Fresno State has a quiet signing day, adding just one player to 2020 football recruiting class

Fresno State had one of the oddest and quietest national letter of intent signing days in history Wednesday with little hullabaloo after adding just one player to new coach Kalen DeBoer’s first recruiting class.

That brings DeBoer’s first class to 14 players with one spot still open.

The Bulldogs signed offensive lineman Mose Vavao from St. Francis-Mountain View. The 6-foot-3, 290-pound interior line prospect also was recruited by Mountain West Conference rivals San Jose State, Hawaii and Air Force.

Fresno State in January signed tight end Rory Hanson from Modesto Junior College.

Hanson enrolled in school and will participate in spring practices in March.

Offensive lineman Julian Polendo and defensive lineman Da’Marcus Johnson, who both signed in December, also are enrolled and expected to partake in spring camp.

Bulldogs offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb offered his insights on the Bulldogs’ newest addition, as well as those who signed in December.

Mose Vavao, OL, St. Francis-Mountain View

“He is a tough, smart and productive football player. He is a leader, and comes from a great program over at St. Francis. The coach up there does a phenomenal job in developing players and we knew for a long time he was who we wanted. We waited for a long time for him to sign. He is smart and physical, and can play everywhere. That speaks a lot. He can do that at a high level, he is very serious about his education, he had some Ivy league offers. He comes from a great family. He is very bright, not just from the book standpoint but from the football side of things, as well.”

Rory Hanson, TE, Modesto Junior College

“Rory Hanson played quarterback in high school, then transitioned to tight end at Modesto Junior College. He is just a big kid that grew out of playing quarterback. He is built and can play very physically, and he is athletic enough to stretch the field. He is still learning, and we expect him to really grow into the spot. Whatever they needed him to do, he could do. We are excited for him to be here. He is from Tracy, and has played ball in Modesto so for him to be able to come home and play as a Bulldog is a big deal for him. He is a very versatile, tough and intelligent kid. He is dedicated to being an awesome student-athlete. He was a shoo-in for us.”

This is what Grubb said in December, on the Bulldogs’ class …

Mac Dalena, WR, Memorial High

“Mac, the big thing with him, obviously very productive high school player. That was one of the things, it didn’t matter what role he was in, what grade, he was a productive player. That’s what always drew us to Mac.

You’d see him compete at camps and things like that and he’d always find ways to get open and get it done. That, in the end, is what you need is a guy who can do that, find ways to be productive. Size doesn’t matter, all that stuff. He competes, He’s physical. It doesn’t matter that he’s a little undersized. He’s more than willing to stick his nose in there, team captain, all that stuff. He’s off the charts with intangibles. That’s the kind of thing that we’re looking for – truly a ’Dog-wired dude.”

Matt Lowe, TE, Serrano-Hesperia

“Matt Lowe is a legitimate 6-foot-5, 245 (pounds). He’s a really big, natural ‘Y’ and is going to be a great player in this league. He has the length, all the tools. He had seven touchdowns on 21 receptions and over 400 yards receiving. They didn’t throw to him all the time, but when they did he made big plays. This guy has not been in the weight room very much yet, just played different sports. He is going to develop, He is going to be a very big, powerful kid. He has unbelievable makeup and character, really strong will-power kid, a kid that wants to succeed. He’s another ’Dog-wired dude that just loves football. He’s going to be big. I think he had 10 offers or something. He was a good get.”

Logan Fife, QB, Tracy

“Logan Fife, good arm, very quick feet, athletic. Every time we saw him in camp he was outperforming other players, including our own camp. He did very well here and there were some guys with quote-unquote bigger offers that were there competing against him and he was extremely accurate and delivered the ball. He had great demeanor, too.

“When you’re around coach (Jeff) Tedford, you want to see what a guy’s makeup is and he has the intangibles you’re looking for at quarterback – the ability to lead, the ability to be a little bit bulletproof. That’s what Logan is. He’s a good, tough kid that can play the next play whether the last one was good or bad. He’s smart, super-intelligent. You talk to him, work through scenarios with him at a camp and he did phenomenal. We’re really excited about him. He’s a local guy. We know he wanted to be here and I think that’s a big part, too, a guy that’s eager to be a ’Dog and come here and prove it.”

Kosi Agina, Athlete, Sanger

“We’re signing him as an athlete because he is a guy we can see doing a ton of stuff on the field whether it’s initially as a defensive back or also this past year scoring 17 touchdowns with over 1,000 yards rushing. Very high-character kid from a great family, unbelievable grades. He finished fourth in the triple jump (at state) this last year so you can see that single-leg explosiveness in an event like that. We see him in a lot of spots. Sometimes you have to make kids fit and get them in the program and know that they’re going to be able to be a difference-maker and I think that’s exactly what Kosi is. We didn’t exactly know what Arron Mosby was going to be, but he has turned into a 235-pound Will linebacker that was returning punts in high school. I’m not saying that Kosi is going to be that big, but he’s just a football player and he’s right in our backyard so we’re not going to just let him out of here.

“He can help you in a number of ways, whether you’re short at a defensive back position or a skill position on offense. I think typically with guys like Kosi you let him come in and compete at a position that he feels the most comfortable initially. When you do that you allow him to showcase his talents and see his top level. From there you start to assess where the team is through injuries, experience and things like that and let him develop.”

Malik Sherrod, RB, Pacifica-Oxnard

“I am fired up about this guy – he is electric. There is nothing on the field he can’t do. He is Ronnie Rivers, Part II. He really is. You talk about high character, captain, tough, defense, offense.. His stats speak for themselves. He took Pacifica all the way to a (state) title and he was a big reason they did that. His demeanor, you talk to this guy, and he is phenomenal. He is a leader Day One he gets on campus. He’s a guy when you’re evaluating running backs who can make you right when things aren’t right. When it all breaks down, can he still get you yards, and that’s what Malik can do. When you watch his film you see it over and over and over. Less than perfect play – 7 yards. Less than perfect play – 28 yards. That’s why I say he reminds me of Ronnie. Ronnie when things weren’t great could still make things happen for us. He catches the ball very fluid out of the backfield, willing blocker and extremely natural with the football in his hands. He had Mountain West offers and all that, but I think some people got scared away by his size. But he’s a powerful kid. Ronnie I want to say was a 2-star or a no-star and I think we were his only offer and he’s pretty damn good. I feel the same way about Mailk.”

Joseph Church, OL, Upland

“Joseph is very, very raw, athletic, powerful. He is going to be a big, big, kid, like a Syrus Tuitele-sized kind of guy – wide hips, thick legs with great feet. Coach (Roman) Sapolu and I were able to see Joseph at multiple camps this summer and get to know him and I feel like he was one of the most hidden o-linemen in the state of California. His top end, seeing his athleticism and raw power, he is extremely strong and we are talking just barely scratching the surface with this guy.

He reminds me a lot of Syrus out of high school, honestly. This kid you know is going to be physically just different than a lot of kids and I think Joseph will in a couple of years be a guy people wonder how he wound up at Fresno State. Unbelievable family, character kid, They had a great visit here and that’s what Joseph and his family committed to, the feeling of family here. That came from our players. They did a great job, Bula Schmidt, Syrus Tuitele, Dontae Bull, the guys that are the backbone of that unit, showing him what it’s going to be like here. It’s a really big deal to get him. He’s a good get.”

Julian Polendo, OL, Palm Springs

“He’s listed at 345. I think that’s a gift. I think he’s probably a touch over that. But he’s a guy, you watch his film, and he’s playing 170 snaps a game. He’s playing both sides of the football so at times it looks like he’s a little tired, but seeing his top end in camps this summer, his feet for a guy his size, not even for a guy his size, his feet are really good, period. I think that he’s going to be a good one. He’s going to be a good one. We needed to get bigger at guard and get some size there and Julian brings that. The other part we’re really excited about with him is he’s going to be here in January, He’s a mid-year guy, He;s going to have all winter to work with our strength department and have a spring ball and roll into fall camp hopefully in a position to compete. He was also a captain. ... A former player of mine back when I was at Sioux Falls was one of his coaches and mentors. Nephi Garcia was a guy that I plucked from College of the Desert and was a really good running back for us. He came back to his hometown in Palm Springs. I didn’t know that going into it, but just stumbled on that information and really struck that up. It meant a lot to me that Nephi felt how he felt about Julian’s character and work ethic.”

Tyler Mello, LB, Hanford

“Another local guy from right here in Hanford. He’s long, rangy and he is a true inside linebacker. He is a true inside linebacker. He is a physical, physical, physical kid. You can;t say enough about him as far as how he’s perceived by his teammates and coaches so we’re really excited to have him in a spot we feel we needed a really good guy to come in and take that scholarship spot and be an impact guy in the next few years here as we get your (Arron) Mosbys and (Justin) Rices are getting up there and will be seniors and need some guys coming in behind those guys. .... Fired up to have another Valley guy.”

Kamron Forest, DB, Cajon-San Bernardino

“He’s very competitive. When you watch Kam’s film, he’s 5-10, not a Chris Gaston 6-1 guy, but when you watch his film constantly going up against taller receivers, he has really good ball instincts and is dislodging it constantly from guys and is always in the right position between the receiver and the ball. He just has a knack for that. His coverage skills for a young guy, a high school guy, I think are outstanding. He has good make-up speed and I know he’s a guy that (defensive backs coach J.D. Williams) is very high on and thinks he can develop very quickly. Kam is a guy we’re very excited about and a guy that we had to compete pretty hard within the conference to get. He was a commit that J.D. had early on and was able to sustain him through the whole time.”

CJ Jones, DB, Buchanan High

“His dad played here. Charlie was a great player here so getting a guy like CJ is a big deal. But I think one of the things that is always tough for CJ is people think about Charlie right away. It’s about CJ. We recruited CJ.

“He is a phenomenal football player in his own right and we are extremely excited to get him. He’s another guy that was committed early and with all the transition with Coach Tedford he stuck right with us. He’s a guy that’s Bulldog proud and excited to be here. We think he’s super-talented and a guy that has a really bright future here in the defensive backfield. He has some versatility there, as well, to be able to play safety and corner.”

Dupree Williams, DB, Dominguez-Compton

“He’s long, a 6-2, 175-pound corner from Compton. He’s a Chris Gaston, Wylan Free long corner that is super raw. He played a lot of receiver his junior year and played almost exclusively defensive back his senior year at corner. But you could see on film whether it was on offense or defense that he is a fluid athlete. He reminds me a lot of Chris, honestly, and I know that’s how J.D. felt about him, as well. Here’s a guy, man, the sky’s the limit for this kid. When you think in terms of longer player and young players, whether it’s a young o-lineman that’s developing or a young corner that’s developing, I think physically this guy has a skill set that is not common, having that kind of length and still being that fluid. We were super-excited when he took his visit asking tons of great questions. You could tell he was engaged in the process, didn’t take it lightly and was thinking about why he wanted to be a Bulldog. That’s something that really excited me – his whole demeanor and mindset. He wants to be the best, wants to play for the best and is driven to get his college degree.”

Da’Marcus Johnson, DE, American River College

“Da’Marcus is a guy we recruited initially out of high school out of Sacramento Burbank High and had a knee injury and ended up having to go to junior college for a year. He played at American River for coach (Jon) Osterhout and did a great job. He’s a coach we have a lot of respect for, so when you call him up and talk to him about Da’Marcus and ask, ‘Is this guy tough? Is he going to be able to help us on the edge and be a great pass rusher and defend the run?’ he just said emphatically he’s a guy that is going to do all those things and more. He couldn’t speak strong enough about him. Da’Marcus is a guy that is young – he’s a 4 for 3 guy for us that we think can come in and contribute early, but you also have the flexibility of a redshirt with him. He’s a guy we’re really pumped up about. He’s pretty determined to show that this is going to be a big-time deal for him and be an impact guy in the Mountain West.”

This story was originally published February 5, 2020 at 8:28 PM.