Fresno State set to ax offensive coordinator Dave Schramm
Fresno State, mired in a 3-8 season in which it has lost two quarterbacks to injury and struggled to move the football and put points on the scoreboard, will not retain offensive coordinator Dave Schramm.
Sources also indicated Wednesday that defensive coordinator Nick Toth could be replaced or reassigned at the end of a season in which ticket sales have plummeted as the losses have mounted, increasing the pressure on an athletic department that has grand plans to renovate its aging football stadium while struggling to keep pace with the rising day-to-day costs to remain competitive in college athletics.
Coach Tim DeRuyter would not confirm the changes, and Schramm is expected to coach the Bulldogs in their regular-season finale on Saturday against Colorado State.
“Every year we evaluate things and all we’re worried about is the game on Saturday,” DeRuyter said following the Bulldogs’ practice on Wednesday.
Fresno State has not named a starting quarterback against the Rams and has had third-year sophomore Zack Greenlee and redshirt freshman Kilton Anderson competing this week in practice.
My job is to be productive on offense and we weren’t. If that’s the problem and they want to make the decision to hire somebody else, then that’s their prerogative.
Fresno State offensive coordinator Dave Schramm
If Anderson starts, it would be the sixth change this season, with Greenlee starting the first two games against Abilene Christian and at Ole Miss; freshman Chason Virgil starting against Utah; junior Ford Childress at San Jose State; Greenlee at San Diego State; Anderson the next four games against Utah State, UNLV, at the Air Force and against Nevada; and Greenlee at Hawaii and last week at BYU.
Virgil and Childress were lost for the season in their starts – Virgil with a broken clavicle and Childress with an internal injury that required surgery.
With the lack of consistency and a high degree of operator error at the position, the Bulldogs rank 10th of 12 in the Mountain West Conference in scoring offense at 21.5 points per game and last in total offense with 307.6 yards per game.
Greenlee in seven games has a passing efficiency rating of 113.88 and in seven games Anderson is at 87.86. If they had played in enough games to qualify, Greenlee would rank 94th in the FBS and Anderson would not crack the top 100.
In 2013, when Fresno State won a second consecutive conference title with Derek Carr at quarterback, the Bulldogs led the Mountain West at 43.4 points per game and with 546.2 yards per game. Carr that season passed for 5,083 yards and 50 touchdowns. His rating was 156.29.
The Bulldogs also have had to deal with a number of injuries, which started with senior Aaron Peck, their leading returning receiver, going down and out for the season in fall camp with a foot injury.
Fresno State also was without outside receiver Delvon Hardaway for three games at the start of the season because of a knee injury suffered in spring practices, lost slot receiver Keyan Williams with a concussion in the loss at Ole Miss and were without starting right guard Micah St. Andrew for two games because of an ankle injury.
Starting tight end Chad Olsen has missed the past two games with a shoulder injury and backup Kyle Riddering is out after undergoing shoulder surgery.
“They were good players and they were an integral part of what we wanted to do,” Schramm said. “My job is to be productive on offense and we weren’t. If that’s the problem and they want to make the decision to hire somebody else, then that’s their prerogative.”
The Bulldogs also have struggled on defense the past three seasons after DeRuyter and Toth turned around a porous unit with their 3-4 schemes. In 2012, their first season at Fresno State, the Bulldogs improved to 36th in the FBS in scoring defense from 106th, to 22nd in total defense from 100th and to fifth in turnovers gained from a tie for 119th.
The following season they allowed 30.3 points per game when winning that second title.
This season, with a defense that also has been hit hard by injuries, Fresno State is 119th in scoring defense at 38.5 points per game and 110th in total defense, allowing 455.3 yards per game.
Robert Kuwada: @rkuwada
Downward spiral
Fresno State’s offense was flying high with future Raiders quarterback Derek Carr behind center in 2012-13, but has struggled to find consistency the past two seasons. A look at the Bulldogs’ per game averages under coach Tim DeRuyter and offensive coordinator Dave Schramm.
Year | Scoring | Total offense |
2012 | 37.9 | 477.5 |
2013 | 43.4 | 546.2 |
2014 | 26.5 | 406.1 |
2015 | 21.5 | 307.6 |
This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Fresno State set to ax offensive coordinator Dave Schramm."