Sid opened asking about Zack Annexstad and his first career start. PJ responded that he was “solid” and found areas that they are strong at and other areas that they are not as strong at. They played close to 25 freshman total, which was part of the team’s plan.
Fleck felt the team had some anxiety early on in the game since they do have so many new starters. They initially got down early, but then once they got a first down they responded and started to get on a roll.
“I thought we did a great job of winning 1st downs. Rodney Smith ran extremely hard. The offensive line played really well after the first quarter. We have to keep getting better. We have to get better at the fundaments and can’t waste any time doing it.”
Due to the fact the team has quite a few freshmen, Coach said the young guys were probably surprised that even after a win, how much focus the next couple days is on what the team didn’t do well. Quite a transition for a lot of players coming from high school last year.
On Antoine Winfield Jr, “He’s such a good leader. He’s not the loudest guy, but his actions speak so loud. Does the right things, plays hard. It’s nice to have him back on the field and he gives us the ability to do a lot of different things.”
Chris Autman-Bell, Tyler Johnson, Demetrius Douglas, and Rashod Bateman all showed some promise on the outside in the first game. While PJ doesn’t believe they are a great core yet, he thinks those four receivers can hurt teams in different areas, where as last year it was only Tyler Johnson that could hurt teams.
Fleck gave credit to how hard the defense played but said there is always room for improvement.
Dave questioned the injury report for this weeks game but at the time PJ said he would find out more at practice yesterday.
“Last year we were so limited with personnel. Now you can see that we have the ability to be creative. Seth Green could’ve sat and been a 3rd string QB, but he decided to be selfless and move to receiver. Kirk Ciarrocca is very creative in that aspect and the more playmakers we have, the more creative we can be.”
Rashod Bateman had five catches in his first collegiate game. Fleck: “People are really going to love this kid. He got shoelace tackled once, he was very close to being gone. He’s going to have plenty of opportunities here.”
The new redshirt rule allows players to play up to four games while still being able to redshirt. Coach commented that while they are still deciding what do to with Daniel Fa’alele and Curtis Dunlap, this gives them the ability to get experience and get on the field but still save their redshirt.
Fresno State won 10 games last year and scored 79 points against Idaho in their Week One game. Fleck commented that they have three great receivers and possibly one of the best middle linebackers in the nation. It will be a tough test for our young football team but he’s excited.
Fleck felt the team had some anxiety early on in the game since they do have so many new starters. They initially got down early, but then once they got a first down they responded and started to get on a roll.
“I thought we did a great job of winning 1st downs. Rodney Smith ran extremely hard. The offensive line played really well after the first quarter. We have to keep getting better. We have to get better at the fundaments and can’t waste any time doing it.”
Due to the fact the team has quite a few freshmen, Coach said the young guys were probably surprised that even after a win, how much focus the next couple days is on what the team didn’t do well. Quite a transition for a lot of players coming from high school last year.
On Antoine Winfield Jr, “He’s such a good leader. He’s not the loudest guy, but his actions speak so loud. Does the right things, plays hard. It’s nice to have him back on the field and he gives us the ability to do a lot of different things.”
Chris Autman-Bell, Tyler Johnson, Demetrius Douglas, and Rashod Bateman all showed some promise on the outside in the first game. While PJ doesn’t believe they are a great core yet, he thinks those four receivers can hurt teams in different areas, where as last year it was only Tyler Johnson that could hurt teams.
Fleck gave credit to how hard the defense played but said there is always room for improvement.
Dave questioned the injury report for this weeks game but at the time PJ said he would find out more at practice yesterday.
“Last year we were so limited with personnel. Now you can see that we have the ability to be creative. Seth Green could’ve sat and been a 3rd string QB, but he decided to be selfless and move to receiver. Kirk Ciarrocca is very creative in that aspect and the more playmakers we have, the more creative we can be.”
Rashod Bateman had five catches in his first collegiate game. Fleck: “People are really going to love this kid. He got shoelace tackled once, he was very close to being gone. He’s going to have plenty of opportunities here.”
The new redshirt rule allows players to play up to four games while still being able to redshirt. Coach commented that while they are still deciding what do to with Daniel Fa’alele and Curtis Dunlap, this gives them the ability to get experience and get on the field but still save their redshirt.
Fresno State won 10 games last year and scored 79 points against Idaho in their Week One game. Fleck commented that they have three great receivers and possibly one of the best middle linebackers in the nation. It will be a tough test for our young football team but he’s excited.
