Fresno State football opens fall camp with energy as quarterback competition continues

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno State football opened fall camp in triple-digit temperatures, with players and coaches emphasizing energy, confidence and competition as the Bulldogs begin preparations for the upcoming season.

Senior defensive back Simeon Harris said the focus on the first day was effort and enthusiasm rather than perfection.

"Man - just have fun like you a little kid seven or eight years old. Playing little junior peewee football and your mom is yelling at you," Harris said.

As he enters his final fall camp, Harris said this year's team stands out because of its confidence.

"The biggest thing that sticks out between this year's team and last year's, like looking at the season and being a month out - is the confidence level," Harris said.

Head coach Matt Entz said confidence is also an important trait he is evaluating among the Bulldogs' quarterbacks as the competition for the starting job continues.

"Both of them you can tell they are ready to go. Both of them are hungry. Execution the communication should be at an all time high," Entz said.

The starting quarterback battle is between Maryland transfer Khristian Martin and veteran Bulldog quarterback Jayden Mandal, a Buchanan High School graduate. Entz said the decision will be made during fall camp.

"At the latest it'll be ten days out from our first game," Entz said.

Entz also discussed how Fresno State is approaching fall camp amid the changing landscape of college football, with an emphasis on practice structure, recovery and player well-being.

"We can't practice like P4 teams so we have to be smarter than some of them to make sure we can get to game one. I think the way we have fall camp set up. All our physical activity happens between 8'o'clock and noon. So the rest of the day is about recovery and mental health and I think that's helped us one- minimize injuries and two-continue to stack really good days," Entz said.

The Bulldogs also received injury news during camp. Running back Brandon Ramirez and offensive lineman Eddie Fonua are both out for the season.

Fresno State is now looking ahead to its season opener, scheduled for Sept. 4 at the LA Memorial Coliseum against USC.

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