Bulldogs believe Last year at this time, Pat Hill was selling his Carr. And darned if David didn't come just a few plays short of the Heisman Trophy, settling instead for being the first pick of the NFL Draft.
special year starts
with special teams
With David Carr gone, coach
EIGHTH of 13 parts
Pat Hill touts the importance
of the kicking game
By Dave Reardon
dreardon@starbulletin.comSo which player did the Fresno State coach mention first when talking to the Western Athletic Conference media last month?
"Our long snapper is Kevin Murphy," Hill said. "He's been pitchin' strikes for three years."
This was not a joke. This was a serious coach talking about an important player on an important part of his team.
"I like to start with special teams," Hill said. "Hopefully it's an area where we can make a difference."
It's an area where the Bulldogs hurt their own cause at key times last year. An argument can be made that FSU lost the Hawaii game the week before, when key secondary backup Kendall Edwards (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) bushwhacked BSU punt returner Tim Gilligan, earning Edwards a one-game suspension. Fresno gets to play Hawaii with Edwards -- and at home -- on Oct. 25.
Hill hopes his Bulldogs have learned from last year, when they made the college football world take notice with victories at Colorado, Oregon State and Wisconsin, but failed to take care of business in the Western Athletic Conference.
The 'Dogs ended up 11-3 after losing to Boise State and UH, and Michigan State in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.
All-time record: 482-329-27
Fresno State
Against Hawaii: 18-15-1
Now you know: The Bulldogs continue to play a tough nonconference schedule. They open at Wisconsin on Friday, host San Diego State, and visit Oregon and Oregon State. They also take on Colorado State after starting WAC play at Rice. ... FSU running back Derrick Ward is ineligible after failing a summer school biology class.
Preview of Hawaii opponents
Carr is gone, but 16 starters are back, including kicker Asen Asparuov and punter Jason Simpson.
But the special-teamer Hill is really excited about (besides Murphy, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship) is return man Bernard Berrian (6-1, 190), who also happens to be FSU's best receiver.
"If there's anyone in the country better, he'd be hard to find," Hill said of Berrian, who scored on a kick, a punt ... and 13 passes last year. Berrian caught 85 balls for 1,364 yards last fall.
Senior Jeff Grady (6-2, 200), Carr's former mop-up man, will do his best to carve his own niche at quarterback.
"He's a very smart young man," Hill said. "He's been a clean-up hitter for us. Now he has to show it under the lights."
Lombardi Award candidate Nick Burley (6-4, 250) is the focal point of the defense. He counted eight sacks among his 13 tackles-for-loss last season.
Junior Bryce McGill and senior Cameron Worrell (both 5-11, 205) form the league's hardest-hitting safety combo.
Worrell was the player who hit Ashley Lelie late last year after a Lelie drop, extending a UH fourth-quarter scoring drive.
Another example of being a year wiser -- and being at home -- possibly helping Fresno State this year.
UH Athletics
... In 1990, BYU's Ty Detmer won the Heisman Trophy, but Hawaii sophomore slotback Jeff Sydner got the last laugh. Sydner struck a Heisman pose after scoring in the Rainbows' 59-28 blowout of the Cougars hours after Detmer was named the winner of college football's biggest individual award. With the season-ending win, UH completed its season at 7-5 (4-4 WAC). Sydner led the Rainbows in receptions (34), receiver yardage (820), all-purpose yardage (1,958), and scoring (76 points).
After the 1991 season, Sydner entered the NFL Draft as a junior and was picked in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he played three seasons. He also played for the New York Jets in 1995.
In 1995, Sydner won a local Emmy award in Philadelphia for hosting a TV production about players like himself called "Little Big Men."
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