Fresno State quick hits: Bulldogs’ defense finding the right fits

With two of the three fall camp scrimmages down, Fresno State defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer said they would start to lock in some of the pieces they have been moving around through fall camp. Steinauer and the Bulldogs’ staff has taken a look at a lot of players at different positions and in different packages, trying to find the best fits.

“We’re going to start narrowing things down,” he said. “Behind closed doors, we’ve probably narrowed it down a little bit. But obviously we have some new people moving into new positions and by new positions I just mean additional positions.

“We’re trying them to see if we can use them in certain packages or certain places. So, often from the outside looking in, you see someone in a new spot and think that’s their new position and sometimes it is and sometimes it’s not. We’re a multiple defense and that’s the benefit of a long training camp – you’re able to do some of those things.”

Splash down – The Bulldogs moved up their Sunday practice by a couple of hours, then hit the weight room. In the afternoon, a nice break ... a trip to a water park.　

Working OT – Transfer quarterback Marcus McMaryion went through quarterback meetings on Saturday night and will again on Sunday and Monday.

He also is investing time on his own to gain ground on the Bulldogs’ offense – the language, communication, procedures.

“He was texting me questions late at night last night when I was trying to go to bed,” offensive coordinator Kalen DeBoer joked.

Unfamiliar surroundings – There is a lot there for McMaryion, who on Tuesday will advance to the helmets and shoulder pads phase of the NCAA acclimatization period and be able to take some reps with the Bulldogs’ offense, and as far as the verbiage it is all new.

“There’s not much (similarity) with the language,” DeBoer said. “The concepts, there are general concepts that you have that people carry, whether it’s vertical (routes) or different crossers and I think most of those routes are probably the same. But what we call that play is something different so he has to just memorize all those.

“It is a lot, but even the first night when I first got with him he seemed to pick things up pretty quick.”

This story was originally published August 13, 2017 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Fresno State quick hits: Bulldogs’ defense finding the right fits."