Did quarterback Jake Haener just have the best first six starts in Fresno State history?

As Fresno State sifts through a disappointing 49-39 loss to New Mexico and 3-3 finish to its 2020 football season, one thing that will stand out is Jake Haener and what might be the best first six starts by a quarterback the Bulldogs have seen over the past 20 seasons.

That includes the first six starts for David Carr, who went on to be the No. 1 overall selection in the 2002 NFL Draft.

That includes Derek Carr, who was a two-time Mountain West player of the year and set 41 conference and 27 school records on his way to the NFL.

That includes Paul Pinegar, who is one of three Fresno State quarterbacks to pass for more than 10,000 career yards.

That includes Marcus McMaryion, who was 21-4 as a starter.

“That’s pretty cool,” coach Kalen DeBoer said. “Think about the names that you’re talking about. That’s a pretty elite group, and it’s a tribute to Jake’s preparation and a tribute to how quickly the offense got it going in the midst of a shortened preseason and really no offseason together.”

The quarterbacks played in different football eras, in different offenses and had differing degrees of experience before that first start. But the fourth-year junior transfer from Washington this season hit 150 of 232 passes (64.7%), averaging 8.7 yards per attempt and 336.8 yards per game, with 14 touchdown passes to five interceptions.

David Carr, Derek Carr and Pinegar all had more pass attempts in their first six six starts than Haener had in his first five. And, Haener in his five starts still had more passing yards than all three had in six. With 11 touchdown passes, he also had as many as Pinegar and more than David and Derek Carr in one fewer game.

Rating Fresno State quarterbacks in first six starts

In statistical measures tied less to a volume of pass attempts and more toward efficiency, Haener is in the top three of the quarterbacks to make at least six starts since David Carr first ran onto the field in 2000 at Ohio State.

The top 8 and ties:

COMPLETION PERCENTAGE

• 64.8 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
  
  
• 64.7 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 63.9 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
  
  
• 60.5 – Derek Carr, 2011
• 59.8 – Ryan Colburn, 2009
• 57.8 – David Carr, 2000
• 56.9 – Brian Burrell, 2014
• 56.1 – Paul Pinegar, 2002

TD/INTERCEPTION RATIO

• 5.0 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
• 3.7 – Paul Pinegar, 2002
• 2.8 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 2.5 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
• 2.5 – Zack Greenlee, 2014-’15
• 2.0 – Derek Carr, 2011
• 2.0 – Brian Burrell, 2014
• 2.0 – Chason Virgil, 2015-’16

PASSING EFFICIENCY RATING

• 153.43 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 145.33 – Ryan Colburn, 2009
• 145.88 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
• 139.91 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
• 133.35 – Derek Carr, 2011
• 131.32 – Paul Pinegar, 2002
• 120.34 – David Carr, 2000
• 114.92 – Brian Burrell, 2014

YARDS PER ATTEMPT

• 8.7 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 8.6 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
• 8.1 – Ryan Colburn, 2009
• 7.4 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
• 7.3 – Derek Carr, 2011
• 7.2 – Paul Pinegar, 2002
• 6.6 – David Carr, 2000
• 5.7 – Brian Burrell, 2014

TEAM WINS

• 5 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
• 4 – Paul Pinegar, 2002
• 3 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 3 – David Carr, 2000
• 3 – Ryan Colburn, 2009
• 3 – Brian Burrell, 2014
• 3 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
• 2 – Derek Carr, 2011

POINTS

• 35 – Jake Haener, 2020
• 35 – Marcus McMaryion, 2017
• 29 – Jorge Reyna, 2019
• 23 – Ryan Colburn, 2009
• 21 – Paul Pinegar, 2002
• 17 – Derek Carr, 2011
• 13 – David Carr, 2000
• 13 – Brian Burrell, 2014

Awarding points in each category – eight for a No. 1 ranking down to one for a No. 8 ranking – Haener and McMaryion are tied at the top with 35.

But McMaryion, who led the Bulldogs to the 2018 Mountain West championship, had something Haener did not. The Dinuba product, who was a graduate transfer from Oregon State, played in three games before that first start, taking over for Chason Virgil in the Bulldogs’ conference opener against Nevada.

Haener’s rapid development

Haener did get some work over the summer with the Bulldogs wideouts and with private quarterback coach John Beck, but there were no spring practices due to the coronavirus pandemic, no summer strength and conditioning program, no organized team activities on campus from March 12 to Sept. 25.

And, none of the previous Bulldogs starters had to prepare with limited time and play through a pandemic, which makes the rapid development since a rough first start in a loss to Hawaii even more notable.

In the first three quarters against the Rainbow Warriors, Haener threw three interceptions and had a passing efficiency rating of 130.89. In his final 21 quarters, that rating jumped to 155.21.

“He has a really high bar he sets and I know I just keep inching that bar up and keep pressing him on preparation,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said, before the Bulldogs’ final regular season game.

“I know he doesn’t want to be good, he wants to be great. He wants to be one of the guys that’s slinging the ball around here at Bulldog Stadium that people remember for a while.”

From that start Haener ended the regular-season leading the Mountain West in passing yards per game with 336.8 and total yards per game with 350.4,. averaging nearly 40 more yards than Nevada quarterback Carson Strong (310.9). That is the largest margin in total yards in the conference since 2015.

He had 502 yards of total offense at Nevada, passing for 485 yards and rushing for 17, the first Fresno State player to roll up 500 or more yards in a game since Derek Carr had 551 in a 2013 loss at San Jose State. He also tied the fifth most total yards in school history, matching David Carr in a bowl loss to Michigan State in 2001.

Haener did all that that working behind an offensive line that allowed four sacks a game and with a run game that generated only 3.4 yards per play and 123.0 yards per game.

“I’m always impressed with growth,” Grubb said. “That’s really what we’re looking for, giving us a chance to win ball games and growth. I think since Week One we’ve grown tremendously, as an offense. I still think we left a lot of yards out there, not just points, but yards.”

What’s next for Haener, Bulldogs offense?

Fresno State has one senior in its receivers room – Keric Wheatfall – and could return seven of its top eight wideouts next season.

Jalen Cropper led the Bulldogs with 37 receptions for 520 yards and five touchdowns, becoming more of a threat in the passing game after making the majority of his plays on rushing plays as a freshman. Josh Kelly had a solid first year on the field. Zane Pope was able to make it back after missing the first four games due to an injury.

The Bulldogs also barely utilized the tight end position in the passing game due to injuries and a lack of depth, and that was a critical component to the offense the past three seasons. It accounted for only eight receptions and one touchdown in 2020 after logging 43 and four last season, 67 and seven in 2018 and 31 and four in ‘17.

Ronnie Rivers is mulling a return for another shot at a senior season not impacted by COVID-19, but Jordan Mims and Jevon BIgelow will be back, along with freshman Malik Sherrod. Fresno State also signed two backs in its 2021 recruiting class in Jordan Hornbeak from San Joaquin Memorial High and Johnathan Arceneaux from Lawndale.

But the biggest gain with Haener and an offense that averaged 479.3 yards per game will be in the details and managing the offense he wasn’t all that familar with at the start of the season.

“I think it’s the situational stuff, the stuff on third downs or in the red zone or on the goal line that you didn’t have as much time to build on and expand,” DeBoer said. “That’s probably the part of the playbook that we probably didn’t get into as much as a normal season.”

It was with the last Fresno State quarterback to start in back-to-back seasons, McMaryion.

In his first season as a starter McMaryion completed just 41.4% of his passes on third down and 47.2% in the red zone. In his second season, he completed 60.2% of his passes on third down and 72.2% in the red zone.

The Bulldogs third-down conversion rate jumped to 44.6% from 35.6% and their red zone touchdown rate shot up to 73.75% from 54.7%. Fresno State scored 34.6 points per game, up from 27.1.

“It might not be quite as big because we know the identity for the most part and the concepts aren’t all new like they were in 2017, but there will be a better understanding of Jake knowing exactly where those guys are in those tighter confines down in the red zone,” DeBoer said.

“He’ll trust guys and throw more on time. There was a play this past week against New Mexico where he could have thrown it a little more on time and trusted it. It still was a touchdown, but it could have been executed a little bit cleaner and more efficiently, if you’re really getting picky about it.

“That stuff will happen and we’ll be better because of it.”