6 February 2008
Replacing Clifton Smith Will Take More Than One Recruit
Josh Duren – REDWAVEprodutions
2007 was a brutal year for Bulldogs leaving the original 105-man roster with only “72 lives bodies” by the end. Pat Hill was more than excited to announce 22 new freshmen for 2008. Hill commented, “In this recruiting class we really had to identify what are needs were, and we have filled them.”
Hill went on to say that he and his staff were looking for multipurpose athletes with speed and agility. Clifton Smith, the senior tailback blew the doors wide open for a whole new breed of smaller, faster athletes. Smith taking direct snaps from the center and also lining up in the three-headed monster in the triple eye formation with sophomore Lonyae Miller and true freshman Ryan Matthews.
The newest of these multipurpose, speed athletes include Rashad Evans, a 5-9, 180 pound Athlete from San Jose, California, graduated from Andrew Hill High School. The second is A.J. Ellis, a 5-11, 175 Athlete from San Jose, California, who graduated from James Logan High School. Evans played several positions while in high school, including experience as a Quarterback. While playing quarterback, Evans rushed for 1,420 yards and had 18 touchdowns as a senior. Evans also played corner where he had 25 tackles. Because of his all-around abilities he is projected to play receiver or running back at Fresno State. In addition to Fresno State, Rashad was recruited by Cal, Oregon and USC.
Fresno State’s other new recruit A.J. Ellis also has an impressive resume. In high school he rushed for 1,527 yards and scored 26 touchdowns. He also averaged 9.73 yards per carry and over 12 yards per reception and became the first Andrew Hill player since 1997 to earn a Division 1 scholarship. Besides Fresno State, A.J was also recruited by Utah. Ellis has already been projected to be a versatile and explosive player who is expected to see action in a variety of ways for the Dogs and could be used in a similar role as Bulldog’s MVP Clifton Smith. Hill praised Ellis as, “… one of those kids that comes around every once and a wile. He can see beyond what’s in front of him. He’s going to be a successful football player and whatever comes after that…”
This style of athlete brings a huge diversity to the game and to the speed of the game. Hill mentioned Smith was a special player who could run, block and pass. The opposing defense never knows what he was going to do. Recruiting multipurpose athletes can only continue to be a dual threat to teams just as Clifton Smith has done in his time at Fresno State.
Hill expressed optimism for next year, “As a whole our staff feels very good about this class. As with any class, there are players who will need some time to develop and there are some players who can contribute sooner.”
Bulldog fans can rest assured that the 2008 recruiting class is prepared to continue the tradition of hard nosed, aggressive, fundamental football with fanatical effort for as long as it takes. “Leaving No Doubt” has become the motto for Fresno State Football since coach Pat Hill took over in 1997. The future looks promising for the Bulldog’s of Fresno State in the 2008-2009 season.
Tags
Tags: articles, Clifton Smith
[...] of Josh’s rundown of the National Signing Day Press Conference. Click HERE to read Logan or HERE to read Josh. Look for the Podcast of the conference on Monday, February 11th. [...]