How did Fresno State do on the early signing day? Two national analysts break it down

By Robert Kuwada

December 16, 2020 4:59 PM

Fresno State signed 14 players on Wednesday, the early national letter of intent signing day including two San Joaquin Valley products in running back Jordan Hornbeak from San Joaquin Memorial High and defensive lineman Julius Lewis from Central Catholic-Modeo.

Brandon Huffman and Greg Biggins, the national recruiting editor and national recruiting analyst for 247Sports, offered their thoughts on their favorite players in the Bulldogs’ class, standouts and sleepers …

FAVORITE PLAYER

Huffman: “I think my favorite player in this class is probably Jordan Hornbeak. That was a gigantic pickup for them. This wasn’t a case where a lot of times maybe a Mountain West school gets a kid because all the Power Five offers went cold. That’s not the case at all. I remember talking to two of the schools that were in his final group. They called me, like, stunned … Jordan Hornbeak committed to Fresno State. They couldn’t believe it. He had a final five that was I think Cal, Utah, UCLA and Colorado and he chose to stay at home at Fresno State. With Jalen Cropper a couple of years ago, we’ve seen more in recent years where Fresno kids will actually stay home and that was a big one for them. Not only did they get a big-time player who will stay at home, but they head-to-head beat Pac-12 schools to get him.”

Biggins: “I think my favorite is Jalen Williams, the cornerback from Paraclete. To me, he’s a high-level Pac-12 guy. I’ve seen him in a number of settings and I’m not sure why he wasn’t recruited more heavily. He had grades. He plays for a great program. His coach swears by him. He’s athletic, strong, a playmaker. He was a two-time all-league guy. He’s everything. I can see Jalen having a big impact. He might be the hidden gem in the class.”

STANDOUT IN THE CLASS

Huffman: “Hornbeak, and I think the other guy that you would say is a standout is Jaylen Henderson. He comes from a strong Chaminade program. He’s used to playing at a high level as a starter, out of a high school program that produced Brad Kaaya (Miami), Ryan Griffin (Tulane). They’ve had a number of Power Five, FBS starters over time and Henderson is the latest to do that. He’s a dual-threat guy that can run. He’s going to remind people a little bit of Marcus McMaryion, a bigger kid who is pretty athletic.”

Biggins: “It’s a pretty good class. I really like the two running backs that they got, Johnathan Arceneaux and Hornbeak. They kind of complement each other really well. Hornbeak is kind of the bigger, more physical guy. He chose them over Cal. A lot of these guys get offers and they’re not there by the time the kid is ready to commit, but Cal wanted him. They beat out Cal for him. He just felt that was a better fit, and he’s good. He just has a really good feel for the position. Arceneaux is a little smaller. I think he’s closer to 5-10, but he’s super quick, shifty, explosive. But Jaylen Henderson, he has a lot of upside. I think he’s young for his grade, but he’s a two-sport athlete, a basketball guy, kind of new. His junior year was his first year really being the guy, so not super experienced, but he has a decent upside to him. He’s super smart and he’s an athlete.”

SLEEPER PICKS

Huffman: “The two that I would say are the most criminally under-recruited, one kind of makes sense because of where he’s from and the other because of an injury. One is Julian Neal out of Mission in San Francisco. He’s the first guy in 10 years from a San Francisco public high school to sign with a FBS school. He had an offer from San Jose State when (director of player personnel) Courtney Morgan was there, but he went down to Fresno State and he had been the one to offer Neal. Courtney got him to commit to Fresno State. I saw Neal in October. He’s 6-4, long, lengthy. I think he could ultimately grow into an outside ‘backer. He can play safety. He can play receiver. He’s a high-upside kid. You think San Francisco, everybody knows about San Francisco. But nobody recruits San Francisco public high schools.

“Frankco Gratton is my other guy, out of Rainier Beach in Seattle. As a sophomore he was trending to be a national recruit and then missed the majority of his junior year with a shoulder or collarbone injury. I have zero doubt he would have been a more highly recruited player. At his school, Josh Conerly is the No. 1 player in Washington, the No. 1 offensive lineman out West. Had there been a spring, they would have come to see Josh Conlerly and they would have seen this 6-5, 210-pound outside ‘backer in Frankco Gratton and I think his offer list would have blown up. He’s another one of those guys that Courtney Morgan found, identified. They stayed on him, got his commitment and had to weather the storm late with some other schools late that were looking to get him.”

Biggins: “I’d say Julius Lewis. I like him a lot. Defensive tackles are hard to find out West and he’s another guy when you watch the tape he’s going to play with just about anybody. He’s got great size, and for his size he moves really well. He could be an inside-outside guy. He’s 6-5 and 280 and someone who, depending on the scheme, can be an outside edge guy or he can be an inside guy. But, he has a motor and the thing that jumps out with all good big guys is how well they can move and he moves pretty well.”

THOUGHTS ON BULLDOGS’ CLASS

Huffman: “If you look at this group, there’s only one kid who is outside the West Coast footprint – the defensive end from Texas (Tito Chikere). But they got two guys from Nevada, they got a couple kids from New Mexico and Colorado, but everything else is pretty spread out through California. I think it’s clear that their base is going to be California, but this is one of the more diverse classes in terms of where these guys are from with Washington, Colorado, Nevada. I consider Nevada a Pac-12 state, even though there’s no Pac-12 school there. Three schools that are kind of in that Pac-12 footprint and they went into those states and got guys. I know they’re a Mountain West school, but I think it’s important when they can go into a Washington or a Oregon and recruit guys.”

Biggins: “It seemed like they were a little more aggressive and competed for maybe more high-level kids. I like how they recruited. They did a nice job of evaluating, which they always do, because they’re not going to be able to always get the top guys. But I felt like this year’s class was probably one of their better ones because it seemed like they went after more guys, they were more aggressive. I heard more kids telling me how hard they were being recruited by Fresno State than ever. They didn’t settle and overall I think they did a really good job.”