Fresno State spring football notebook: A lot of pieces fitting seamlessly into place

Fresno State wrapped up the spring on Saturday afternoon with some questions answered and others popping up to take into the summer and then fall camp.

The latter is particularly true on the offensive line, where seven of 13 players on the roster were out for all or part of their 15 spring practices.

But among the most notable results was the development of a very multiple defense that will feature 4-down and 3-down fronts, with new defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle and the Bulldogs’ staff adding installs for almost every practice with few hiccups on the football field.

“I’ve been super impressed with the attention to detail of these players,” Coyle said. “They love football. They love the classroom, the study, the film sessions that we have. They’re very intent on knowing exactly what we want from them and then when they take the field, the things that we’ve been asking them to do, they’ve been able to come out here and execute.”

Coyle obviously knew what he wanted to get in this spring, and how quickly it needed to be installed, digested and executed. The unknown is the players, but they have been able to keep the installs moving at a good pace and the expectation is the Bulldogs’ defense will be more consistent than a year ago.

Fresno State last season ranked fourth in the Mountain West in scoring defense, playing four teams ranked in the bottom 20 in the nation in scoring in UNLV (111th), San Jose State (118th), UConn (129th) and New Mexico (130th).

It did also give up 30 points to a UNLV team that averaged just 19.6 in games against FBS opponents, allowed 17 fourth-quarter points in a loss at Hawaii, which was playing a first-time starter at quarterback, and 40 points in a loss to Boise State, the most the Broncos scored in a Mountain West game.

“We have a good portion of our defensive package exposed to them and as we build in summer and in camp there will be a lot of things where, well, this is the same as this, so it’s not going to be anything dramatically different for them to learn,” Coyle said.

“That’s a credit to the guys. We’re multiple. We’re going to be multiple in coverage. We’re going to try to keep people guessing in terms of our pressures. There are things we might feature in one game and they might not see it for another few games. Conceptually, I think we’re not going to be limited in any way.”

Opening the tight windows

The Bulldogs’ wideouts have improved their aggressiveness throughout the spring, which in turn has helped quarterback Jake Haener widen some very tight throwing windows.

In the penultimate practice of the spring, Josh Kelly made a wild, twisting reception on a ball up the right sideline, making the catch with one hand … his left. And, Kelly is not left-handed. “No,” he said, “Not at all.”

But that is an improving aspect of the Bulldogs’ passing game, which last season generated 326.7 yards per game to rank second in the Mountain West and 35 touchdowns.

“I’d say it has improved a lot, just knowing the ball is not always going to be perfect,” Kelly said. “Jake is a lot better and he’s giving us that chance, something we’ve been stressing a lot. We’re creating opportunities for ourselves. When you get opportunities like that, we have to go make those plays.”

Haener, who in just 19 games has passed for 6,119 yards and ranks 10th on the Bulldogs’ all-time list, also is benefiting from Coyle and his defense. He’s seeing NFL disguise, NFL pressures.

“It’s really big for me, just being able to process,” Haener said. “You just see a lot of moving pieces. You just really start to get a feel for boundary safeties and the alignment of backers, pressure, leverages, different things that are going to tip you to certain coverages.

“I think Coach Coyle has been really pointing me to techniques that linemen are doing, the fronts they’re showing me and the pressures. I think Coyle is big for me and is really going to help me this summer with my development and continue to help me take the next step.”

What’s up with the stripe?

Kelly added a white stripe on his helmet this spring, which was not a sartorial statement.

“That’s for film purposes, when I’m watching film I can see where my eyes are at,” he said. “When I turn my head to look off a defender, I’m making sure I’m using everything that’s taught and getting my eyes back.”

The stripe tells him everything that he needed to know.

“It has helped a lot, being able to create that separation with your eyes,” he said. “A lot of the defenders kind of focus on your head so wherever your head is turning they’ll bite that way.”

On the O-line, and physicality

Offensive line coach Saga Tuitele was hired to bring a different dynamic to that meeting room, and improve the overall physicality up front. That remains a work in progress, given all of the combos and new players that were worked into the lineup this spring with the ones and the twos.

“As a group, from where we started, practice one to now, there has been pretty good improvement as far as being more physical and more consistently physical,” Tuitele said.

“Our offense is a really good blend of the spread and the pro, so there’s a lot of thinking involved and just being able to improve that so you can be physical. The young guys try to figure out what to do and then how to do it comes second, so the closer they can get that together, that’s when you see the improvement.”

The Bulldogs last season ranked only sixth in the Mountain West in yards per rush and had games where they had a high percentage of rushing plays that went for 2 yards or less.

“Think about Fresno State football, whether it the 1990s or the 2000s, you think of physicality, no matter what you do, whether you throw the ball or run the ball you can be physical,” Tuitele said. “Blocking people in a physical act. It’s a mindset. You just have to do it consistently and it’s the, ‘What to do?’ and ‘How to do it?’” together.”

About that O-line

Not that it will come to this, but worth noting: Houston, which is expected to contend for that New Year’s Six bowl spot that goes to the highest-ranked champion from a Group of Five Conference, averaged 35.9 points and won 12 games last season despite an offensive line that had its issues.

The Cougars ranked 10th of 11 in the American Athletic Conference and 90th in the nation in yards per rush, 10th and 102nd in sacks allowed per game and 11th and 120th in tackles for loss allowed per game.

Happy together

The Bulldogs’ defensive staff has ties that run very deep.

Coyle was the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator under Pat Hill from 1997 to 2000. Defensive line coach Jethro Franklin played for the Bulldogs in 1986 and 1987 and was the D-line coach from 1991 to 1998.

Linebackers coach Tim Skipper played for the Bulldogs from 1997 to 2000 and is in his second stint as an assistant coach. J.D. Williams also played and coached for the Bulldogs and was the first of five first-round NFL draft picks in school history, going to the Buffalo Bills as the 16th overall selection in 1990.

“That really helps,” said defensive tackle Evan Bennett, who has made big strides this spring. “The coaches are all really tight and not a lot of schools have that tightness with their coaches. When you have that, it does nothing but bring everybody else around the program together. It’s been nothing but a blessing to say I can come in here with a smile and talk to everybody and have a good energy.

“These coaches instill confidence in us. I can’t say that I’ve ever had that before. It’s been nothing but a blessing to be out here with three coaches. It’s a new experience for me, just being around this atmosphere.”

Lockdown corner

Hawaii transfer Cameron Lockridge had an interception on a tipped pass during the spring showcase and has been a good addition for the Bulldogs, a playmaker at corner where they lost senior DaRon Bland and last season struggled with their consistency.

Lockridge played in 10 games in 2021 with a coverage grade of 76.8, according to Pro Football Focus, and had two interceptions. Opponents hit just 48.9% of their throws when targeting Lockridge, significantly better than Wylan Free (75%) and Bralyn Lux (62.2%), who started the first four and first six games last season for the Bulldogs.

Lux also has had a solid bounce-back spring, giving the Bulldogs a good mix with sophomore Cale Sanders and depth with some young corners moving forward including redshirt freshman Alzillion Hamilton.

“He just seems to knock down a bunch of balls every day and has been playing at a high level, better than last season,” Coyle said, of Lux. “We talked about it. He knows that. But he has embraced the challenge.”

Bland, who was selected by the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday in the fifth round of the NFL draft, was targeted more than any Fresno State defender last season and also had the best reception percentage of anyone with 10 or more plays – opponents were 21 of 50 when targeting Bland, 42%.

More on Lockridge

Lockridge by coverage grade was a top-10 corner in the Mountain West last season, but appears to be a more physical player this spring.

“He’s just a rangy corner, a good dude with a good mentality,” safety Evan Williams said. “He likes to come out here and ball. He likes those one-on-one matchups, likes those challenges, and we love to see that from a corner. Definitely, a physical guy and will get up in your face and make plays.

“It’s exciting just to see him as a great addition to this team.”

Bulldogs sell out parking lots, are games next?

Fresno State sold more than 600 parking spots in the red and white lots for its spring showcase, and athletic department officials see that as a positive sign for ticket sales in a season the Bulldogs are expected to contend for a Mountain West Conference championship and a New Year’s Six bowl game.

“We’re on pace to exceed the previous year for the fourth season in a row and that’s uncommon and against the norm nationally, but it meets our expectation internally,” said Frank Pucher, senior associate athletic director for external relations. “We’ll once again be among the national leaders at the Group of Five level and surpass several Power Five institutions here on the West Coast.”

To this point, season ticket sales are running at a renewal rate nearing 85%.

“It’s incredibly important that our fans continue to invest in season tickets as it directly impacts opportunities to enhance our program in sustainable ways,” Pucher said.

“To position our program for success, we need to continue our annual growth of season-long commitments. We need to continue the evolution of the relationship between our athletics department and our fan base from a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ relationship to a ‘Look what we can accomplish together relationship.’”

Fresno State last season played in front of a sellout crowd for the first time since its 2014 home opener, drawing 41,031 for Boise State. The average home attendance was 33,386.

Trick plays

The Bulldogs’ No. 1 offense ran a trick play for a touchdown, with wideout Jalen Cropper throwing a pass to Haener.

It wasn’t the cleanest play – Haener had to twist around to catch the ball, then swing back to get to the goal line and went tumbling to the ground as he did – but it was a touchdown.

“We just wanted to see if Jake was athletic and you see he got tripped over there by the 1-yard line,” Cropper joked. “I’m going to be on him now. I’m going to tell him, ‘Watch out for the 1-yard line …’”

Hitting the transfer portal, part II

The deadline for players to enter the NCAA transfer portal and be eligible to play in the fall is Sunday, and given their history under coach Jeff Tedford it wouldn’t be wise to think they are done adding for 2022.

“We’ll see,” Tedford said. “We’ll evaluate where we are right now, as far as what our needs are. We don’t have a lot of room. I think we’re kind of where we can be right now, but you always have to see what’s going to happen.”