OFFENSIVE LINE SPOTLIGHT
The offensive line will have its fifth position coach in as many seasons, with Zach Crabtree taking over the group in 2025.
Crabtree arrives in the Valley from USC, where last season he was promoted to assistant offensive line coach after serving as a graduate assistant in 2022 and 2023.
Fresno State lost a significant portion of its offensive line from last year including three-time All-Mountain West selection Mose Vavao, who started 53 career games and all 12 at center in 2024. Also graduating were Braylen Nelson, Osmar Velez, and Daniel Taumalolo, who combined for 30 starts last season.
Even with a veteran line a year ago, consistency was elusive. The Bulldogs played nine different starting lineups throughout the season, ranked seventh in the Mountain West in allowing 28 sacks and were at the bottom of the league in averaging just 3.3 yards per rush.
WHO'S BACK: Two-time All-MW selection Jacob Spomer returns and moves inside to center after starting at left tackle. The senior has valuable experience to lead the crew with 28 career starts, the most on the roster, despite a season-ending injury in 2023 that also sidelined him for a majority of 2024.
Spomer was named to the preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which is presented to the top center in the country, and earned preseason honors by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Toreon Penright started 11 of the 12 games that he played in last season, plugging in at left tackle, right tackle and right guard.
Edward Fonua, Campbell McHarg and Julian Polendo also return with starting experience. Additional returners include Ben Baker, Marcus Simien, Ponafatu Kamuta, Matai Bell, Rolan Fullwood, Marsel Atkins and Ethan Dasmann.
WHO'S NEW: The player to watch in fall camp has been tackle Brayden Walton, the Buchanan High grad. Walton was on campus in time for spring ball and despite his youth, the 6-foot-7, 325-pound true freshman has been taking reps with the No. 1 offense at left tackle.
Walton is joined by four transfers, three from Power Four programs in redshirt freshman Marquise Thorpe-Taylor (UCLA), Kyson Van Vugt (Iowa) and Gino Quinones (USC). The fourth transfer is Valley native Braylan Henderson, who played the past two seasons at Snow College.
The Bulldogs also added promising true freshmen in Ekene Ebizie, Malcolm Polu, Jr. and Jonah Leaupetele.
WHAT TO WATCH: With a new quarterback, untested wide receivers and a running back room eager for a breakout year, the Bulldogs will rely heavily on the offensive line that has progressed significantly since the spring. And, a step up is necessary if Fresno State is to get its scoring average back to 30 points per game - the Bulldogs averaged 30 or more for six seasons in a row, the longest streak in the Mountain West, before slipping to 26.1 pointer per game last season.
A big reason for that was a second-half slump in the run game. The Bulldogs averaged a decent 4.0 yards per rush in the first half of its games, but that fell off to just 2.7 in the second half.