Spring It On! Fresno St. Holds Annual Spring Football Game - KMPH FOX 26 | Central San Joaquin Valley News Source

FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State football team wrapped up the spring with Sunday's annual Spring Game that saw the Red team edge the White 21-14 at Bulldog Stadium.

The Bulldogs made big plays on both sides of the ball in the scrimmage that featured four 15-minute quarters with a running clock.

Head coach Tim DeRuyter came away from the spring game pleased with the competition he saw on the field and how his team was able to grasp the new offensive and defensive schemes that were installed. He was happy to see some big plays made by both the defense and the offense.

"It was fun to see our guys compete against each other," DeRuyter said. "They had some fun out there. We saw what we can do with the spread offense. We have a bunch of play makers. You get them in space and they can make some explosive plays. That was encouraging to see."

As the offense put in about 80 percent of its new spread offense this spring, the team showed glimpses of what it can do in Sunday's spring game.

All five touchdowns scored on the day came through the air with two highlight touchdowns going to Victor Dean and Davante Adams.

Adams got behind the defense for a 70-yard touchdown from quarterback Greg Watson to start the third quarter and give the White team its first points of the game. Dean's five-yard touchdown was a one-handed grab on a lob from Derek Carr with a defender draped all over him early in the first quarter.

"Those guys are explosive play makers," DeRuyter said of Dean and Adams. "They both have had very good spring camps and to see them come out here on a game day and catch the ball like they did, make big plays, they are going to be two big targets for us this fall."


"It was real fun," Dean added. "It was a good thing to get out here with the rest of my team and get some competition going on. There are some things we still need to work on and get some things down, but I think overall we did pretty good but we can always do better."

Watson threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns, both to Adams who led the White team with a monster day. Adams caught seven passes for 141 yards, capping off a strong spring campaign for the redshirt freshman.

"There is so much talent on this team, it's crazy," said Carr, who went 8-for-12 passing for 50 yards and the one touchdown in one quarter of play.

Freshman Marcus McDade completed 6-of-8 passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns after stepping in for Carr on the Red team near the end of the first quarter.

The defense had the upper hand on the offense for much of the spring and finished strong on Sunday. The red team created three turnovers in the game.

"Defensively, we forced a couple of take always which was good to see," DeRuyter said.

Defensive lineman Nikko Motta batted a Watson pass when the White team was at its own five-yard line and was able to come down with an interception. The play set up a McDade three-yard touchdown pass to running back Milton Knox.

Four players, linebackers Shawn Plummer, Jamaal Rose, Malique Micenheimer and Nat Harrison, all had four tackles to tie for the game-high. Harrison, who can play both outside linebacker and defensive end in the new 3-4 defense, had three tackles for a loss and one sack in the game.

Plummer, Patrick Su'a and Ibe Nduke all forced fumbles and in a glimpse of what could be in store next fall, the Bulldogs had 13 tackles for a loss in the game. This was also without any blitzes taking place in Sunday's scrimmage as planned by the coaching staff.

With the 15 practices of spring under his belt, DeRuyter feels good about where his team is at entering the offseason.

"We have solidified most of our starting team," DeRuyter said. "The second unit is halfway there so there will be a lot of competition this fall. There are a couple positions still open amongst the starters. There is going to be a lot of competition between here and the first game against Weber State."

Courtesy: Fresno St. Athletics