After two big seasons, what can Fresno State’s Jake Haener do next? Quite a lot, actually

Here’s the thing with Jake Haener. Since the Fresno State quarterback first arrived on campus, everything has come at an accelerated clip.

COVID-19 hit in 2020 and the Bulldogs had no spring practice, no summer workouts and an abbreviated fall camp, then jumped into a truncated six-game season, Haener’s first as a starter at the FBS level. Then, last season, Haener and the Bulldogs took off after a last-second victory at UCLA propelled Fresno State into the Top 25 and launched talk of a Heisman Trophy for its quarterback. It was a heady time, and a stretch of distractions that Haener admits he did not handle all that well.

But, through it, the Fresno State quarterback has hit 66.3% of his passing attempts, averaged 321.9 yards per game and thrown 47 touchdown passes to just 14 interceptions.

So what happens now, when things have slowed some?

Haener and the Bulldogs are aiming high. The weapons are there with a loaded receivers room with Jalen Cropper, Josh Kelly, Ty Jones and Nikko Remigio, a proven back in Jordan Mims.

For coach Jeff Tedford, in a second stint at his alma mater after having to step away following the 2019 season due to heart-related health issues, those experiences, that time and the work that Haener has put in through the spring and over the summer has helped develop a more mature player with uncommon arm talent and ability.

He can put the football in places other guys just cannot. Tedford made the comparison in that way to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who Tedford coached at Cal.

“I think throwing the ball, he’s similar to Aaron as far as his velocity and his accuracy and things like that,” Tedford said. “There are six (NFL draft) first-rounders that I’ve coached and his velocity and his accuracy, it would be comparable to that probably. But all those guys, they wouldn’t be first-round guys if they weren’t special. But being a student of the game, as well, being highly competitive. They’re all highly competitive and they’re all students of the game.”

That extra, the time invested, will show, Tedford said. “He’s poised to have a real special year.”

Haener added weight, arm strength and maturity

Haener has the weight close to where he wants it, at 206 pounds, to better withstand the hits like he absorbed last season starting with that victory over UCLA when he limped through a winning 75-yard touchdown drive in six plays and just 40 seconds. His velocity is up, but also a given at this point with 19 games and 6,117 yards at Fresno State in the record books.

But more than anything he is more prepared, on the field and off.

The whirlwind after the win at UCLA had an impact.

“The way we blew up the way we did and my name kind of got out there a little bit, I didn’t really know how to deal with it,” Haener said. “I never dealt with it before. I had one phone that just got blown up and I had all this social media. You see your name and people are throwing the Heisman thing around after UCLA. It’s just a big distraction.

“As someone who dreamed about those situations, you don’t quite know how to deal with them because it’s literally something that you just always dreamed about. When it starts happening it’s like, ‘Wow, this is a lot.’

“I was trying to figure out how to manage that and still prepare and play at the same time. I thought I did a decent job, but I thought I could have done a much better job and I think this year going into it I have a big grasp, a big understanding of what that’s going to be like. I deleted all my social media, I have a different phone number now. I just feel like I’m much more prepared to handle everything that comes at us and much more mature. I just think I’m going to be more mature this year in how to handle everything and focus on one week at a time.”

Quarterback learns from defensive coordinator

At some point in the spring, while dueling the Bulldogs defense and coordinator Kevin Coyle, Haener says he knew that was a brain he wanted to pick and he has twice and sometimes three times a week.

“He was just throwing a lot of different pressures from me that I had never seen before, that’s from the Minnesota Vikings guy and his time in the league,” Haener said. “It was a lot of different things that I hadn’t seen at the college level that is really 2.0, and I just wanted to sit down with him, talk it through with him and understand it, get a better idea of how defenses are going to attack me this fall and then just talk defense.”

“The more you learn and know about the game, the better you’re going to play. I think the thing that’s going to separate me is the mental game and the mental aspect of things and the intangible piece. I’ve been putting a lot of time on that, just trying to be sharper, be smarter and more mature.”

Tedford said that is a critical piece in Haener’s development, and more educated risks can pay great rewards.

“There are not too many people that can throw the ball like Jake can throw the ball and that work as hard as he works in the film room,” Tedford said. “He is completely dedicated to his craft. I don’t care if that’s with his nutrition, his sleep. The guy is completely dedicated to being the best player he can possibly be.”

The game is slowing down for Haener, more comfortable with the offense and now opposing defenses.

“I really was last year, too, but I just think it’s going to be a lot slower for me this year,” Haener said. “The game is going to slow down for me and I’m going to take that next step that I’ve been trying to take. I took that from my first year to my second year and I think my second year to third year is going to be even better.

“It’s all experience. I’ve played in some big games now. We’ve won some big games. I’m excited for what’s to come.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.