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December 4, 2025 • 60 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
On the Bulldog Sports Network from Learfield.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
This is the Bulldog Football Hour, brought to you by
Table Mountain Casino.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
Welcome to the Table.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Pepsi, official soft drink of Fresno State Athletics, Seed Geek,
the official ticketing partner of Fresno State Athletics, ECU Smarter
Banking since nineteen thirty four, and by bud Late, Easy
to Drink, Easy to Enjoy. Now live from the Point
Patio Baring Bistro, here's your host, the Voice of the Bulldogs,

(00:34):
Paul Leffler.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, hey, hey, we're live here on the patio at
the Point Patio Barn Pistro, I should say, the heated
patio of the Point Patio Barn Pistro. There's a chill
in the air tonight, but if you walk next to
one of these heaters, and if you're a little lower
six feet tall, watch your hair. You may catch on fire.
They're putting out some serious heat. We're nice and toasty
out here on the patio. And speaking of hot, how

(00:59):
about this recruiting class for Fresno State on National Signing Day.
We're going to talk about it for the next hour,
not only with coach ns, not only with his director
of player Personnel, but also with some of the young
men who are ready to join this program and be
your future Bulldogs. Anybody excited about that? Good. I'm excited

(01:21):
about some of the new things on the menu at
the point too. We'll talk about that a little bit later.
But coach, you've got a list longer than this menu
of young men who have decided, you know what, I
see my future in a Bulldog uniform. What has you
excited about this recruiting class.

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Well, I think the number one thing that you see
is there's great balance in the class. Every position is
represented and so and that was intentional. We wanted to
we're not only building a championship caliber football team, but
we want to build depth at the same time. You know,
probably close to a dozen of the young men that
that signed today we'll be here in January, and so

(01:58):
we're gonna get an opportunity to work with immediately the
development process begins. We bragged that we're a premier development program,
and so let's put it to Let's put it to
the test and see how good we can get these
young men. I'd you sleep last night pretty good, Actually
fell asleep pretty quick. My wife gives me. She can
tell it's the season and the end of the season.

(02:19):
My energy levels are are waning at times.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
We don't know what bull game you're going to yet.
We'll find out pretty soon. But I was just wondering
if the night before signing day, if there's any nervous energy, wondering, hey,
are we going to have any surprises good or bad?
The next month?

Speaker 4 (02:34):
There's a few, some last minute text messages, some follow
up conversations that I had with some people, but no
real surprises. There's always a few deep commitments or late
commitments that we have, and Paul will probably have anywhere
between ten to twelve young men that signed with us
in the second signing date as well. So recruiting's never done.

(02:56):
It's a three hundred and sixty five day effort, and
our staff and our recruiting department, do you know, an
unbelievable job. Our recruiting departments second to none and the
best one in the In the new PAC twelve.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
The new PAC twelve, Yeah, this will be the first
class of the Pac twelve era for Fresno State football
and the Pac twelve era of Fresno State football. Does
anybody nowhere it opens up next year September fifth of
twenty twenty six at a stadium of the Little pac
twelve history, the LA Coliseum against the Trojan September fifth.
Who is ready to see the Bulldogs go down there again? Huh.
There's a lot to look forward to, and we're going

(03:30):
to go through some of these position groups. You even
have a long snapper signed on this class. You've had
one of the country's best long snappers this year in
West Brown. How big of a priority when you're in
recruiting is that position with the uniqueness that it brings.

Speaker 4 (03:45):
Well, the only time you ever know who the long
snapper's name is is when he does a bad job.

Speaker 5 (03:50):
So it is critical to know, I mean, to have that.

Speaker 4 (03:52):
I mean, you know, we are a program that emphasizes
all three phases of the game equally, and for us
to be effective in our punt game and in our
field goal pat game, we have to have a great
long snapper and you have to sign a young man
from right here in town Ethan. You know, when we
were able to offer him, he talked about this is
a dream come true, coach, and I know the staff

(04:15):
over at Fresno's City was unbelievably excited to know that
he was going to be a Bulldog and stay right
here and get a play right right in his hometown.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Ethan Rossetti, the line long snapper, one of the Valley recruits.
You also have players from Clovis High School, from Houston
High School in the North Valley, YEP from Redwood High
and Vice Elia from Tillarry Union High from Central Catholic
in Modesto. In fact, a young man who's here tonight,
who's going to play in the secondary, the last member

(04:44):
of the Bulldog secondary to come from Central Catholic High
School is making I think ninety two million dollars on
his NFL contract, set a record for pick six. Yes,
not too bad? Is it not bad at all?

Speaker 4 (04:53):
Not to put Chase add any pressure to him, but hey,
let's go.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
Yeah, Chase Perino, you better be Deron Bland. That's what
we're saying. No, no, no, be Chase Perino. Be the
best Chase Perino you can be. You want to kind
of go through this position by position, maybe we start there.
In the secondary. You've got four young men who signed
on the dotted line today, Lee Bell, Franklin Locker and
Isaiah Lucero and Chase Perino. What has he excited about

(05:20):
that group?

Speaker 4 (05:20):
Well, I think again, you're looking at a group that
has great flexibility. Some of them have the ability to
play nickel safety. You know, long athletic bodies. That was
one of the things that we just continued to emphasize
is we got to get longer, we got to get
bigger as a football team. We have a tremendous strength
and conditioning program with coach Ward. So just give us
the give us the the bodies to build and and

(05:42):
and we'll get We'll get you faster, We'll get you stronger.
Let you be the best version of yourself. But I'm
really excited. This is a very athletic group and one
of the unique things I think all again, I don't
want to misspeak, but I think all four of them
came to camp. There were guys that we had on
campus this summer we got to with in person. We
got real time, we got we saw real speed, and

(06:04):
so there was no guessing to this. There was no man,
I hope he's going to be a good player. We
saw these guys up front and they all have a
competitive spirit. And I'll tell you what the young man
that's here, Chase. I remember offering him right after camp
because of how competitive he was. He might have been
the best dB there that that day, and so we're
super excited to have him and his leadership capabilities and

(06:26):
comes from a great family. So not only did we
did we land ourselves a great young man, but we
got a family that's ready to cheer for the Bulldogs
as well.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah, and I love seeing that not just the Fresno area,
but the whole valley involved in this recruiting class. Been
a lot of great Bulldogs from Modesto and even stocktonn A.
Sacramento over the years, and Chase Perino looking to be
part of that bloodline. He got a couple of linebackers
in this class, YEP, one from Redwood High School and
one from Omaha, Nebraska. Your staff has a lot of

(06:55):
Midwest recruiting times.

Speaker 5 (06:56):
We do, and we took advantage of that.

Speaker 4 (06:59):
You know is a is a you talk about a
violent individual you know is not afraid of contact, plays
at you know Redwood High School is traditionally plays good football,
not the first recruit to come from that school for us.
And then when you start looking at Jayden plays both
running back and linebacker. Really good football in the state

(07:22):
of Nebraska. And I think the thing that it says,
and I made a comment to the crowd that was
here earlier, is people recognize the four PA, they know
Fresno State. There's been there's been former players that have
come from Omaha that have played here and had success here,
and so we just took advantage of our relationships. We
have two coaches that are from the Omaha area, and

(07:45):
so for us to sign you know, three young two
or three young men from the three young men from
the Omaha on metro, I think is a big sign
of what we're doing and also a big sign of
the vision that we have right now and how we're
growing as a program.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Mentioned Redwood, HI has a history of sending programs here,
and so does Omaha. I'm thinking about the two thousand
and one team that got up to number eight in
the country, the highest ranking Presno States ever had. The
starting center was from Omaha. I stole maybe he's here tonight.
And the starting linebacker on that team was Maurice Rodriguez
from Redwood High School.

Speaker 5 (08:16):
Right, funny how that all works out.

Speaker 3 (08:18):
Yeah, And there was a defensive lineman whose son is
on your team. Grant Harrington was a Redwood High Gay
right too. We'll see how we do on time here.
Maybe we'll have you continue for another segment. We'll bring
Jake Rasmussen on as well. But let's talk about the
D line before we break. You've got another Omaha products,
a couple guys from the Saint Louis area and one
from way up in Farmington, Utah. I mean, this really

(08:40):
was a national focus in building this class, wasn't it.

Speaker 6 (08:43):
Well?

Speaker 4 (08:43):
I think just taking advantage of our proximity. Not that
I need to give it a plug, but you know,
the Fresno Airport's pretty valuable to us because it gives
us access. You know, a quick flight to Salt Lake,
a quick flight to Denver. Southwest Airlines will get you
to Omaha, Nebraska relatively easy. And because of that, we're

(09:04):
able to tap into these relationships. We're able to maybe
stretch our wings a little bit and find the right
type of individual that can help us. You know, we
got some D linemen that are only scratching the surface
from a physical standpoint. We give them a you know
a lot of them are going to be here in January.
You give them eight months to prepare. There's no reason
why some of them won't be an impact player in

(09:26):
the twenty sixth season. But we really feel like that
for us to continue to sustain our success, we got
to win the line of scrimmage on both sides of
the ball. And that's why you see an emphasis of
O line and D line in this class too.

Speaker 3 (09:38):
Those D linemen are Solomon Baker out of Omaha, Brendan
Huddleston from Saint Louis, Missouri, Jake Plumber first from Flora
Saunt in that same area at six six two twenty,
and Cooper Willoughby from Farmington, Utah.

Speaker 4 (09:51):
The quick story about Brendan Huddleston as I first met
him when I was working at USC watched him work out,
and it was more, Hey, I remember this kid. Let's
take a look at him again. And it's funny how
the world works. Now you're recruiting, you're watching him, you're
evaluating him for another school, and here he is today.

(10:11):
You know, called me this morning, super excited about being
a bulldog.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
Amen. And he had the luxury of a time difference
on his side there too. We're going to take a
time out here when we come back more with coach,
it's about this Bulldog signing class. We haven't talked about
the offensive side of the ball. We'll bring on Fresno
State's director of scouting Jake Rasmussen as well and talk
about what goes into recruiting a new crew of Bulldogs.
And before the break, Coach, you said maybe eleven or

(10:36):
twelve of them are get into school early. So these
are guys who are saying, you know what, I'm going
to give up my last semester of high school, might
not even go to my prom. I want to go
over there, get in the school at Fresno State, and
get in spring ball, so I may have a chance
to play a little earlier.

Speaker 5 (10:49):
You're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
I mean, I think my history is a head football coach,
guys that have come in early usually generally have a
chance to play early. You look at just last year's
football team, a young man of Braid Walton, you know,
one of the best freshmen in the league, going to
be a tremendous player for us as he continues to improve,
and he got so much better, you know, from day
one last January up until the fall camp, and that's

(11:13):
what let him be a ten game starter for us
as an eighteen year old. I mean, wait till he
turns nineteen, how good he might be, you know. And
so again, I think we talked about that with these guys.
Everyone wants to play early. Well, let us have a
chance to develop you eight months over eight weeks. I'll
take the eight months all the time.

Speaker 3 (11:32):
I ran into Braden's aunt the other night at church
and she told me that he's even an inch taller
than he was when he came in.

Speaker 4 (11:38):
Well, wow, he is a great example of what a
bulldog looks like.

Speaker 5 (11:43):
He's a tremendous recruiter.

Speaker 4 (11:45):
All these old linemen probably had Braid Walton as a
host on their official visit.

Speaker 3 (11:50):
You know, that's another piece of the puzzle.

Speaker 5 (11:51):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
We're going to be back here at the Point Patti
o'baran Bistro. If you're not here, you come join us.
We've got giveaways tonight. We've got Bulldog t shirts and
autograph football, even a suite to the women's basketball game
at the State Mart Center Saturday. If you come join us,
you have to be present to win. Where at the
Point Pattio Bar and Bistro, northwest corner of Willow and
knees on this National Signing Days the Bulldog Football Hour

(12:12):
on the Bulldog Sports Network from Learfield.

Speaker 7 (12:14):
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(13:07):
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Speaker 12 (13:44):
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(14:08):
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Speaker 13 (14:17):
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Speaker 1 (14:40):
Com and learn what we can do for your team.
Go Dogs. Hey college football fans, I know you'd do
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Speaker 3 (15:16):
Warner out of empty, three receivers left, two to the right.
Five man rush EJ on the slant cot by Freeman.
He'll go all the way to the end zone for
a touchdown Josiah Freeman opened between the hashes, the ball
delivered on the money. Who nice shot? EJ Hey, that

(15:36):
was fun Saturday in San Jose, a forty one to
fourteen Bulldog victory win number eight and twenty twenty five.
They'll be looking for number nine in a bowl game
somewhere sometime either right before right after Christmas. Let me
ask coach about that. Coach, do you really care where
you go for a bowl game? Are you just excited
to have this time with this twenty twenty five squad,

(15:56):
your first Bulldog squad.

Speaker 5 (15:58):
No, not real particular where we go.

Speaker 4 (16:00):
I'm probably more a little bit particular about hopefully we
play in the month of December. You know, if you
play in January, it just gets a little bit long.
But if we could play in December, it gives not
only our staff but our players an opportunity to step
away kind of clear their thoughts before we ramp it
back up in January.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
And a lot of these young men signing today are
going to be around campus in January. The twenty twenty
sixth signing class, did I count twenty who signed on
the dotted line?

Speaker 5 (16:27):
And did do we sign another one? Tonight that may
not be on that list.

Speaker 3 (16:30):
Yeah, ooh, we got some breaking news. We have Jake
Grasmuss and director of scouting with US.

Speaker 4 (16:34):
Now Xavier Owen, a wide receiver who's originally from LA
but he is playing football in the state of Louisiana
this year.

Speaker 5 (16:42):
So really excited.

Speaker 4 (16:44):
Got to know him when he was in LA, transferred
to a school, moved and coming back to the California
come back home.

Speaker 3 (16:51):
And he's one of two receivers you signed in this class.
You've got a bunch of young from LA as well.

Speaker 4 (16:56):
Yep, yep, a young man that yill Coach Hardaway did
a tremendous job of identifying these receivers, Guys that were
on campus multiple times and wired the right way, Guys
that can stretch the field but also go across the
middle and make the contested.

Speaker 3 (17:11):
Throw wired the right way. Maybe we can elaborate on
that a little bit. But before we get to that,
a more important question, coach, have you seen the new
December menu here at the point Patio Barn Bistro.

Speaker 4 (17:23):
I didn't know there was a December menu. I was
just getting used to November.

Speaker 3 (17:27):
Back by popular demand, the short ribs with garlic, mashed potatoes,
roasted vegetables. I don't know if it's the brocolini like
they used to have here, but man, was that short
rib entree good? And it's back on the menu here
at the Point. Also back the Southwest egg rolls, which
were one of the most popular appetizers before. They have
on Point crispy trimp shrimp breaded crispy shrimp tossed, and

(17:50):
sweet lime chili served with spicy I don't even know
how to say that word. Gocha chang Aoli. Got your
Brussels bendedict on the Sunday brunch. And if you come
and grab a menu out here on the patio of
the Point Patio bar and Bistro where all the heaters
are pumping serious fuego right now, you turn the menu
over and it says, have yourself a merry little cocktail.

(18:12):
And somebody has a creative brain. Let me just read
you some of the names, not all the ingredients. But
you've got the Rudolph, the Red Nose Martini, Little Drummer, Bramble,
the Frostbite, Sandy Clause, Polar Espresso Martini, Blitzen's Blood, Orange Poloma,
mistletoe mule, White, Christmas Refresher, Warm and Cozy Comets, Cranberry
Mule Cocktail, Santa's Espresso mocktail, and Christmas Margarita tree. Somebody

(18:37):
had some fun putting that together. Here at the Point
Patio Barnbistro, we're here till seven thirty talking bulldog football sop.
It's just specifically the recruiting class. But if you're here,
you can win prizes. Grab one of the little blue
tickets and bring it up to the table and you
might win a t shirt or a signed football or
a suite at a women's basketball game Saturday. So, coach,
how do you explain when somebody says, hey, who's that

(18:59):
tall guy who always looks like he's thinking, what does
he have to do with the program? How do you
explain what Jake does for you?

Speaker 4 (19:05):
Jake is kind of the mission command, mission control of
our recruiting department. Him, Cody Hensley, Uh Shoot, Jade and Diamond,
you know uh l Ju. Those guys early do a
tremendous job in that room. They're they're the they're the

(19:29):
first contact that most recruits have. They kind of set
up the organization, they set up the plan. These guys
do an unbelievable job of constantly evaluating our roster, the
talent that we have, having those tough conversations with our coaches,
giving their feedback on where we need to move, where
we need to go next, uh, where we might be

(19:50):
deficient in our roster, and so just keeping us organized.
You know, I want our coaches to spend a lot
of time developing the current roster, and the these guys
helped create.

Speaker 5 (20:01):
What the next roster is going to look like. And
I think I think we've done a really good job.

Speaker 4 (20:05):
Do you look at this twenty or so young men
that we signed, tremendously talented, all of them are winners.
They'll probably be another dozen or so that we signed
in the second signing day.

Speaker 5 (20:15):
And yeah, again, recruiting never ends.

Speaker 4 (20:17):
It's a it is a constant and if you stop,
you're you're gonna see your programmed window really quick.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
Well, let's talk to Jake. How'd you sleep last night?

Speaker 15 (20:27):
Didn't sleep much, I'll be honest, I was I was
up early winning for those guys, uh, you know, in
Nebraska and stuff like that to get up and sign.

Speaker 6 (20:34):
So didn't leave a ton, but you know, it all
paid off in the end.

Speaker 3 (20:37):
And to put it in perspective, you got twenty guys
signing here out of how many that you think you
had contact with since the last recruiting cycle.

Speaker 6 (20:46):
I talked to these guys, you know all the time.

Speaker 15 (20:48):
We kind of make it a point in our department,
you know, set up a communication playing with these guys
and you know, really hit them. And you know, we're
you know, we're these guys' biggest advocates. You know, we
we we talked to these guys weekly. You know, we
rotate between who talks with who and just to continue
to develop the relationship and we and we keep it
going with these guys when they you know, show up
on campus. I think that's the you know, the biggest thing.
And in college football now, I was retaining these relationships

(21:09):
with guys, you know, you know, throughout the recruiting process
and then you know when they get on campus. You know,
that's that's really the biggest thing. And you know, kind
of what we're experiencing now and in kind of that
retainment period of you know, our guys currently on the roster,
so you know, you building on from a from a
young age with these guys and you know, juniors in
high school all the way through their senior year and
then you know, all the way through their playing career.

Speaker 6 (21:29):
You know, when they get here.

Speaker 15 (21:29):
So you know, we we constantly talk to these guys,
their their family members, their.

Speaker 6 (21:33):
Coaching staff, all that kind of stuff. So you know,
we're we're all about them.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
You mentioned family members, and you've got a tight end here,
Bryce McDaniel from Houston High School, home of the Huskies.
We used to have swim beats up there. Old Cox
Thornton was my big rival. But Bryce McDaniel six three,
two hundred and five pounds, his brother was on the
losing end of that battle in San Jose the other day.
Did you and Bryce have any discussions about that?

Speaker 5 (21:57):
Oh, we did.

Speaker 15 (21:57):
Bryce was at the game. You know, we we went
talk to him at I saw him afterwards. We tried
to bring in the locker room after the game, but
you know he didn't. He didn't think it was good
since his brother had just taken a loss, so he
didn't have pull dog duron.

Speaker 3 (22:09):
He did so at his brother's game. Yes, that's loyalty.
He passed the first test. And your other tight end
comes from Omaha at six five to twenty Dallas. Is
it gaias On yegbo on Ygboo. What was what stood
out about him?

Speaker 15 (22:26):
Yeah, just his you know ability at six five two
twenty being athletic as he is. You know, he's not
like your typical you know, being that size, your inline guy.
He's able to you know, stretch out and you know,
get on the perimeter and be able to run some routes,
do some some different creative things. And you know that's
something that we saw early on just with the connections
that we have in Millard South over there. So you know,
Coach Farrence kind of you know, saw him and then

(22:48):
took his interest in him. But you know, he's able
to do some some different things just being that big
of size, and you know we're we're really excited to
get him here.

Speaker 3 (22:56):
You no ways here and coach Chance, you emphasize line
of scrimmage.

Speaker 14 (23:01):
Yep.

Speaker 3 (23:02):
You've got a couple of alignment. I imagine the chance
that you could add some more in the next period,
whether from the portal maybe junior college ranks as well.
But you've got a couple of young men once from
Hawaii yep, Efrin Sueiloa ci Uloa and Alex Rivera from
New Mexico. You guys must have been looking all over
the place.

Speaker 4 (23:21):
Well, we did a good job of just identifying guys.
Efron actually has played his high school senior year in
the state of Utah and so a lot closer, but
a young man that we had some connections to high
school coaches that reached out to us. And I think
if if you're able to create some relationships with the
high school coaches and they know you're going to treat
their kids right, they will gladly push kids your direction.

Speaker 5 (23:44):
And I think we have a staff that's built that way.

Speaker 4 (23:47):
You've heard me Paul talk about being transformational, and that's
how we want to be. Alex Rivera might be one
of the best players in the state of New Mexico,
and we got on and he was one of our
first offers that we made in the Cloud to twenty
six and you know, we were able to hang on
to him for that long and so a young man
that's gonna get here and gonna have a ton of success.

(24:07):
His team made it to the semi finals, So again
another young man that's a winner, and we want to
have as many of those type of bodies on our
roster as we can't winners.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
Amen, And an underrated menu item here at the point
is the coffee. By the way, they just brought me something.
It's really good keeping my hands warm too. One running
back in the class, and before we talk about him, Jake,
I'm wondering for you again. We've got Jake Rasmus and
director of scouting here with head coach Matt Enz. You
don't know who's gonna leave in the portal. You don't
know how many spots are opening up. Thankfully, the portal

(24:39):
doesn't open this year till January twond as opposed to
before the bowl game. The most idiotic thing we've ever
seen in past years. How do you handle that dynamic
where hey, in the new year, all of a sudden
there might be some unexpected roster spots.

Speaker 15 (24:55):
Yeah, I mean it's really just trying to, you know,
retain the guys that you have right now and you know,
keep those guys here, and you know, unfortunately sometimes you're
not able to and you try to replace those guys
with you know, similar body types. So you know, you
know what Jade is coming into this class and stuff.
You know, we've got some older guys that kind of
you know, fit his build and you know we kind
of see you know, jadas in some of our older
guys that we have right now that we want to

(25:17):
develop kind of you know into some of those players
that are getting ready to graduate.

Speaker 6 (25:20):
You know, that's kind of the.

Speaker 15 (25:21):
Thing you look for classic classes, you know, trying to
replace your old guys with these new young guys and
you know, being able to hold onto the you know,
the ones that we have on the roster and stuff currently,
but then you know, getting these you know, next guys
up that are that are young and hungry ready to
you know, feed off of those guys after their time's
done here.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
So it's Jada's Lucky from Hayward and played for the
Ugly Eagles of Clayton Valley Charter School. It's five so
he used to go from an ugly Eagle to a
beautiful bulldog right here in Fress so that it really
is their mascot. I'm not making that up. It coach
for you. When it comes to retention, I'm sure there's
you know, the business part of this now is there's

(26:00):
some players maybe that don't fit into the Bulldog fan
or the Bulldog plan moving forward and their best opportunity
play is going to be elsewhere, So we don't expect
it to be everyone staying. But do you have an
expectation as far as like what percentage of your roster
that could return will return?

Speaker 5 (26:16):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (26:17):
I think if you start thinking in those terms, Paul,
I think you set yourself up for failure. You know,
the one thing that that Red Wave and our fan
base needs to understand.

Speaker 5 (26:27):
Kids have been leaving programs for years.

Speaker 4 (26:30):
It's just in the last five we've created this, this
item called the Transfer Portal where they have better access
or they can draw attention to themselves when they decide
to leave a program. But I mean, you know, I
think back to my college days. You know, you come
in with this recruiting class and half of them weren't
there at the end. Well, I mean it's been happening

(26:50):
for years, and so sometimes we panic when all we've
lost guys. It must be bad environment, bad culture. You know,
you can't save them all. To save the right ones,
Jake and his staff do a tremendous job. It's something
that we pride ourselves on. Like I said, I use
the word transformational. I don't want transactional relationships. I want

(27:11):
our coaches to I want our coaches, families and the
young men on our roster to know each other on
a different level, because I think if you do that,
then it's a lot harder to walk away when you're
a good program. When you know, Hey, I can walk
into the head coach's office on any day and he's
going to make time for me. I can walk into
Jake's office, I can walk into my position coach's office.

(27:32):
He's going to have me over for Thanksgiving. That those
relationship that's tough, You want to go start over somewhere.
That that becomes a scary proposition when all of a
sudden you're at a place like Fresno State.

Speaker 5 (27:44):
That is that we're making moves.

Speaker 4 (27:46):
We're doing little things that are showing our players that
we're Our trajectory is climbing.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
The climb is in progress. Eight wins, looking for number
nine and signing a new class. But there's one position
group we haven't talked about yet. The guys that throw
the football. Nobody cares about them, right anybody want to
talk quarterbacks?

Speaker 5 (28:06):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (28:06):
I thought so, so, Jake. Two quarterbacks signed in the
class right now, maybe more in the next window. Out
of how many do you think that you heard from
reached out to pinged on social media or whatever. How
many quarterbacks did you have to narrow down to these two?

Speaker 15 (28:25):
Honestly, you know, kind of from the first moment that
coach EN's got here, I mean, we we were kind
of zeroed in on Degan and you know, trying to
establish that relationship. I mean, we we've been working that since,
you know, the day he got here. I think you know,
the first week that you were here, you went straight
to the school.

Speaker 5 (28:38):
Yep.

Speaker 15 (28:39):
You know, he was always kind of in the back
of our minds, but you have to be proactive and
stuff like that. So you know, when we got coach
Davis aboard, and you know, we had a list of
guys to you know, for him to look at, and
you know, we we kind of saw, you know, Jacob
Chambers and he kind of he kind of fell in
love with him a little bit, and you know, went
and watched him through and you know, kind of checked
some boxes that that we were looking for. And then
you know, we never stopped with the and that was

(29:00):
the thing. We we just kept on them and on
him and got him to campus time after time and
you know, school visit and you know, going to watch
his games whatever else it might have been, and you know,
it just you know, kind of worked out how how
we kind of wanted to. And now we're you know,
in a great situation where we're bringing both these guys
in and you know, you know, we're excited to get
them here early. You know, they'll they're both January guys
to be able to get here and you know, start

(29:22):
learning and start developing right away and be able to
get a springball under their belt coming in, which I
think is huge for those guys, the learning and development
piece for them.

Speaker 3 (29:30):
And I'm guessing Coach, as much as you've emphasized, you know,
the line of scrimmage is what dictates everything. That quarterback
battle in springball might be one of the most important
things that happens in the twenty twenty sixth calendar.

Speaker 5 (29:43):
You're exactly You're exactly right.

Speaker 4 (29:45):
You know, we're going to develop depth, We're going to
develop everybody, but that quarterback room is always critical. I mean,
you know, you hear me oftentimes say that it's a
line of scrimmage based game, but also it's quarterback driven
as well. And when you see consistent quarterback play and
I've been fortunate in my career to be around four
guys that are in the NFL right now. You know,

(30:06):
there's a lot of a lot of those traits we
see in These are two young men that that are
here and I do the The first week I was
on the job, Uh, Coach Baxter took me over to
Clovis High School. I saw the the massive belt buckle
that they play for the trophy.

Speaker 5 (30:21):
And Degan came in, and and and and and Deagan
had done his homework.

Speaker 4 (30:25):
He knew where I was from and where I'd been
and and uh, you know, we were a little bit
behind maybe at that time, but we just said we're
going to be consistent.

Speaker 5 (30:34):
We continued to create relationships with him. Uh.

Speaker 4 (30:36):
Him and his family are tremendous. And Uh, I can't
wait to get him on campus because again, you talk
about winners want to play with winners. And I know
for a fact that there's young men that have committed
to our program because of the caliber quarterbacks we're bringing in,
you know, and and and Degan specifically, And.

Speaker 3 (30:54):
We're going to talk to Degan when we come back.
But maybe, coach, can you give me a little nutshell
on what excited you about Jacob Chambers. Jacob Chambers, your
other quarterbacks side. He's from Rancho Kugam.

Speaker 4 (31:04):
You bet Jacob came to camp and just stood out.
Was was unbelievable for a full day. I mean we
put him through every drill, every make, every throw under
pressure and just didn't blank, didn't flinch. And so this
was this was early in the process. And you know,
you always traditionally feel like you got to have one

(31:24):
quarterback in every class, and this is a little bit
unique right now for us. But you know, competition does
you know, drive most professions, It drives every industry, and
it drives you know, college football as well. And so
I'm looking forward to getting both these ymp because they're
both superstars. You talk about the things we look for character, toughness, football,

(31:45):
and and and mental IQ and then athleticism. They checked
the boxes in all four areas.

Speaker 3 (31:51):
We're talking to coach Matt Ends and Jake Rasmus in
about time for a break and we'll bring on some
of the young men who are signing. But Jake, before
I let you go, I just have a question that
came to my cause I'm thinking about these young men
that are going to be Bulldogs. And one of the
biggest assets you have that that some programs utilize more
than ever others is the alumni base. So not to

(32:12):
put you on the spot, but if all the contact
you had with all these recruits, was there any particular
former Bulldog football player whose name came up the most?
Is you know, as in, did someone so really go
to school?

Speaker 4 (32:24):
There?

Speaker 3 (32:24):
Is he really one of your guys?

Speaker 15 (32:26):
It happens from time time in my office, you know,
I actually have some bobbleheads of you know, former alumn
you know, kind of the big three of you know,
you know, Aaron Judge, Paul, George and DeVante when they're here.

Speaker 6 (32:36):
You know, I got the cars in there too.

Speaker 15 (32:37):
So you see some of these guys that walk in
the office and they are like, there's no way these
guys went here, and you know, three of them all
at once, but four of them really Yeah, But I
mean you know they see them. I mean you look
up on you know, in our stadium of all the
retired guys that are up there, and you know, they
they see the lineage of what's been you know, through here,
and you know you can't help but respect that. You know,
those guys you know, want to continue that tradition and
you know and be those those next guys that get

(32:59):
their jerseys retire at the end of the day.

Speaker 4 (33:01):
I think we had a couple former players bump into
Degan when he was on campus a.

Speaker 5 (33:04):
Couple of times.

Speaker 3 (33:05):
Maybe they played that position.

Speaker 4 (33:07):
Maybe maybe maybe that's just I don't want to go
down too far down that rabbits hole.

Speaker 3 (33:11):
But might be maybe they even have like their own
podcast talking man Footballers.

Speaker 4 (33:14):
Maybe you gotta take you got to use every resource
you can't that's recruiting, right.

Speaker 3 (33:18):
You got to drive the car.

Speaker 5 (33:20):
That's right.

Speaker 3 (33:20):
That's how it works. Coach Matt N's and Jake Rasmuss
and we'll be back from the Point Patio Bar and Bistro.
If you're not here yet, you're not gonna win prizes.
We've got T shirts, we've got an autograph football, we've
got a suite at Saturday's women's basketball team. You can
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Point Battio Bar and Bistro, northwest corner of Willow and
Knees And we're right back after this on the Bulldog
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Speaker 3 (36:55):
Play clock in a single digits now. Gilliam behind Warner
out of a gun on first and goal from the two.
Snapped to EJ give to Elijah straight ahead and he
co sinned for the touchdown. Elijah Gilliam eighteenth career rushing
touchdown and the Bulldogs have hit the thirty point threshold
in San Jose. Oh yeah, it was Saturday night. The

(37:18):
Bulldogs a big forty one fourteen went over the Spartans
to finish eight and four in the regular season. They're
bold destination awaits. We should find out right around this
weekend where they're gonna be for that. But today's a
big day because this National Signing Day. You heard from
coach Enz and director of Scouting Jake Rasmussen. We're here
at the Point Patti Obarnbistro. We're gonna be giving away
some prizes at the end of the show at seven thirty,

(37:39):
but for some the prizes right now because we have
a couple future Bulldogs, they're gonna talk to us. And
these guys played each other, played with each other for
a long time. How long have you two known each other?
We have Degan Rose and Maddix Merrill with us. How
long do you guys go back?

Speaker 20 (37:53):
Here?

Speaker 5 (37:53):
What were we? Eight? Yeah?

Speaker 20 (37:55):
Eight?

Speaker 3 (37:55):
We started playing baseball together.

Speaker 22 (37:56):
We're an EU and then I was I'm from the mountains,
so I came to Cloth High. He was the main
guy who was telling me him and his dad were
all coming close high, you know, I mean up in
the mountains, it's it's hard to get recognized.

Speaker 3 (38:08):
Yeah, I'm glad I did that. Well. I was just
telling you I remember watching your dad play for the
Sierra Chieftains way back under coach Robert Griffith, and the
dynasty had up there some some pretty good mountain bowls
back in the day. Yeah. So I'm feeling pretty old
and I remember your dad a little bit too. Maddox
and so you guys were playing together this year for
Clovis High and Maddix. For you, your season kind of

(38:30):
came to an end before you wanted it to. Yeah,
and that I believe that was before Degan committed to
Fresno State, wasn't it?

Speaker 5 (38:37):
Yeah? It was I was.

Speaker 3 (38:38):
Yeah. So how did you guys navigate that? I mean
that must have been a real interesting month going from hey,
we're going to try to go win a section title
together to Maddox's season is over. How can we get
a few more games together? Is it something like that?
How did it work out?

Speaker 16 (38:52):
Yeah?

Speaker 22 (38:52):
I mean it's it's always been fun, you know, growing
up playing with Maddox, and you know, I'm just excited
for the opportunity to continue to do that for.

Speaker 23 (38:58):
For more'll be really fun.

Speaker 3 (39:00):
Yeah. Do you guys have some Bulldogs that you remember
watching back when you were eight, seven, six whatever.

Speaker 23 (39:08):
I felt like Jake Haner would be a guy for me.
Like I didn't really go to a lot of bulldog
games like when I was super little, but I started going,
you know, middle school, high school years, and I feel
like that would be a guy that I watched a lot.

Speaker 3 (39:19):
It was pretty exciting. Yeah, same for me.

Speaker 22 (39:22):
Yeah, I mean, I you know, I was always kind
of out in the way up in Big Creek, so
it was kind of hard to get the President State
game sometimes. But you know, when I moved down here,
you know, Jay Canner was a quarterback and obviously they
had a lot of success. So yeah, I mean, he
obviously was really good quarterback and it's fun to watch
him play in President State.

Speaker 3 (39:40):
You know, Degan, I was asking the coaches how they
slept last night. I'm wondering emotionally for you, is today
kind of like a relief that you you made it
to the finish line with the process because people identified
you as a prospect pretty early and you've been part
of that recruiting season really your whole high school career, right.

Speaker 22 (39:57):
Yeah, you know, it's it's been a long journey and
you know, Fresn they've always been there from the very beginning,
so that played a big part in my recruitment. And
you know, at the end of the day, you know,
I was committed somewhere else, but at the end of
the day, I couldn't be happened to be a part
of the Bulldogs.

Speaker 3 (40:11):
Somewhere else that's gonna be in Fresno State's league next
year that the Bulldogs will be playing. I'm sure that'll
be brought up a time or two. What was it
that this coaching staff did or that this program represented
that ultimately led to a change of mind, change of heart,
change of future plans for you.

Speaker 22 (40:28):
Yeah, one thing that I greatly appreciate that coach and
Coach Davis did is they didn't really you know, pressure
me in to do anything. They kind of, you know,
let me figure out what's specially me on my own.
And you know, I know in the back of their
head they kind of had an idea and I you know,
kind of had had that idea what would be like
to play at President State, play in my hometown, and
you know, I'm just happy you made it happen and

(40:48):
it's gonna be fun.

Speaker 3 (40:49):
A couple of years. Maddix, what are you most looking
forward to with being a Fresno State Bulldog?

Speaker 23 (40:55):
Like Degan said, playing in front of your hometown is
a huge deal, especially with all your family and friends
come to watch, just to prove to your family that
that you're something and you're you're doing good things.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
And Degan, what did you most appreciate about Maddox as
a teammate. Is there a play that he made that
you think of a lot, or just something that he
represents to you when someone asks him when they throw
out that name Maddix Merrill, the first thing that comes
to mind.

Speaker 22 (41:19):
For you, I'd kind of just always say he's kind
of been really scrappy, if that makes sense. He's kind
of always not that he's kind of always been a
little shorter on the shorter side, but he's always been
stronger than everybody, so it didn't really matter. So I mean, yeah,
just i'd say more of the process related stuff. You know,
see him in the weight room. It's just the strongest
guy there is. And then you know, playing baseball, growing

(41:40):
up I have. I mean that's where most of my
memories come from with him, and it's it's I'm blessed,
truly blessed.

Speaker 3 (41:46):
What positions did you guys play in baseball?

Speaker 5 (41:49):
Growing up?

Speaker 22 (41:50):
I kind of played third base and then once like
go on the high school, I started playing catcher.

Speaker 3 (41:55):
The arm positions. Yeah, yeah, how about you, Matt?

Speaker 23 (41:58):
I played pretty much all over the place, second base,
short stop, third base, outfield, pretty versatile, like I said.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
Scrappy Yeah yeah, wherever they let you on the field,
yeah for sure, put me in coach. Yeah, and what
about for you? Maddox?

Speaker 12 (42:09):
Is there?

Speaker 3 (42:10):
I mean, Degan through for a ton of yards, a
ton of touchdowns. I mean I saw a couple of
games I was like, oh, somebody scored again. Wait wait, wait,
your head's spinning because the both offenses are scoring so much.
Is there something that stands out about your time with
Degan between the lines so you're like, yeah, that's a
reflection of what makes them so special?

Speaker 23 (42:27):
Uh yeah, I mean he's really smart and like intellectually,
he's a really good football player, and just like silly
things like we're playing Clovise's our junior year and we're
sprinting right and I'm trying to block for him, and
he says, Maddix turn around mid play and I turn around,
catch the ball and run for thirty yards. Like it's

(42:48):
not playing. Just that chemistry we have just helps stuff
like that.

Speaker 3 (42:52):
Yeah. You could actually hear him say your name.

Speaker 22 (42:54):
Yes, yeah, yeah, I was yelling on it. Playing Madox
Madicks is just dumping off them.

Speaker 3 (42:58):
Yeah, and Deagan, how would you describe what you hope
the strength of your game as a quarterback would be.

Speaker 22 (43:07):
I'd say intellectually, you know, I take a lot of
pride in that. You know, I think I'm a smart quarterback,
and I put a lot of work in in the film,
film study, and I think that's kind of led me
to where I am today. Is just you know, there's
an advantage sometimes when you know what the defense is doing,
and I'd like to.

Speaker 6 (43:24):
Take advantage of that.

Speaker 3 (43:25):
And you mentioned Jay Canterer, and man, the Jay Canter
years were pretty fun here, but it sounded like Coach
was suggesting that maybe some bulldog quarterbacks of an earlier
vintage might have had a chance to let you pick
their brain a little bit.

Speaker 5 (43:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 22 (43:38):
Oh yeah, obviously the cart Brothers, you know they they've
talked to me a little bit. I remember a couple
of years ago, I think the first time I visited
in present State, Derek Carr was there and he taught,
he had a talk. He was kind of the white
why would you go over there? And I was like,
I don't know. I mean, I don't know. A couple

(43:59):
of let's say, months ago, I saw him at my
girlfriend's uh dance competition. I saw him in the bathroom.
It's kind of weird, but I found the bathroom. Yeah,
and I was more of organ state stuff. He's like,
take that off, you know, just kind of stuff like that,
and you know, I mean, yeah, it's it's always cool
to you know, have kind of an idol telling you
that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 (44:18):
So I mean that's pretty cool.

Speaker 5 (44:20):
You know.

Speaker 3 (44:21):
You just never know. I know Derek and David would
agree with me that God's plans are always better than ours.
But I didn't expect to hear it was the bathroom
at a dance competition. Yeah, that sealed the deal for you.
You never know, you never know. Thanks for sharing the story.
Anything else you guys want to say about becoming presno
State bulldogs. I mean, I'm just excited that.

Speaker 22 (44:40):
I'm excited to get to work, excited playing in front
of my hometown and it'll be a fun, fun a
couple of years.

Speaker 23 (44:46):
Excited to be a part of what coaching and the
staff that's going here and make it make a run
in the in the PAC twelve in the future.

Speaker 3 (44:52):
Yeah, and let's finish there. How big a deal was
that PAC twelve label for you? When it came to this.

Speaker 22 (44:59):
Recruiting process, I kind of always had like a thought process, like,
you know, no matter where you go, you're going to
what's best for you, and no matter what conference it is,
no matter what the logo is, it always came down
to what's best for me.

Speaker 3 (45:11):
And ultimately that's what Presdo State is. Can't stay it
any better than that. Deacon Rose and Maddox Merrill, two
future Bulldogs from Clovis High School. How about a hand
for these young guys when we come back. We'll meet
another member of the new signing class at Fresno State.
All the way from Motown, Modesto. Chase Perino joins us
right after this on the Bulldog Football Hour the Bulldog

(45:32):
Sports Network from their field.

Speaker 14 (45:33):
Hey college football fans, I know you'd do anything for
a win on game day and an ice cold bud Light,
Because whether you're tailgating in the parking lot or parked
on the couch, sitting on your lucky stool at the bar,
or standing in the fans section all game long, the clean,
crisp taste of bud Light turns a win into a
win win, and there's nothing easier to enjoy than that.

(45:57):
Bud Lights easy to drink, easy to en enjoy responsibly
Anheuser Busch bud Light Beer.

Speaker 9 (46:02):
Saint Louis, Missouri, Producer's Dairy, your hometown favorite, is now
the official milk partner of Fresno State Athletics. For over
ninety years, they've nourished our community with the freshest, most
wholesome milk straight from Valley Farms. In having the privilege
of serving generations of Red Wave supporters, they're also committed
to fielding our local legends on and off the field.

(46:25):
Producer's Dairy Official milk partner of Fresne State Athletics. Wish
is the Bulldogs a truly legendairy season.

Speaker 1 (46:35):
At Save Mart.

Speaker 19 (46:36):
Being part of each community we serve is at the
core of who we are and is a proud partner
of the Fresno State Bulldogs. We're your headquarters to help
you cheer on your favorite team. Show up any of
your local safe marts to score big savings with our
Bulldog Bundle. Just look for the sign shop and save
plus explore a collection of Fresno State gear that showcases
the spirit and pride of the bulldog community. Go Bulldogs,

(47:00):
Save Mart, Valley Fresh, Valley Made, Valley Proud.

Speaker 1 (47:04):
It's game day and raising canes.

Speaker 24 (47:06):
If you want to order like a chap, it's action
off the field, you need to focus on. The only
play you're running is chicken. So what condo are you picking?
Make it a perfect season. We've got tailgates of hand
battered cooked to order chicken fingers and cane sauce, and
jugs of freshly made tea and lemonade.

Speaker 1 (47:25):
All available to order online, are on our app now.

Speaker 24 (47:28):
This season is about to be unbeatable, Raising canes, chicken fingers,
one love.

Speaker 11 (47:36):
What's going to happen?

Speaker 15 (47:36):
Tick Day.

Speaker 1 (47:39):
At Valley Children's.

Speaker 11 (47:40):
We know the worries of our most precious patients and
we are committed to putting them at ease. With leading
cancer and blood disorder expertise a collaborative approach to healing
and the highest quality of care. We are dedicated to
what is most precious to you, your child's health and future.
At our Cancer and Blood Disorder Center, it's special care

(48:00):
that truly cares Valley children's futures worth fighting for.

Speaker 1 (48:05):
Hey Red Wave.

Speaker 25 (48:06):
When looking to recruit a newer pre owned vehicle, Hana
North than Clovis is your five star pick. As a
proud partner of Fresno State Athletics, Honda North has served
the Central Valley for thirty two years with a winning
lineup of reliable and stylish Hondas. We have a huge
inventory for gas, hybrid and electric vehicles to choose from. Klaus,
Our top rated service department keeps your vehicle in peak condition.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
Join the Honda North family and drive like a champion.
Go Dogs.

Speaker 3 (48:36):
Elijah Gilliam is the tailback behind Warner. Out of the shotgun,
there's the snap, there's the handoff. Gillium breaks free. Gillium
wants another touchdown. Breaks to the outside fifteen ten five,
angling for the front left corner. He's in for the touchdown,
thirty three yards for number thirty three. Elijah Gilliam his
second touchdown tonight. Yeah, a lot of fun moments Saturday

(49:01):
night in San Jose. But tonight it's a big night
here at the Point Patio Barr and Bistro, northwest corner
of Willow and Knees. If you're here in the next
ten minutes or so, you may win a prize. We've
got t shirts to give away, an autographed football to
give away. You know what, maybe we'll have some of
these recruits sign these footballs too. Why not including a
young man who joins me now you just heard the
touchdown from Elijah Gilliam, who's from Mercet. Keep going on

(49:24):
the ninety nine and you'll get to Modesto. A little
further than that, you'll even reach the metropolis of Ripping, California,
which is now where Chase Perino lives, but he starred
for the Raiders of Central Catholic High the last few years. Chase,
how excited are you to get this process complete? Sign
on the dotted line and be able to wear that
bulldog quarter zip you're sporting right now with pride?

Speaker 10 (49:47):
Oh man, it feels like a dream come true, to
be honest, you know, just growing up, I've wanted to
play college football all my life and just getting the
opportunity now, it's special and I'm just so thankful God
bless me with this opportunity.

Speaker 6 (50:01):
And yeah, very thankful.

Speaker 3 (50:04):
How's your brother feel about what you did today?

Speaker 6 (50:06):
You know what, I'm actually he's proud of me.

Speaker 10 (50:10):
So I don't know why he decided to go to
Boise You know, that's the rivalry here, so we're not
too happy about that, but we love what Fresno did
on the blue this year.

Speaker 3 (50:19):
So do you ever just call your brother who goes
to Boise State up and just say thirty to seven
and hang up.

Speaker 10 (50:26):
Oh, right after that game he got a call. I
made sure that happened.

Speaker 3 (50:31):
Well, Boise State's going to the new PAC twelve as well,
so you'll get a chance to play on that blue turf. Also, yes, sir,
what did Fresno State represent in this recruiting landscape that
was so alluring to you? What made you want to
be a bulldog?

Speaker 10 (50:47):
Just the coaching staff, the way that they represented at
Fresno State. It was amazing to see, and honestly, it
made the choice just so much easier for me. They
brought me in with just love, and right away I
knew that it was home. So yeah, Coach Benedetto, Coach
Ens just made it clears day for me that Fresno
was the right opportunity.

Speaker 3 (51:08):
And watching this defense this year, I mean, this is
a Fresno State defense that is among the national leaders
in interceptions, in total defense, in passing defense, and you
play secondary, sir, What was that like as someone knowing
you're gonna come here watching each one of those games,
like watching Saturday night in San Jose, when that secondary
comes up with five interceptions?

Speaker 10 (51:29):
Yeah, you know, It's It's honestly just amazing. I'm hoping
to add on to that as well, that pick total.
But yeah, that San Jose stay, I think we got
what five interceptions, something crazy and taking back to that
Valley Bold Trophy, that's something special. So I'm just excited
that I'm going to be a part of it now
and contribute to it.

Speaker 3 (51:50):
And you know, sometimes here in Fresno club, as we
get insulated and we forget how big the valley is
and how big a deal Fresno State is outside of
just Fresno and Clovis, can you give us your your
modesto ripping perspective on how significant that four PA logo
that coach Z was talking about earlier. Really is where
you live.

Speaker 10 (52:10):
Oh man, that's the valley down there too. So just
you hear Fresno and someone has a story about it
to tell. So, I mean, my grandma went to Fresno,
so right as I signed, she almost started crying hearing that. So,
I mean, that was amazing. And then just like the
conversations that you have with others once you tell them
that you're going to Fresno, it's like their eyes light

(52:31):
up and they just see that, like see you almost
as a whole new person, and they tell you stories
about how great Fresno is. So I mean, it's it's
really cool to see.

Speaker 3 (52:39):
We're talking to Chase Perino, one of the twenty high
school recruits who signed on the dotted line today with
the Bulldogs. On National Signing Day. We had a listener
who's tuning in right now from Michigan who when I
said Motown, thought I was talking about Detroit. But here
in the valley, Motown is modesto, right, It's a big
city for somebody like me from Las Veanas. So, Chase
in high scho, did you have like a favorite moment, achievement,

(53:03):
something that you got to do in your Central Catholic
career that gives you some pride.

Speaker 10 (53:09):
So this year, on the other side of the ball,
wide receiver, I led the San Joaquin Section the whole
section and receiving yards this year. And then also I
got two picks in one game, which is the first
time I've ever done that. So, I mean, that was
just super cool and a great achievement and I was
pretty proud of it.

Speaker 6 (53:27):
So yeah, So if.

Speaker 3 (53:29):
Your secondary coaches try to use that line you're playing
defense because you don't have hands, it's not gonna stick
to you.

Speaker 10 (53:35):
No, no, no, I got hands. I'll go up and
make a play.

Speaker 3 (53:40):
And have you had a chance even tonight to get
a deeper understanding of what this Bulldog football team means
to the community.

Speaker 6 (53:48):
Oh yeah, I have.

Speaker 10 (53:49):
I've talked to a couple of people, and just the
way that they talk about it, it just shows how much
they care for it, and it just makes me want
to care about it even more. So, Yeah, I'm super
excited to come here. Just hearing all the stories, it's
been amazing.

Speaker 3 (54:04):
And one last thing with you, I mentioned a name
earlier that I would imagine at your high school is
kind of a pretty big deal because there's a young
man named Deron Bland who played one season here, but
a guy who's here tonight, J D. Williams, did such
a good job with him, helped propel him to the NFL,
and he broke an NFL record five pick six is
in one season. Yes, sir, how significant was that in

(54:25):
your perspective, knowing, Hey, a guy from my high school
came here and then did that in the NFL.

Speaker 10 (54:31):
It's crazy, you know. You hear stories about Deron blanded
at my high school and how he was the quiet
kid that really didn't talk that much, but when he
stopped on the field, he was the loudest with the
plays that he would make.

Speaker 6 (54:42):
And that's what I want to be as well.

Speaker 5 (54:44):
I don't.

Speaker 10 (54:44):
I just want to go down there and play football
as hard as I can and make some plays. And
it's just so cool to see how that he's doing
it at the next level now in the NFL and
making all these plays. Is it's amazing to see in
that contract he signed something different too, So.

Speaker 3 (54:59):
Yeah, two million dollars turned some heads, yes, sir, And
just out of curiosity in your time at Central Catholic,
did Deron ever come see you guys or get to
talk to you or anything. He didn't.

Speaker 10 (55:09):
He came down for I think a Hall of Fame
thing once, but I wasn't there. But yeah, I would
love to meet him one day.

Speaker 3 (55:16):
Well, I think if you stick around Presno State long enough,
that's gonna happen. Yes, sir, anything else you want to say?

Speaker 6 (55:21):
Chase Hey, next year.

Speaker 10 (55:24):
PAC twelve Championship and college football Playoffs, We're.

Speaker 3 (55:26):
Coming whoo right now, Aim High, Chase Spirino one of
the newest Bulldogs, and we'll be back from the Point
Patio Barbistro with the rest of the Bulldog Football Hour
on the Bulldog Sports Network from Deerfield.

Speaker 18 (55:38):
There's nothing quite like the passion of for US No
State Athletics. At Bulldog Sports Properties, we connect businesses to
that energy through in venue signage, game promotional rights, radio, broadcast,
digital and social engagement, plus the use of official bulldog
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engage with the red wave, and show your bulldog spirit.

(55:59):
Just head to go bulldog ugs dot com slash sponsorship.
That's go Bulldogs dot com slash sponsorship Bulldog Sports Properties,
connecting your brand.

Speaker 14 (56:07):
To the dogs with gourmet flavor, crept in cocktails, and
an open and subtle flow. The Point is Fresno's best
place together with the people you love to be with.
Located at the corner of Knees and Willow, the Point
is an easy drive from anywhere in the valley. We
join our love and passion for the bulldogs with our
outdoor oasis.

Speaker 1 (56:27):
For a truly memorable experience.

Speaker 14 (56:29):
Visit us online at the Point Patiobarbistro dot com or
call five five nine seven sixty five forty three seventy nine.

Speaker 26 (56:39):
Just like your Fresno State Bulldogs. Sunmade Raisins are all
about Dali pride. For more than one hundred years, Sunmaid
has produced the world's best raisins, and they're grown and
harvested under the California sun.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Right here in the valley.

Speaker 26 (56:52):
The sweet, wholesome and delicious taste and the little red
box that reminds everyone of childhood couldn't have come from
anywhere else and that sh make you proud too. Find
out Laurence Sunmad dot com. Sun Made is proud to
be the official whole fruit snack of Presno State Athletics.

Speaker 7 (57:10):
What's going to happen?

Speaker 11 (57:11):
Today at Valley Children's we know the worries of our
most precious patients and we are committed to putting them
at ease with leading cancer and blood disorder expertise, a
collaberative approach to healing, and the highest quality of care.
We are dedicated to what is most precious to you,
your child's health and future. At our Cancer and Blood

(57:32):
Disorder Center, it's specialized care that truly cares Valley Children's
futures worth fighting for.

Speaker 7 (57:39):
Today, we have two very special guests on our program
introducing letters and Live Hello for.

Speaker 8 (57:45):
Storry Lemon Lime Soda.

Speaker 1 (57:47):
Thanks for having us.

Speaker 8 (57:48):
What is Storry Lemon Lime Soda.

Speaker 1 (57:49):
It's a cris clear burst of lemon lime flavor and
its caffeine free.

Speaker 7 (57:53):
Between us, one of you must be a little more
important to story than the other.

Speaker 8 (57:57):
Who is it?

Speaker 7 (57:57):
We're both important, so we could just as ease be
Starry Lime lemon Soda.

Speaker 1 (58:01):
No, that doesn't sound right.

Speaker 5 (58:03):
I like it.

Speaker 1 (58:04):
So you saying hip hop could be hop hit works
for me.

Speaker 8 (58:06):
Starry Lemon lime soda.

Speaker 1 (58:08):
Starry Kit's different Holldog fans.

Speaker 12 (58:10):
It's the old coat here, Pat Hill, here to tell
you about our friends at table Mountain two thousand slot machines,
Hi Gal Blackjack and Mini Bacarac on a smoke free floor,
head to sky the rooftop Tepanyaki Restaurant with unbelievable views,
or eagles landing a one of a kind steakhouse sing
along with headliner entertainment before returning to one of the

(58:33):
luxurious suits. Have your own lucky day, followed by an
epic night at Table Mountain Casino Resort.

Speaker 3 (58:43):
Well, time flies when you're having fun, and we sure
did at the Point Patio Bar and Bistro. Tonight, it's
about that time. We're out of time. Maybe it's time
for dessert. They've got cremberulet on the menu with fresh
berries on top, but are icing on the cake is
going to come from Director of Scouting, Jake Rasmussen. Jake,
tell me what you're excited about this class.

Speaker 15 (59:02):
Man, Super excited to get these different type of athletes
and stuff like here at campus. And you know, we
get you know, half of these guys in this class
here in January and then you know the other half
during summer. So to be able to have you know,
this entire time spent with all these guys, it's gonna
be awesome and we're.

Speaker 6 (59:16):
Super excited about the future of Bulldog football.

Speaker 3 (59:18):
With them, the future is bright. Thanks for listening tonight
from the Point Patio bar and Bistro, and all season
long the Bulldog Football Hour on the Bulldog Sports Network
from their field.

Speaker 2 (59:29):
You've been listening to The Bulldog Football Hour, brought to
you by Table Mountain Casino. Welcome to the table. Pepsi,
official soft drink of Fresno State Athletics. See Geek, the
official ticketing partner of Fresno State Athletics, EECU Smarter Banking
since nineteen thirty four, and by bud Late Easy to Drink,

(59:51):
Easy to Enjoy. The preceeding has been a lear Field
presentation of the Bulldog Sports netw work
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