Defensive tackle Patrick Belony breaking out at the right time for Bulldogs

If Fresno State coach Jeff Tedford has a good Patrick Belony story, an anecdote or an aside, something or anything, he is keeping it to himself.

The senior defensive tackle chased a dream across the country, going from high school in Miami to a JC in Southern California before jumping at a chance to play for the Bulldogs, even as his scholarship offers started to pile up. He spent three years in the program playing some, but not much; last season, just four games. And when Fresno State most needed him to become a bigger piece to the puzzle he did, working his way onto the field with a defense that has been decimating its Mountain West Conference opponents.

But, no story, Tedford said. He had this …

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for him because when we first came here he was really low on the depth chart and he continued to stay in there and keep working and didn’t give up. He made himself better and now he’s a different guy and he’s giving us some quality minutes,” Tedford said.

“It would have been really easy for him in that first year to say, ‘No, I’ve had enough,’ because he wasn’t playing a big role for us. He needed to improve some things and he really dedicated himself to doing that and I’m really proud of him.”

Stepping up

With a lot of work behind him and a lot of fun in front of him, Belony has the past two weeks been a critical cog in a defense that has allowed just one touchdown in three Mountain West Conference games, a total of 13 points, 4.3 points per game.

The Bulldogs play a five-man rotation at the tackle positions, and Belony has been a part of it from the start of the season. But Jasad Haynes was down with an ankle injury against Wyoming and though Haynes was back at New Mexico, the Bulldogs were still banged up and short-manned and it was Belony who stepped in, his game reps increasing in those games.

Belony started both games and played more than 60 percent of the defensive snaps.

He had two tackles against the Cowboys, one against the Lobos. More than that, he controlled his assigned gaps, engaged double teams.

“He has done an unbelievable job,” defensive line coach Jamar Cain said. “He just doesn’t make mistakes. If you can play 40 snaps in a game and make one or two mental errors, we’re going to win a lot of games and he doesn’t make any mental errors. He doesn’t make bonehead mistakes. He’s in his gap. He’s playing hard. He’s taking pride in his job.”

On Saturday against Hawaii, the Bulldogs’ homecoming game, Belony again figures to play a key role against the run and defusing one of the better pass games in the conference by applying inordinate pressure on quarterback Cole McDonald.

It was a factor for Hawaii in losses the past two weeks at BYU and to Nevada, the Rainbow Warriors allowing four sacks to the Cougars and five to the Wolf Pack.

Belony said Cain had a simple message this week: “Relentless effort on the pass rush. There will be times when we get double-teamed. There are times we’ll get one-on-one blocking.

“We just need to be relentless pass rushers, not stopping our feet, chasing the quarterback down. That’s the way Nevada and BYU got to them. It was all effort sacks. There was some scheme, but there was a lot of effort plays chasing down the quarterback. It’s key to how we’re going to get to the quarterback.”

Putting in the work

For Belony, that pursuit actually started in the spring. The Bulldogs did not yet know yet if Ricky McCoy, the former Roosevelt High standout, would be eligible this season after transferring back home from Washington. There was a lack of depth on that defensive front inside and out. At the start of camp, they had Kevin Atkins, Haynes, Keiti Iakopo and Belony at tackle, awaiting a decision on McCoy. That five-man rotation was a question in a defensive line that also was a question, losing five seniors and all four starters from a 10-4 team.

“He had a good spring, but everybody has a good spring,” Cain said. “It was, ‘OK, are you going to put the work in during the summer?’ But I remember sometimes going in the weight room at lunch time and Pat is in there after workouts on the treadmill, on the Versa, on the stair climber, just doing something to get some extra work in.”

The Bulldogs, and Belony, are reaping the benefits.

“Things just happen for a reason, I guess,” Belony said. “The journey I took is different. It’s not the same as everyone on the team. It was a cool journey, but I feel like I’ve made great decisions on the route that I’ve taken. Just being able to enjoy the time that I have now, this is my senior year, so I’m trying to put it all on the line.

“Just being able to step in when my name is being called, that’s what it all about. Anything to help the team. That’s the main focus right now.”

This story was originally published October 25, 2018 at 2:10 PM.