11 in five seasons at FCS power North Dakota State) before joining Lincoln Riley’s USC staff a season ago.
Considering Entz’s background, the culture shock of moving to Los Angeles was far greater than relocating to the San Joaquin Valley. Though his brief time at USC proved valuable in ways that went beyond seeing the inner workings of a major-college program and polishing his resume.
“All of a sudden we’re living in the second-largest city in the country driving an hour to work and an hour home,” Entz said. “It was different, for sure. But when you’re uncomfortable, that’s when the greatest growth happens. …
“Plenty of windshield time to think about how I would do things if I ever had the opportunity to (be a head coach) again.”
That opportunity arrived in December when Fresno State Athletic Director Garrett Klassy hired Entz to overhaul a program that went 6-7 in 2024 under interim coach Tim Skipper following Jeff Tedford’s sudden retirement.
Rare lull before fall camp
While college coaches don’t really get an offseason, early July is a slow time before fall camp kicks off at the end of the month in anticipation of the Bulldogs’ Aug. 23 opener at Kansas.
As such, the Fresno State football office is nearly empty. Entz gave his staff the week off – it’s also a recruiting dead period – and the Bulldogs players concluded summer workouts. Without the typical office buzz, Entz has time to finish the training camp schedule and return emails before he and his wife Brenda get out of town for the July 4th weekend. (Their two sons, Kellen and Konner, are college-aged and live away from home.)
Next week it’ll be back to work, going nonstop through November and hopefully into December if Fresno State receives a bowl invite.
Despite Entz’s track record at North Dakota State and seasoning at USC, his hiring wasn’t universally applauded by fans and former players that wanted Skipper to retain the job or for Klassy to hire someone with Bulldogs ties.
To knock down any barriers, Entz forged relationships with former Fresno State coaches Tedford and Pat Hill to utilize their knowledge and spread the word to Bulldogs alumni living in the region that their presence is welcome.
To ingratiate himself with fans, Entz attended numerous events and engagements including the two-day Fresno State Coaches Caravan in May that barnstormed through Kingsburg, Visalia, Firebaugh and Turlock.
“I’m just trying to get people on board, period,” Entz said. “There’s a huge fan base and hundreds of former players who still live here. I want the fans to know they’re appreciated and for the former players to know they’re a huge part of the foundation of the program and to feel like they’re part of it going forward.”
Entz inherits high standards
Entz may be new to the program, but he isn’t new to coaching. He understands he will ultimately be judged by how the Bulldogs perform.
The standards he inherits are lofty. Despite some ups and downs, Fresno State has won at least 10 games in a season at least once under four different coaches this century.
“The support of a head coach is always going to be based on their team’s success and the product they put on the field,” he said. “Right?”
So far, Entz’s greatest success has been swaying several notable returning players including cornerback Al’zillion Hamilton, left tackle Jacob Spomer, running back Bryan Donelson, receiver Josiah Freeman and safeties Camryn Bracha and Jayden Davis from leaving. The leftover talent base, bolstered by 21 transfers, should allow the Bulldogs to be competitive during their final season in the Mountain West.
But there are also plenty of question marks, not the least of which is who will be the starting quarterback following Mikey Keene’s transfer to Michigan.
Entz is the first Fresno State head coach since Tim DeRuyter (and only the second since Bob Padilla in the late 1970s) to come from a defensive background. His offensive philosophy stems from “things that kept me up at night” during his years as a defensive coordinator.
“What bothered me the most are the things that we’re gonna try to emphasize here a little bit,” said Entz, mentioning athletic quarterbacks who can create numbers mismatches and force eye discipline and the same downhill running game the Bulldogs have employed since the Hill era.
It sounds like a somewhat familiar, and awfully Midwestern, plan of attack.
Good thing Fresno is located in Midwestern, California.
