Inside the Fresno State recruiting class: Two QBs, a Super Bowl ad and more
Fresno State signed 20 recruits this week, the first day of the early signing period. Coach Matt Entz said that 12 of them would enroll in school for the spring semester and that group includes the two quarterbacks in the class, Jacob Chambers from Rancho Cucamonga and Deagan Rose from Clovis. That sets up one interesting storyline for spring practices, no matter who or how many quarterbacks in the program return.
Chambers and Rose have different skill sets. Chambers is a dual threat and has that extra run game element. Rose is a traditional pocket passer with a big arm, and can be the most significant quarterback prospect Fresno State has signed since Derek Carr, said Brandon Huffman, national recruiting editor for 247Sports.
Fresno State could still add a veteran quarterback through the transfer portal, but the outcome of that competition could impact the program for some time.
“As it all sorts itself out, it will kind of drive who we are offensively a little bit,” Entz said.
The addition of two quarterbacks in one class is an intriguing piece to Entz’ first full recruiting class — he was hired last year on this same day, opening the early signing period.
Fresno State didn’t have many glaring needs and the ones it does have could be better solved with more experienced players through the NCAA transfer portal.
The target in this recruiting class was balance — the Bulldogs took at least one player in each position group on offense and defense — and the developmental nature of the program Entz and his staff are building also shows in the recruiting class. The Bulldogs signed four edge players, but in a year or two one or more could slide inside to tackle. They signed two tight ends, a position the Bulldogs have a wealth of young talent. Fresno State this season has utilized two and three tight end formations, but Entz on his first day on the job also said somewhere out there was a 6-foot-5 tight end who had no idea he would be the Bulldogs’ starting left tackle someday.
“We’re going to find out how the dining room and the weight room affects them,” Entz said.
Chambers and Rose will do their work in the spring in the meeting room and on the practice field, and both have the skill sets and the maturity to play early. “If they would have just signed Chambers, that would have still been good, but to get those two, that’s a good one-two punch,” Huffman said.
Fresno State has five scholarship quarterbacks on its 2025 roster. E.J. Warner is a senior, but Carson Conklin and Jayden Mandal are third-year sophomores and Jonathan Craft and Brendan Turner are freshmen taking a redshirt season and can return. The group is likely to be trimmed during the NCAA transfer portal window, which opens Jan. 2 and runs through Jan. 16.
“It will be a competitive room,” Entz said. “That’s the best way to do it, I think. Give them both equal opportunity, make sure we do a really good job with equal reps. They’ll hear it all firsthand from (offensive coordinator Josh Davis) and our offensive staff. …
“We pride ourselves on being a developmental program. Let’s go.”
National recruiting
Eight of the Bulldogs’ recruits are from out of state, and from states where they have not ventured much in the past. The class includes three players from Nebraska, two from Missouri. Fresno State has had a spotty record when recruiting away from California, but Huffman sees it as a plus moving forward.
“Entz has that Midwest connection,” he said. “As you’re moving into the Pac-12, you’ve got Washington State and Oregon State that have recruited California pretty well. You have Colorado State and Jim Mora coming in, and he obviously has recruited California. Boise recruits California. If you’re smart, you expand your reach and give those guys from the Midwest an opportunity to come out here. I think that’s a good strategy.
“The game is becoming so national. You have an opportunity to kind of go recruit some of those guys that maybe didn’t get recruited by the Big 12 schools and put some of those kids with a chip on their shoulder with the West Coast kids that didn’t get recruited by the Power Four schools and I kind of like that. Fresno State has always prided itself on those kids that have been kind of overlooked on the West Coast, and now they’re expanding it and getting some of those kids in Nebraska and in Missouri.”
Playmakers
Fresno State through 12 regular-season games has only 23 explosive pass plays of 20 or more yards, ranking 11th in the Mountain West. To add some context, the Bulldogs had 31 explosive pass plays in 2016 when going 1-11 and 27 in 2020 when playing only six games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That obviously isn’t all on the wideouts – Warner (6 of 20) and Conklin (0 of 14) are a combined 6 of 34 on passes that traveled 20 or more yards downfield, 17.6%, and struggle to make those throws consistently. But Fresno State needed more big play-making ability in this group.
Xavier Owens and Maxwell Bunchie Young, the two wideouts in this recruiting class, have interesting backstories and may also be answers for the Bulldogs there in the future.
Young had a scholarship offer when he was in elementary school and was featured in an NFL commercial that aired prior to Super Bowl LIV. “A lot of pressure, a lot of expectations,” Huffman said. “I saw him at a number of events this offseason and really liked the gamer he is.”
Owens was one of seven players at Narbonne High in Harbor City to be ruled ineligible last November due to transfer violations by the school, and moved to New Orleans Edna Karr High where this season he teamed up with highly-recruited quarterback John Johnson.
“We were really concerned we were going to lose him, because he plays on such a high-caliber football team,” Entz said. “I mean, the quarterback that plays there is a 5-star. Eventually, people are going to ask, ‘Hey, who is he throwing to?’ But he honored his commitment. He and (receivers coach DelVon Hardaway) have a tremendous relationship. Relationships still do matter in recruiting, especially with the parents.”
Full spring
Entz said the Bulldogs will likely have around 90 players in spring practices with the incoming freshmen graduating from high school early and another 10 to 12 players they are expected to add on the traditional signing day in February.
The early start is significant, and a factor in evaluating and recruiting players, Entz said. “It doesn’t break the deal, but it is an emphasis because everyone wants to play early,” he said. “Everyone wants to say, development, development, development. Well, then, get here. Show us.
“It takes a special individual. Some of them are giving up track or basketball. They may not be able to get to their senior prom. We’ll make sure they all get the opportunity to get back and walk, graduate with their class. It does take a more mature individual to do that, but we’re excited about the guys that will be here. We have a good plan for them and a good process of development that will take them through the semester and the summer.”
Fresno State left tackle Brayden Walton, a Buchanan High graduate, is example No. 1. He participated in spring ball and was in the starting lineup in the Bulldogs’ opener at Kansas.
“It’s eight months of development versus eight weeks,” Entz said. “If you come in the summer it’s only eight weeks – by midyear you might be able to help us. But if you come in January, you might be able to help us game one and Brayden Walton is a great example of that.”
Undervalued assets
Huffman said the Bulldogs may have landed two players other schools might have missed on in running back Jhadis Luckey from Hayward Clayton Valley Charter and defensive back Chase Perino from Modesto Central Catholic.
“The two guys in this class that I absolutely love, that didn’t get a lot of attention,” Huffman said.
Luckey had scholarship offers from Mountain West and future Pac-12 schools, but Perino didn’t have a ton of offers before the Bulldogs got involved. He received a scholarship offer, made an official recruiting visit and committed to the Bulldogs all within about one week in June.
“Just a fantastic football player,” Huffman said. “He won the MVP at a 7 on 7 tournament with something like four touchdowns and three interceptions in his last two games.”
Fresno State recruiting class
Offense
QB Jacob Chambers (6-1, 170) Rancho Cucamonga
QB Deagan Rose (6-2, 210) Clovis
RB Jhadis Luckey (5-9, 180) Hayward/Clayton Valley Charter
WR Xavier Owens (6-3, 165) Los Angeles/New Orleans Edna Karr
WR Maxwell Bunchie Young (6-0, 175) Los Angeles/Western
TE Bryce McDaniel (6-3, 205) Hughson
TE Dallas Guius-Anyaegbu (6-5, 220) Omaha, Neb./Millard South
OL Alex Rivera (6-4, 300) Lovington, N.M.
OL Efren Siuloa (6-2, 305) Laie, Hawaii/Salt Lake City West
LS Ethan Rossetti (6-0, 200) Fresno/Fresno City College
Defense
DL Solomon Baker (6-3, 260) Omaha, Neb./Millard South
DL Brendan Huddleston (6-3, 255) St. Louis/Ladue Horton Watkins
DL Jake Plummer-First (6-6, 220) Florissant, Mo./Christian Brothers
DL Cooper Willoughby (6-2, 245) Farmington, Utah/Viewmont
LB Zephaniah Sesay (6-1, 220) Hanford/Visalia Redwood
LB Jaydon Sutko (6-1, 220) Omaha, Neb./Elkhorn South
DB Truly Bell (6-0, 180) Antioch/Pittsburg
DB Franklin Lockard (6-2, 190) Tulare Union
DB Isaiah Lucero (6-1, 180) West Covina/Northview
DB Chase Perino (6-0, 180) Modesto/Central Catholic