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| | Wednesday, September 6 | |||||
| By Stephen Tsai Special to ESPN.com Fresno State Bulldogs 1999 record: 8-5 (5-2 WAC) Coach: Pat Hill Starters returning: 15 (6 offense, 9 defense) Outlook After three years, the Bulldogs finally are close to paying off the scholarship debt incurred from the heavy junior-college recruiting by Hill's predecessor, Jim Sweeney. When Hill was hired in January 1997, the Bulldogs had a roster of 67 scholarship players. (The NCAA scholarship maximum is 85 per year.) Of Hill's first four recruiting classes, 86 of the 87 prospects were high school seniors. The Bulldogs also have gambled -- and won -- with non-qualifiers. There are five former non-qualifiers on this year's roster, and all are scheduled to graduate. David Carr, who sat out last season as a redshirt, should boost the offense, which will switch to a one-back alignment. Carr has the arm strength to expand the Bulldogs' short passing game of a year ago. WAC rules limit teams to travel rosters of 60 players. But the Bulldogs were so impressed with Carr that he was invited on all of last year's road trips, even though he would not play. The Bulldogs' best blocker is guard Russell Harding, who suffered a severe leg injury two years ago. His left leg was so badly injured -- an arterie had been cut -- that doctors considered amputating the limb. But Harding has recovered fully, and last spring set the team record with a 600-pound squat lift. Keep an eye on ... Tim Skipper, who, at 5-foot-7 and 200 pounds, is being trumpeted as the smallest starting middle linebacker in the NCAA Division I-A. Skipper, whose father is the New York Giants' offensive coordinator, finished second on the team with 81 tackles, despite missing four starts and parts of five games with a knee injury last year. It's a good season if... Carr pans out, the undersized defense plays well, and the injury list is short. |
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