Is Fresno State quarterback the best in Mountain West? Here are the preseason votes
Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener was selected as the preseason Mountain West offensive player of year on Thursday, Day Two of the conference media days.
He was joined on the team by wideout Jalen Cropper, running back Jordan Mims, offensive tackle Dontae Bull and safety Evan Williams. The five Bulldogs selected are their most since 2014 and second most in their 12 years in the conference, behind seven in 2013 including quarterback Derek Carr and wideout Davante Adams.
Therein is a challenge for the Bulldogs quarterback and an offense that returns 83% of its offensive production — Fresno State on Wednesday was picked to win the West Division in the conference, with 20 of 28 first-place votes.
“Jalen and I have already talked about it,” Haener said. “We want to put up some similar stuff to what Derek and Davante did and just be the best version of ourselves.”
Carr in 2013 hit 68.7% of his passes for 5,083 yards with 50 touchdowns and only eight interceptions, and Adams caught 131 passes for 1,719 yards and 24 touchdowns. The 68.7%, 5,083 and 50 passing touchdowns by Carr were all school single-season records as were the 131 receptions, 1,719 yards and 24 touchdown receptions by Adams, and those 24 touchdown catches came at a time when the school career record was only 25; Henry Ellard (1979-82), then Charlies Jones (1992-95) and Bernard Berrian (1999-2003).
But Haener and Cropper hinted at the best version of themselves and their upside at times last season, and have similarities to Carr and Adams with the Bulldogs’ wideout moving outside after lining up in the slot on 94.5% of his snaps in 2021 when he caught 85 passes for 899 yards with 11 touchdowns.
They also play in an offense with high-voltage weapons with wideouts Josh Kelly, Ty Jones, Nikko Remigio and Erik Brooks and Mims, while Carr in 2013 had a diverse set of playmakers with receivers Isaiah Burse and Josh Harper, tight end Marcel Jensen and a pair of running backs in Josh Quezada and Marteze Waller.
Cropper will pose additional challenges moving outside
Cropper, who on Thursday landed a spot on the Biletnikoff Award watch list, will present challenges outside. Opposing cornerbacks can try to get their hands on him and knock him off routes at the line of scrimmage — he is listed at 171 pounds — but there is a risk in allowing an explosive pass play in trying.
“I mean, Jalen is 175, 180 pounds right now,” Haener said. “But DeVonta Smith was probably 165 or 170 pounds and he played outside (at Alabama) and I think Jalen has a lot of similar speed that DeVonta does. Defenses can try to put their hands on him, but the dude is fast and he’ll run by you if you lunge and miss. He’s going to make people pay.
“We’re going to move him around and put him in good positions to succeed. If they want to play cloud over on his side and try to double him or whatever they want to do, it’s going to be hard when he’s into the boundary and stuff like that. We have three or four other guys that can make you pay in a hurry. It just depends on how people are going to view it and how people are going to defend it.”
In a 2021 season Haener and Cropper played through injuries, the wideout had a stretch of three games at UCLA, against UNLV and at Hawaii in which he averaged 14 targets with a high of 17 against the Bruins. He had 29 receptions in those games for 320 yards and six touchdowns.
Adams averaged 13.8 targets in 13 games in 2013, the Bulldogs going 11-2 with a 24-17 victory over Utah State in the first Mountain West championship game.
2022 Mountain West preseason all-conference team
Offense
QB: Jake Haener, Fresno State
WR: Jalen Cropper, Fresno State
WR: Jesse Matthews, San Diego State
RB: Brad Roberts, Air Force
RB: Jordan Mims, Fresno State
OL: Isaac Cochran, Air Force
OL: John Ojukwy, Boise State
OL: Dontae Bull, Fresno State
OL: Aaron Frost, Nevada
OL: Alama Uluave, San Diego State
TE: Tanner Arkin, Colorado State
Defense
DL: Scott Matlock, Boise State
DL: Keshawn Banks, San Diego State
DL: Jonah Tavai, San Diego State
DL: Viliami Fehoko, San Jose State
DL: Cade Hall, San Jose State
LB: Vince Sanford, Air Force
LB: Caden McDonald, San Diego State
LB: Kyle Harmon, San Jose State
DB: JL Skinner, Boise State
DB: Evan Williams, Fresno State
DB: Jerrick Reed II, New Mexico
DB: Patrick McMorris, San Diego State
Specialists
P: Aaron Rodriguez, New Mexico
PK: Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
PR: Jordan Byrd, San Diego State
KR: Jordan Byrd, San Diego State
Offensive Preseason Player of the Year: Jake Haener, Fresno State
Co-Defensive Preseason Player of the Year: Patrick McMorris, San Diego State and Cade Hall, San Jose State
Special Teams Preseason Player of the Year: Jordan Byrd, San Diego State
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 8:18 AM.