Fresno State 2012 Recruiting

2012 Fresno State Bulldogs ... Head Coach: Tim DeRuyter

Fresno State Bulldogs

2011 Record: 3-5

Sept. 3 California L 36-21
Sept. 10 at Nebraska L 42-29
Sept. 17 North Dakota W 27-22
Sept. 24 at Idaho W 48-24
Oct. 1 Ole Miss L 38-28
Oct. 7 Boise State L 57-7
Oct. 15 Utah State W 31-21
Oct. 22 at Nevada L 45-38
Oct. 29 OPEN DATE
Nov. 5 Louisiana Tech
Nov. 12 at NMSU
Nov. 19 at Hawaii
Nov. 26 San Jose St L 27-24
Dec. 3 at San Diego St

2010 CFN Prediction: 7-5
2010 Record: 8-5

Sept. 4 Cincinnati W 28-14
Sept. 11 OPEN DATE
Sept. 18 at Utah State W 41-24
Sept. 25 at Ole Miss L 55-38
Oct. 2 Cal Poly W 38-17
Oct. 9 Hawaii L 49-27
Oct. 16 NMSU W 33-10
Oct. 23 at San Jose St W 33-18
Oct. 30 OPEN DATE
Nov. 6 at La Tech W 40-34
Nov. 13 Nevada L 35-34
Nov. 19 at Boise State L 51-0
Nov. 27 Idaho W 23-20
Dec. 3 Illinois W 25-23
HUMANITARIAN BOWL
Dec. 18 NIU L 40-17
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 Fresno State Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. OT David Keller
6-5, 300, Scout.com 78th ranked, three-star offensive tackle.

2. CB Shannon Edwards
5-10, 175, Scout.com 92nd ranked, three-star corner.

3. WR Dalen Jones
6-0, 180, Scout.com. 128th ranked, three-star receiver.

4. QB Myles Carr
6-2, 205, Scout.com 108th ranked, two-star quarterback.

5. OT Mike Saenz
6-5, 305, Scout.com two-star JUCO transfer.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... New head coach Tim DeRuyter is speed recruiting, trying to put something together in a short time. The receiving corps got some help in 2010, but more talent and more firepower is needed for 2014 and beyond. DeRuyter’s first job will be to improve the defense, but that’s for the 2013 class. For now, he’s just trying to salvage something out of the short time.

Team Concerns For 2012: Defensive tackle. The linebacking corps is loaded with prospects from a terrific 2009 class, so DeRuyter should come up with a good rotation. Now he has to hope that Tyeler Davison and Donavaughn Pritchett are ready to roll at defensive tackle. There’s no Logan Harrell, but there’s plenty of size. Andrew Gustafson has to show early on this offseason that he’s ready to step in for Bryce Harris at left tackle.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: New head coach Tim DeRuyter will try to put the bark back in a defense that fell off the map last year. Losing tackle Logan Harrell won’t help the cause, but eight starters are back including leading tackler Travis Brown. The offense will work around underappreciated running back Robbie Rouse, who should be a threat to put up huge numbers behind a decent-looking line with three starters back. QB Derek Carr needs to come into his own even though leading receiver Devon Wylie is gone.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On ... Outside linebackers. The defense found a pass rush last year for the first time in everal seasons, and now the outside linebackers are being brought in to keep the fun going. Donavon Lewis, Ekiro Ederaine, and Kyrie Wilson are the three-star talents, but Lewis is the only one built like a real, live linebacker. The offense didn’t get a bunch of help, but QB Marcus McDade and lightning-fast Dillon Root could pay off right away. 

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 62. That Class Was Heavy On ... The passing game. Even though Derek Carr, the brother of David Carr, is likely the starting quarterback in the very near future, the Bulldogs were able to sign Lester Fontenette, a promising bomber from San Diego, while Kelly O'Brien is a JUCO transfer who might end up being the No. 2 man in the mix for the next few seasons. The dangerous Josh Harper is a big, fast target who combines with another good receiver, Davon Dunn, and the 6-6 Victor Dean to load up the team with receivers. Matt Darr is the nation's best punting prospect.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 78. That Class Was Heavy On ... Linebacker. Headlined by local product, Travis Brown, the linebackers were clearly the stars of this class, followed closely by the defensive ends. Pat Su’a and Daniel Salinas move like safeties, while Nat Harrison should be a good one after a little bulking up. On the defensive front, JUCO transfer Donnie Pritchett will be plugged in right away in the rotation, but Nikko Motta could eventually turn out to be better.

Nov. 26 San Jose State 27 … at Fresno State 24

(AP) FRESNO, Calif. -- Matt Faulkner passed for 363 yards and two second-half touchdowns as San Jose State edged Fresno State 27-24 on Saturday night.

Noel Grigsby caught eight passes for 114 yards and a touchdown for San Jose State (5-7, 3-4 Western Athletic Conference), which defeated Fresno State for just the second time in 19 meetings. It was also the Spartans' first victory at Bulldog Stadium since 1987.

Robbie Rouse ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns for Fresno State (4-8, 3-4), which never got the ball back after pulling to within three points on a Derek Carr touchdown pass with 6:15 remaining.

Carr finished with 276 passing yards, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Saunders.

San Jose State took over at its 31-yard line and marched 56 yards on 13 plays to run out the clock. The Spartans were aided by a pass-interference penalty.

Oct. 22 at Nevada 45 … Fresno State 38  

Oct. 15 at Fresno State 31 … Utah State 21
CFN Analysis: After losing their last two games and with the season appearing to start slipping away, the Bulldogs came up with a huge second half and a big day from Robbie Rouse to go 2-0 in WAC play with the big trip to Nevada up next. The run defense hasn’t been great, but it did its job over the last 30 minutes and finished up allowing 260 yards and two touchdowns with most of the production coming in the first half. Robbie Rouse wasn’t a workhorse, but he ran for 140 yards and a score on 24 carries while Derek Carr had an effective 248-yard, two score day. Tristan Okpalaugo was tremendous with eight tackles and two sacks, and now he and the D will have to do even more against the Wolf Pack offense.   

Oct. 7 Boise State 57 … at Fresno State 7
CFN Analysis: The Bulldog offense never got going and didn’t show any possibility of keeping up the pace with Boise State. Robbie Rouse ran when he had his chances, but the game got out of hand before he could establish himself. Fresno State is supposed to have a strong passing game with plenty of weapons, but Jalen Saunders only had one catch for one yard. The O turned it over four times, there was a major special teams breakdown, and the team managed just nine first downs. But this game didn’t really matter; next year it will when both teams are in the Mountain West. Beating Utah State next week is bigger.

Oct. 1 Ole Miss 38 … at Fresno State 28
CFN Analysis: Fresno State only made two mistakes, but they were big ones. Robbie Rouse never, ever, ever fumbles, but he fumbled, and with the errors along, missed field goals, and problems against the Rebel running game, this was a rough loss for a program that lives for beating mediocre BCS teams. Derek Carr wasn’t bad, throwing for 281 yards, and Rouse ran well, but this makes it 0-3 against BCS conference squads with Boise State coming up on Friday. The offense can’t come away with empty trips like it did this week, and there can’t be any mistakes. 

Sept. 24 Fresno State 48 … at Idaho 24
CFN Analysis: There we go. That’s the Fresno State offense that’s been waiting to break out and start to shine. Robbie Rouse has been great running the ball so far this year, but this was Derek Carr’s moment with 371 yards and five touchdown passes as he ripped the Idaho defense to shreds. Rouse got his, running for 112 yards in the blowout, and Carr was masterful spreading the ball around and connecting on the deep ball. This was the confidence builder, and now Fresno State can do what it likes to do best: beating BCS teams. With Ole Miss coming to town, and then with the Boise State showdown six days later, this will big two weeks that’ll shape the season.  

Sept. 17 at Fresno State 27 ... North Dakota 22
CFN Analysis: Considering North Dakota was destroyed 44-14 by Idaho last week, struggling this much to put a bad team away is cause for major concern. The Bulldog offensive line has been awful so far and didn’t do enough once again to keep Derek Carr upright. Robbie Rouse hasn’t ad too much room to run, but he’s managed to make the most of his chances and carried the team once again with 110 yards and two scores. Carr wasn’t bad, helped out by an 86-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Saunders, but it was too much of a fight to end the fun. With Idaho up next on the road, the Bulldogs have to be far more efficient through the air and in much better control on the ground. 

Sept. 10 at Nebraska 42 … Fresno State 29
CFN Analysis: Fresno State got a good game on the ground from Robbie Rouse, who ran for 169 yards on the Husker D, and Derek Carr spread the ball around well, but the offense couldn’t capitalize on a good first quarter and couldn’t find anything other than Rouse that consistently worked. The return game has been strong and there shouldn’t be any problems scoring against North Dakota or Idaho over the next few weeks, but going forward, the offensive line has to give Carr more time to work, and the defensive front has to find some of the production from last year after having too many problems getting into the backfield early on.

Sept. 3 at California 36 … Fresno State 21
CFN Analysis: Fresno State has to get more out of its offensive line to have any chance at a decent season. The defensive front did a nice job of pressuring the Cal backfield, and it held up well against the run, but QB Derek Carr got hit way too often and the Bulldog running game was nowhere to be found for long stretches. There were chances to get in the game and make it a battle, Carr couldn’t convert on third downs because he didn’t have any time. With Nebraska up next, the defensive front will have to be even more aggressive and will have to take even more chances. It struggled to keep mobile Cal QB Zach Maynard under wraps, and now it gets to deal with Taylor Martinez.

The 2011 Class Is Heavy On … Outside linebackers. The defense found a pass rush last year for the first time in several seasons, and now the outside linebackers are being brought in to keep the fun going. Donavon Lewis, Ekiro Ederaine, and Kyrie Wilson are the three-star talents, but Lewis is the only one built like a real, live linebacker. The offense didn’t get a bunch of help, but QB Marcus McDade and lightning-fast Dillon Root could pay off right away.

Five Fresno State Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. S Charles Washington
6-0, 185, Scout.com’s 92nd ranked safety

2. LB Donavon Lewis
6-3, 230, Scout.com’s 95th ranked outside linebacker

3. LB Ejiro Ederaine
6-2, 195, Scout.com’s 98th ranked outside linebacker

4. LB Kyrie Wilson
6-2, 210, Scout.com’s 100th ranked outside linebacker

5. DE Ronald Ussery
6-3, 230, Scout.com’s 119th ranked defensive end. Ran a hand-time 4.38 forty in June 2010. Scored a 1330 on his SAT, reports a 3.0 core GPA.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Davante Adams, Wide Receiver, 6-2, 200, Palo Alto, Calif. (Palo Alto)
John Archuleta, Offensive Line, 6-4, 270, Chandler, Ariz. (Hamilton)
Allen Brown, Offensive Line, 6-4, 265, San Dimas, Calif. (San Dimas)
Devontae Butler, Athlete, 5-10, 200, Sacramento, Calif. (Grant)
Mershad Dillon, Defensive Line, 6-1, 260, Santa Maria, Calif. (Santa Maria)
Ejiro Ederaine, Linebacker, 6-2, 190, Corona, Calif. (Santiago)
Suli Faletuipapai, Defensive Line, 6-3, 265, Gardena, Calif. (Junipero Serra)
Donavon Lewis, Defensive End, 6-3, 240, Fresno, Calif. (Clovis West)
Marcus McDade, Quarterback, 6-3, 190, Stockton, Calif. (Saint Mary's HS)
Malique Micenheimer, Linebacker, 6-1, 225, Stockton, Calif. (McNair)
Karl Mickelson, Linebacker, 6-0, 215, San Diego, Calif. (Morse)
Justin Northern, Offensive Line, 6-4, 270, Lakewood, Calif. (Mayfair)
Maurice Poyadue, Defensive Line, 6-2, 280, Martinez, Calif. (Alhambra)
Dillon Root, Running Back, 6-0, 180, Visalia, Calif. (Redwood)
Jaamal Rose, Linebacker, 6-2, 200, San Jose, Calif. (Valley Christian)
Ronald Ussery, Defensive Line, 6-3, 230, Encino, Calif. (Crespi)
Charles Washington, Defensive Back, 5-11, 190, Encino, Calif. (Crespi)
Kyrie Wilson, Linebacker, 6-3, 210, Bakersfield, Calif. (Ridgeview)