On first day, new Fresno State coach Matt Entz takes on the giant Bulldog in the room

Fresno State introduced its new football coach on Thursday and Matt Entz — from USC and North Dakota State and Western Illinois and Northern Iowa and Wayne State and Illinois College — went about settling an unsettled situation in the Bulldogs’ locker room and in pockets of a community that consistently has filled the football stadium for the first time in more than 20 years.

He got the job over a popular Fresno State alum, Tim Skipper, who has served in an interim role since coach Jeff Tedford stepped away due to heart-related health issues about six weeks before the season.

It didn’t sit well. Many of the players supported Skipper. More than a dozen have headed to the NCAA transfer portal, and more still could be on their way out of the program.

Entz said he had empathy. He got it. He called it one of the most awkward, unique situations in football.

“They’ve had three different people stand at the front of the room and say, ‘This is the plan moving forward,’” Entz said. “I surely can understand why they would be like, ‘Why you?’

“My point to them and my point to Bulldog Nation is I have a plan in place. I know I’m not a Bulldog, not an alum. But I do think I have Bulldog qualities. I think the things that are important to this community, the things that are important to this football program, can resonate with me.”

Entz, who led North Dakota State to two FCS national championships, before taking on a different challenge this season as assistant head coach for defense at USC, said he planned to meet individually with players, those in the portal and those all-in on the program.

The flood of players out the door included quarterback Mikey Keene, wideouts Jalen Moss and Raylen Sharpe, defensive tackles Gavriel Lightfoot and Jacob Holmes, linebacker Phoenix Jackson and cornerback Al’zillion Hamilton.

“I think you have to be as proactive as you can and connect with players, have sit-downs, have private meetings, talk about your vision, talk about where we’re going,” Entz said.

“You need to discuss staffing and talk about the experience they’ve already had here, and build on it. They’re all looking for, ‘How is this going to help me? How is this going to allow me to get on the field, be productive?’ I think it’s trying to be really transparent with them right now — and with some of them, I don’t have all the answers right now.”

Skipper to coach Fresno State in bowl game

Entz also will meet with the assistant coaches as he puts together a staff. Skipper will coach Fresno State in its bowl game, which will be announced Sunday.

The new coach, 52, signed a five-year contract worth $1.1 million in the first-year and it goes up to $1.7 million in the final year.

Athletics Director Garrett Klassy said head-coaching experience was a premium in the coaching search. He wanted one who had proven he could win at a high level, was a strong recruiter. Someone who shared values with the Valley and could navigate the evolving landscape of college football with the transfer portal, NIL and revenue sharing.

Entz fit. His schemes fit.

On offense: “I want to be able to run the football,” Entz said. “The way the rules have changed over the course of the last couple of years and the clock not stopping on first downs, teams are getting the ball one to two times less per game and if you can be that dominant line of scrimmage team and control the clock, you have a great opportunity to win games.”

On defense: “If we feel we can recruit to a four-down system, I think we definitely will,” he said. “Are we going to be a 4-3 or a 4-2-5, I think part of that depends on what we see weekly, but I do want to have the flexibility that we can jump in and out of personnel groupings and have some sub packages.”

Matt Entz résumé includes two national titles

Fresno State’s new coach was 60-11 in five seasons at North Dakota State, winning the school’s eighth national championship in his first season in 2019 when going 16-0 and the ninth two seasons later in 2021. North Dakota lost in the FCS national championship game in 2022 and the semifinals in his final season in 2023.

He coached seven players selected in the NFL Draft including quarterback Trey Lance, who was taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round with the third overall selection in 2021. The Bison also had three players selected in the second round during his tenure. Fresno State, by comparison, has had five players selected in the past five drafts, the highest selection linebacker Mykal Walker, who went to the Atlanta Falcons in the fourth round with the 119th overall pick.

Entz could be in for a bit of culture shock when taking a good look around the football facilities, and not just due to his one season at USC.

North Dakota State has a football practice facility with two artificial turf fields, one indoors and one outdoors. The facility, which cost $50 million and was privately financed, opened in 2022. It also includes a football locker room, meeting rooms, sports medicine facilities with hydrotherapy pools, a weight room and equipment room.

The Bison also have a football office complex, where its nine FCS national championship trophies are on display.

Fresno State practices on grass in a former ponding basin with one full field and one shorter field, and prior to the regular-season finale at UCLA had to move inside Valley Children’s Stadium for its Tuesday practice because half the field was underwater.

But it’s his practice field now.

“I look forward to being part of this great football tradition and program,” Entz said. “Just from conversations I’ve had over the course of the last week or two with Pat Hill, with coach Tedford, with Kalen DeBoer ... I have a good friend of mine who was an assistant back in the 2018 season by the name of Jamar Cain, who is now the defensive line coach for the Denver Broncos, and the one thing they all consistently say is you’re going to love it there.

“You’re going to love the people. You’re going to have everything you need to be successful. The recruiting base is right there at your fingertips; you just have to go find them and develop them. The people are going to show up — Saturdays in the stadium are second to none. When you look at the attendance marks and you’re seeing 40,000 people there to see the Bulldogs, that tells me we’re doing things right and we just need to continue to do them the right way and push the envelope.”

This story was originally published December 5, 2024 at 5:31 PM.