Analysis: Fresno State has a quarterback problem. Will donors do anything about it?
Fresno State is unsettled at the quarterback position 11 games into the regular-season and moving forward. At this point, the most important question for the Bulldogs isn’t, What will coach Matt Entz do?
In an era of college athletics where revenue-sharing and Name Image and Likeness payments to student-athletes often drive player recruitment and retention, the pressing question is more, What will Fresno do?
The Bulldogs are likely to be right back in the same spot at quarterback as they were at the end of last season, lacking a clear or credible No. 1 or much experience at the position. To address this, Entz is likely to dip into the NCAA transfer portal for a short-term answer. That next quarterback may have as much upside as its fan base and valley industry is willing to invest in the position in donations, and that extends to every spot on the roster.
“We are at a pivotal stage right now where we need to continue to grow in our ability to rev share with our current roster,” Entz said. “We talk a lot with the Valley Co-Op – recruit, retain, develop. Well, the retention part is hard. We need to be able with rev share to compete with the other teams that are going to be in the Pac-12.
“This is a great place. Kids want to be here. They know they’re going to get developed. They know there are opportunities to play at a high level. We have a great footprint for recruiting. But, we’re not just comparing scholarship to scholarship anymore.”
PAC-12 raises stakes
The stakes are only going up. The Bulldogs next season will be playing in a rebuilt Pac-12, competing in a league where some quarterbacks this season are getting more than $1 million through NIL deals.
Oregon State reportedly is paying quarterback Maalik Murphy $1.5 million. It didn’t get much return on its investment – the Beavers are 2-9, including a loss to Fresno State.
Other Mountain West quarterbacks are believed to be in the mid six-figure range.
The Bulldogs’ E.J. Warner, who returned to the starting lineup last week in a dispiriting loss to Utah State that all but knocked Fresno State out of the Mountain West championship title race is nowhere near that, according to an athletics department source.
But that’s the cost of doing business these days.
The Bulldogs end the regular-season on Saturday at San Jose State. They are bowl eligible and have a chance to finish with nine wins. By any measure, that'’s a solid season for a team that has a new coach, new offensive and defensive coordinators, seven new position coaches and also had to replace its quarterback, three starting offensive linemen, top three receivers and seven of its top 10 tacklers on defense.
That says a lot about Entz and his staff, and the players they inherited and recruited.
Chasing NIL money
But the moment the Bulldogs’ bowl game ends, they will be playing a different Kind of ball game.
Fresno State football has thrived in the past as a brand, but brands matter less than they did a decade ago. Money matters. There is a huge disparity between the haves and the have-nots, and for the Bulldogs the concern is not about the Power Four conferences, but the Group of Six conferences.
The Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference will all max out revenue-sharing, or come as close to the maximum as possible.
Fresno State will be competing with Group of Six schools that might be investing three or four times what the Bulldogs can muster each season and still be well below what is allowed under the rules.
It will show most at the quarterback position. It’s the nature of the game.
“It’s a unique landscape right now,” said Entz, who is in his first season at Fresno State. “We don’t have to compete with the Big Ten schools. We have to compete with the Pac-12 schools. If you win the Pac-12, you’re going to have an opportunity to play another game at some point.”
QB question persists
Fresno State could sit out the portal hunt, but the quarterback room is very thin.
Conklin in his three starts had passing efficiency ratings of 74.50 against San Diego State, 61.62 at Boise State and 86.22 against Wyoming, and he did not throw an interception against the Broncos or Cowboys; passing attempts, completions, passing yards, touchdown passes and interceptions are part of the equation.
Jayden Mandal is out with an arm injury, but he has played only 33 snaps in his career.
Conklin and Mandal will be fourth-year juniors next season.
The Bulldogs have two freshmen in Jonathan Craft and Brayden Turner, who are taking redshirt seasons. They also are expected to sign two more quarterbacks in their 2026 recruiting class in Deagan Rose from Clovis High and Jacob Chambers from Rancho Cucamonga.
Entz has a roster model that includes three scholarship quarterbacks, and after the early signing period they will have six including four that will have never taken a snap in a college game.
Hitting big on a portal quarterback would seem a must. But, what will Fresno do?