Freshman tag no longer fits emerging Fresno State quarterback Chason Virgil

The letters next to Chason Virgil’s height (6-foot-1) and weight (190 pounds) on the Fresno State football roster read “RFr.”

In the vocab of college sports, that means redshirt freshman. It’s the designation for a player who is an academic sophomore but a freshman with respect to athletic eligibility.

Except it doesn’t really do Virgil justice. For one, he played in three games last season before suffering a broken clavicle that prompted the NCAA to grant him a medical hardship waiver. That’s three more than most redshirts get.

What’s more, Virgil had a head start. In early 2015, while the rest of his West Mesquite (Texas) High classmates were experiencing senioritis, he was sweating through spring practice at Fresno State – diploma already in hand.

Which is why, out of the 13 sophomores listed on the preseason depth chart, Virgil’s 18-month Bulldogs tenure is as long or longer than six.

“He’s the most experienced freshman I’ve been around,” Fresno State coach Tim DeRuyter joked.

“Experienced freshman” may be an oxymoron in the grand tradition of jumbo shrimp and heavy diet, but in Virgil’s case it fits.

Virgil sure doesn’t look like a freshman while surveying the field and threading passes to receivers and tight ends, something he’s done quite often during the opening days of fall camp.

Virgil doesn’t comport himself like a freshman – in fact, he’s the only freshman permitted to do interviews – and his teammates certainly don’t treat him as one.

Yet he remains a freshman, at least by official classification.

“Do you feel like a freshman?” I asked Virgil following Friday’s practice.

“I feel like a sophomore,” he replied.

Virgil would’ve been a sophomore right now if not for a 9-yard scramble early in the fourth quarter of last season’s 45-24 loss to Utah in Week 3. While diving for the first-down marker on second-and-10, his right shoulder hit the turf just as a 230-pound inside linebacker landed on it.

Right away, Virgil knew he had a broken clavicle. He suffered the same injury as a high school junior.

“It was a blessing in disguise, honestly,” Virgil said. “I was able to get playing time, get experience from the sideline and get my year back on top of that.”

Virgil is the only returning quarterback from last season and was the only one here in the spring, when first-year offensive coordinator Eric Kiesau installed his offense.

That gives Virgil the inside track to start the Sept. 3 opener at Nebraska, but if the first few practices are any indication the four-way competition won’t be a formality. While Virgil has impressed while taking the first-team snaps, the other guys (true freshman Quentin Davis and transfers Zach Kline and Christian Rossi) aren’t bowing down.

“Definitely I have the advantage,” Virgil said. “I went through this system in the spring, and the other three guys didn’t. I have the advantage, sure. But I know they’re going to push me, and that’s what I want.

“I thrive off competition. Those guys pushing me is going to do nothing except make me better, and hopefully I’ll make them better, too.”

Everything about Virgil these days seems more forceful. The ball is coming out of his hand with more authority; his spirals don’t flutter as much. He’s also being more decisive on where to throw. Even when he intentionally heaves the ball out of bounds, it’s done with zero hesitation.

Virgil credits the extra zip on his passes to summer workout sessions with Thomas Stallworth, the Bulldogs’ new strength and conditioning coach. While still on the skinny side overall, he is noticeably thicker around the shoulders and upper chest.

It’s also apparent that Virgil spent the summer strengthening his command of Kiesau’s system, to the point where reads are becoming second nature.

“I think it goes back to his confidence,” DeRuyter said. “Sure, he’s gotten stronger. But when you know what you’re doing you don’t think about it. You just let it go. And I think that’s what we’re seeing these first couple days of camp.”

Ever since Virgil set foot on campus, a high school senior competing against college players, he’s given off an air of easy confidence and self belief.

The difference now is Virgil’s physical tools are beginning to catch up with the qualities that ooze from him naturally.

“He has that charisma,” junior tight end Chad Olsen said. “I don’t know how else to say it. He has that leadership quality you’re looking for. Since I met him he’s been out here working his tail off trying to get better every single day. That makes me want to go in the same direction he’s going.”

Virgil described his own leadership style as both vocal and subtle, depending on the situation.

“I pick my spots when to be vocal, and I pick my spots when to lead by example,” he said. “Being out here, just letting them hear my voice and feel my presence like, ‘Hey, guys, we got this’ or ‘Let’s keep it going,’ that’s where the vocal leadership comes in. Or if a guy drops a ball, I might say something.

“But it’s not just getting on guys and getting rah-rah in their face. It’s more talking to them and giving encouragement at the same time.”

For Fresno State fans looking for a reason to believe 2016 won’t be a 3-9 repeat, Virgil’s No. 5 jersey is behind curtain No. 1.

“He’s got a great arm, and he’s great at finessing the ball right where it needs to be,” Olsen said. “The fact that he can take off and run just makes it that much better.”

If the Bulldogs surprise folks this fall with Virgil leading the way, “RFr” in his case will stand for something else: refreshing.

This story was originally published August 6, 2016 at 4:19 PM with the headline "Freshman tag no longer fits emerging Fresno State quarterback Chason Virgil."