An inside look at Tedford’s Fresno State football roster reload: Mining overlooked talent

The NCAA transfer portal has provided college football programs with a deep pool of players and potential, and Fresno State dives into it every day.

But in what could be a prescient move, the Bulldogs’ list of 15 mid-year additions includes 10 players from the junior college ranks, one from high school and only four FBS-level transfers, with coach Jeff Tedford tapping into what he believes is an undervalued market with much of the recruiting focus on the portal and who is in it.

“I think what’s happening with some junior college kids is the portal has taken some focus away from them, but they’re still very good players,” Tedford said. “I think the mixture of some portal and some junior college kids, where you have needs, you’re going to recruit the JCs and the portal for immediate contributions.

“But going through the portal, then watching some of the junior college tape, you think, ‘You know, this kid is as good if not better than some of the portal kids at the position.’ Obviously, there are some portal kids that are outstanding. But it’s interesting evaluating them and the competition they’re playing.”

It is, in a way, playing 5D chess in an evolving recruiting game that includes another window in May when players can enter the portal, said Brandon Huffman, the national recruiting editor for 247Sports.

“There’s value in recruiting the JUCOs and it makes sense. It was a different era and there was no portal, but when Tedford was at Cal nobody used the JUCO model better than he did,” Huffman said. “He would go to the JUCOs for linemen. He would go to the JUCOs for running backs. He has always kind of mastered the use of the JUCOs and now with fewer schools going to the JUCO route and just going the portal route, he’s still getting good players.”

That list of junior college players that Tedford recruited at Cal includes quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who he found at Butte Community College while recruiting another player.

There should be no question there is talent to be mined there, even with a deep portal. The two top-rated junior college recruits in the Class of 2023 are enrolled at Alabama.

“They’re still going to get guys out of the portal who are really good, but if Nick Saban is still tapping into the JUCO ranks that shows you that there are very good players in the JUCOs,” Huffman said.

Fresno State has filled immediate needs at wideout and on the offensive line largely through junior colleges.

EARLY START: WHO’S ALREADY ON CAMPUS

The players who have enrolled in spring semester classes and as of Friday afternoon had been cleared to work out with the team include quarterback Mikey Keene (Central Florida), safety Dean Clark (Kent State) and linebacker Tuasivi Nomura (USC) from the transfer portal and defensive lineman Dupre Mendoza (Mt. San Antonio College), offensive lineman Hayden Pulis (Fresno City College), tight end Jake Tarwater (College of the Sequoias), defensive back Camryn Bracha (Fresno City), tight end Tyler Carr (Bakersfield College) and kicker/punter Landon Ogles (Palomar College) from California junior colleges.

Former Buchanan High quarterback Jayden Mandal also enrolled early and is participating in winter workouts.

The other players are expected to be cleared to work out next week, and get ahead of the curve when the Bulldogs open spring practices in March.

“There are a lot of junior college guys here that are going to obviously compete right away,” Tedford said. “With spring ball, getting them here midyear, is a big thing, too. They get winter conditioning, they get spring ball, then they get the summer program and they get camp. By the time the season comes, they’re acclimated to your systems and they’re more on par with the physical demands of things.”

A year ago, the Bulldogs hit a home run with Cal transfer Nikko Remigio, who caught 74 passes for 852 yards and six touchdowns and averaged 18.5 yards on 14 punt returns including two that went for scores. Cameron Lockridge, a transfer from Hawaii, started eight games and was graded the highest among the Bulldogs cornerbacks this season, according to Pro Football Focus.

And it also had success recruiting from California junior colleges. Jacob Spomer, out of Diablo Valley College, started all 14 games at left tackle and was an honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference selection. Cornerback Carlton Johnson from Riverside City College teamed with Lockridge to shore up the Bulldogs’ pass defense down the stretch of a 10-4 season that ended with a nine-game winning streak, a conference championship, a victory over Washington State in the LA Bowl and a spot in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 24.

EARLIER EVALUATIONS ON JC PROSPECTS

Johnson, who was sidelined in fall camp with a broken foot, sealed a win over San Diego State with an interception when playing his first game snaps for the Bulldogs and started the final three games of the year.

Fresno State got valuable snaps from Daniel Taumalolo, a transfer from College of San Mateo, on an offensive line that dealt with injury issues through much of the season. It also landed a JC wideout in Josiah Freeman from Hartnell College, who made an impression while working on the scout team.

Fresno State, Tedford said, will continue to evaluate its roster and tweak its recruiting as necessary to make sure it is getting early evaluations on junior college players.

“Some people, I think, use JCs as an afterthought, maybe,” he said. “That won’t be our situation. It will be a significant part of our recruiting process. High school, junior college and the portal weigh equally and we have to do a lot of research. It’s like the NFL. You have the pro personnel department and you have the college scouting department.

“That’s the way I see this. Every coach has junior colleges in their recruiting area, and I think it’s good to get an evaluation on kids early and not wait until after the season to do it. That’s the way we have to approach it.”