Fresno State started the spring without some key pieces along the offensive line, including Netane Muti, the starting left tackle, who is coming back from an Achilles’ injury.
Dontae Bull, Marc-David Bien-Amie, Tyrone Sampson, all are out with injuries. Quireo Woodley joined them on the sidelines last week, missing a couple of practices after getting dinged.
Woodley is expected back in spring practice when the Bulldogs return from a week break. Fresno State also is hopeful Sampson will get some reps the final two weeks of the spring.
The unsettled line has increased the degree of difficulty for quarterbacks Jorge Reyna, Ben Wooldridge and Steven Comstock, who are vying to take the first snap in the 2019 season-opener at USC.
The QBs got their first extended live work this spring during an 88-play scrimmage Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
“There were good opportunities to learn out there,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “There were some situational things – there were a couple of times today where we took sacks, but, ‘OK, sometimes it’s going to be that way and you have to throw the ball away.’
“Those are really important lessons to learn, feeling the timing of the game. That’s a whole deal with the speed at this level and you have young quarterbacks that are not used to that, so they’ll learn from that and they’ll know, OK, with their internal clock, they’ll know, ‘I have to get rid of this ball, especially in the red zone.’ Situational, down and distance, those type of things are really important.”
All three quarterbacks made some plays. But it was a learning experience, and at times, less than ideal with the defense dialing up the pressure.
“It can show the guy’s improv skills for sure, as far as what they can do when things break down,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “But you have to work on scripted things so that you can set those guys up, put them in the same positions and see who can make what throws in a controlled situation, where it’s not a jailbreak or something like that.
“We do that on a very consistent basis at practice and make sure we put those guys in those spots. It can be difficult, but we manage that.”
Reyna went into the spring with an experience edge on redshirt freshman Wooldridge and Comstock – he completed 8 of 12 passes last season for 111 yards and one touchdown.
But there is a lot of spring to go – the Bulldogs return to the practice field on April 2, with eight of their 15 spring practices remaining including the April 13 spring preview that’s open to the public.
Dontae Bull, Marc-David Bien-Amie, Tyrone Sampson, all are out with injuries. Quireo Woodley joined them on the sidelines last week, missing a couple of practices after getting dinged.
Woodley is expected back in spring practice when the Bulldogs return from a week break. Fresno State also is hopeful Sampson will get some reps the final two weeks of the spring.
The unsettled line has increased the degree of difficulty for quarterbacks Jorge Reyna, Ben Wooldridge and Steven Comstock, who are vying to take the first snap in the 2019 season-opener at USC.
The QBs got their first extended live work this spring during an 88-play scrimmage Saturday at Bulldog Stadium.
“There were good opportunities to learn out there,” coach Jeff Tedford said. “There were some situational things – there were a couple of times today where we took sacks, but, ‘OK, sometimes it’s going to be that way and you have to throw the ball away.’
“Those are really important lessons to learn, feeling the timing of the game. That’s a whole deal with the speed at this level and you have young quarterbacks that are not used to that, so they’ll learn from that and they’ll know, OK, with their internal clock, they’ll know, ‘I have to get rid of this ball, especially in the red zone.’ Situational, down and distance, those type of things are really important.”
All three quarterbacks made some plays. But it was a learning experience, and at times, less than ideal with the defense dialing up the pressure.
“It can show the guy’s improv skills for sure, as far as what they can do when things break down,” offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said. “But you have to work on scripted things so that you can set those guys up, put them in the same positions and see who can make what throws in a controlled situation, where it’s not a jailbreak or something like that.
“We do that on a very consistent basis at practice and make sure we put those guys in those spots. It can be difficult, but we manage that.”
Reyna went into the spring with an experience edge on redshirt freshman Wooldridge and Comstock – he completed 8 of 12 passes last season for 111 yards and one touchdown.
But there is a lot of spring to go – the Bulldogs return to the practice field on April 2, with eight of their 15 spring practices remaining including the April 13 spring preview that’s open to the public.