Jeff Tedford built Fresno State into champs. Here’s how next coach’s roster lines up

To become the first program in history to go from double-digit losses in one season to double-digit wins in the next two, Fresno State in its first two seasons under coach Jeff Tedford utilized every accessible avenue to upgrade the roster including blueshirts, grayshirts, greenshirts and Division I, graduate and junior college transfers.

With Tedford stepping down on Friday due to heart-related health concerns, it will fall to the next coach to deal with what comes next.

And, they are in an interesting spot.

Despite a 4-8 record this year, Tedford is confident in his former staff, and the players they have recruited. The program, he said, is on a solid foundation.

“I understand that this last year wasn’t exactly what we expected, but I do feel very strongly that the cupboard is full and it’s ready to compete right away to be back at the championship level,” Tedford said at the news conference where he announced that he would be stepping down. “I’m very proud of that, and my staff, because it’s a team effort.”

But by plugging roster holes and trying to build depth with older players those first two seasons, the Bulldogs increased the rate of turnover in the program, and that can make sustaining success a tricky proposition.

Of the 39 players who went through Senior Day ceremonies the past two seasons, 13 were Tedford recruits who were in the program for just two years, five more were in the program for three years and one was in a Bulldogs uniform for just one year.

That left the Bulldogs with a very young team in 2019.

Not much experience in 2020

They will be just as young in 2020.

The Bulldogs also will be losing seniors at key positions including quarterback Jorge Reyna, running back Josh Hokit, tight end Jared Rice, defensive end Mykal Walker, defensive tackles Keiti Iakopo, Ricky McCoy and Jasad Haynes, safety Juju Hughes and cornerback Jaron Bryant.

The program counts anyone with a start in half of its games as a returning starter and there are only 12 position players with six starts back next season. One of them, Chris Coleman, started a game on both sides of the ball, at wideout (one) on offense and at cornerback (five) on defense.

Bump that standard up to nine starts, or three-quarters of the Bulldogs’ games, and they have just seven returning starters.

12 starts

DT Kevin Atkins (40 career games)

LB Arron Mosby (39)

LB Justin Rice (32)

RB Ronnie Rivers (36)

10 starts

OT Dontae Bull (17)

S Wylan Free (25)

OG Quireo Woodley (26)

8 starts

C Matt Smith (21)

OT Syrus Tuitele (29)

7 starts

DE Isaiah Johnson (19)

6 starts

CB Chris Coleman (20)

OG Jace Fuamatu (9)

Four of those players – Woodley, Smith, Tuitele and Johnson – will be coming back from season-ending injuries.

To the plus, there is considerably more talent in the program than there was the last time Fresno State was cycling up, in 2015 when the Bulldogs were coming off back-to-back Mountain West championships when led by quarterback Derek Carr and then a 6-8 season in 2014 that included a loss in the conference championship game at Boise State.

Redshirts bolster 2020 plan

The Bulldogs also were able to redshirt key recruits from their 2019 recruiting class including Memorial High wideout Josh Kelly, defensive end Colby Warkentin, safety Deven Jarvis, linebackers Malachi Langley and Reggie Strong and offensive lineman Elijah Carson. Others were forced to sit out due to injuries including cornerback Deshawn Ruffin and offensive lineman Dante Adkins.

They have 28 juniors and two seniors who had a redshirt season available returning in 2020.

Both classes give them a chance to develop roster depth and balance through recruiting and redshirting.

“We’ve gotten younger each year and I think that’s how you build,” Tedford said during the last week of what turned out to be his final season. “You have to start building through the ranks.”

Those players get a chance to mature physically and mentally, gain a base in offensive or defensive systems. The program gets a chance to develop depth and manage balance between classes in position groups.

Boise State, one of the few Group of Five conference programs to sustain success for any length of time, has started the past five seasons with 64.2% to 73.3% players in the two-deep who had taken a redshirt year.

“If you look at the guys who have been here the past few years a lot of those guys were seasoned veterans who had been here for a while and can deal with games like San Diego State,” said offensive coordinator and line coach Ryan Grubb, who is serving as interim coach.

“We went there last year and we were playing four seniors. We went there this year and we were playing three freshmen. The more turnover there is in any organization, it makes things harder.”

Carson is an example of what a redshirt season can do. The highly regarded prospect (“He has all the pro measurables,” Grubb said) is a 6-foot-8 guard/tackle who suffered a leg injury in his senior year of high schoo and came to Fresno State at 303 pounds.

He is up around 320 now and much stronger with a year in the weight room. He got a chance to move up from the scout team this season and work with the No. 2 offense due to all of the injuries the Bulldogs suffered on the offensive line, gaining a base in the offense going into spring practices. He even got into a game late in the season (redshirts are allowed up to four), playing against Nevada.

Turnover is challenging

But working through that rate of turnover could be challenging for the next coach.

“(There’s) a lot of promise with all the young guys that got an opportunity to play this year, and every game was competitive that we played in,” Tedford said before a season-ending loss at San Jose State.

“You wish they had gone the other way, but they didn’t. But when you have 30 guys that left last year there’s going to be a transition of some young guys playing. Some guys got some valuable experience this year and it can only help going forward.”

This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:00 AM.