Fresno State linebacker Michael Lazarus dismissed from team

Fresno State has dismissed inside linebacker Michael Lazarus from the football team for multiple violations of team rules and athletic department policy, a second hit this season to the depth in the position group.

“He violated team rules and athletic department policy,” Coach Tim DeRuyter said before a brief walk-through practice Monday. “Everybody knows what those are and when you violate them there are consequences and, unfortunately, he has had to suffer the consequences.”

The Bulldogs in fall camp let go inside linebacker Xavier Ulutu, also for violations of team rules and athletic department policy. Lazarus and Ulutu were two of the top players in the Bulldogs’ 2013 recruiting class, but each had a minimal impact on the field. Both played as true freshmen – Ulutu was in on 20 tackles including 13 solo stops in 13 games, while Lazarus was in on seven tackles in seven games.

DeRuyter declined further comment on the disciplinary action.

The inside linebacker positions were down in numbers before Ulutu was dismissed in August and with Lazarus now gone there are just five scholarship players in the program at the Mike and Will linebacker spots. Included are two seniors in Kyrie Wilson and Jamaal Rose and one junior in Jeff Camilli, and Rose has been practicing with the scout team coming back from knee surgery.

The Bulldogs typically have eight across both inside positions among their 85 scholarship players.

The depth chart this week for a Mountain West game against Utah State has Wilson as the starter at Mike ahead of freshman Nela Otukolo and Camilli as the No. 1 at Will ahead of Robert Stanley.

To address the depth, Fresno State has moved Kyrian Obidiegwu to the inside (Mike) linebacker position from outside linebacker. They also have several players who can play the Mike and the Will spots.

“We’re to the point now where some guys can play both spots,” defensive coordinator Nick Toth said. “I think Robert Stanley will be able to play Mike and Will; I think George (Helmuth) will be able to play Mike and Will. Kyrie over time will probably do the same thing, just to make sure we’re continuing to develop those guys and we’re getting the best guys on the field.

“Situationally, that’s also something we’re looking at. We were ready to start doing that and then we got banged up. We were ready to start maybe playing some guys on throw downs in certain spots and then some injuries popped up. As we get healthy over the next two or three weeks, I think you’ll start seeing some guys in different spots. But I like the players we have there. I want them all to be healthy. I’d like to have a full complement going into a game, inside and out.”

Fresno State also will be in the market for inside linebackers this recruiting season, and could be mining the junior college ranks to bring in a more experienced player.

“There are some holes and the need for looking at a JC linebacker probably goes up,” DeRuyter said. “But we’re going to take the best linebacker that we can find. We’re in some good ones now and we’ll go through the recruiting process. We’re not going to take a JC linebacker just to take a junior. He has to fit what we want and when we find that guy that wants to be a Bulldog, we’ll sign him.”

This story was originally published October 5, 2015 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Fresno State linebacker Michael Lazarus dismissed from team."