SPECIAL TEAMS OUTLOOK
Fresno State enters its second season with John Baxter as its special teams coordinator, looking for another big jump in production with its return and cover teams.
The Bulldogs last season averaged 22.4 yards per kickoff return, up from 18.7. They also held opponents to 17.3 yards on their returns, down from 22.2.
In the punt game Fresno State averaged 17.7 yards on 15 returns and wideout Nikko Remigio took two back for touchdowns, a huge jump from 2021 when it averaged just 2.9 yards.
Although the room returns all of its specialists it lost Remigio, its primary return man.
Who's back: Carson King has been the Bulldogs' punter for the last two seasons and averaged 41.6 yards on 52 kicks last year. With the offense breaking in a new quarterback, running back and wideouts he could be more active, particularly early in the season. The Bulldogs' 3.7 punts per game last season were the second-fewest in the conference.
Dylan Lynch and Abraham Montano split time at kicker last season.
Lynch played in nine games, stepping in for Montano due to an injury, and had perhaps the biggest kick of the season with a perfectly-executed onsides kick against San Diego State that the Bulldogs recovered and turned into a game-winning touchdown. He also was 6-of-7 on his field goal attempts and 15-of-15 on his PAT attempts.
Montano appeared in 12 games, sitting out two due to injury. He was Fresno State's primary kicker in the first five games of the season, handling kickoffs, field goals and PAT attempts. He was 12-of-19 on field goal attempts and 34-of-35 on PAT attempts.
Long snappers Nick D'Ambra and Michael Munoz also return for the Bulldogs.
Running back Malik Sherrod had the second-most kickoff returns in 2021, returning eight for 175 yards, an average of 21.9 per return. Sherrod had a career-long 50-yarder against Wyoming, the longest for Fresno State since 2018.
Wide receiver Jalen Moss has also been taking return reps during fall camp.
Who's new: Three new specialists join the roster, all transfers.
Kicker Jordan Kennedy comes to the Valley from Mississippi State. The sophomore spent the 2022 season in Starkville, but did not participate in any games.
The Bulldogs also added Nick Verdugo, who utilized his redshirt season in 2022 at Old Dominion.
Punter Landon Ogles transferred in from Palomar College in San Marcos, Calif., where he was both a kicker and a punter. He broke the school record for the longest field goal twice, hitting from 56 yards and then 57 yards.
Transfer wide receiver Jaelen Gill will be involved in the return game for the Bulldogs this season. He was the primary kickoff return man at Boston College in 2022 with 24 returns for 509 yards, an average of 21.2 yards.
Freshman running back Devon Rivers has also been taking return reps during fall camp.
What to watch: King will serve as the Bulldogs' primary punter this season, but Baxter will have to decide who will be the primary kicker. Montano suffered an injury toward the end of camp, so it's likely that Lynch will go against Purdue on Saturday.
The biggest question is who will return kickoffs, and whether they can break one of the longest streaks in the nation without a return for a touchdown.
Fresno State last returned a kickoff for a TD in 2008 when A.J. Jefferson took one back in a loss to Nevada, and the Bulldogs since have returned 626 kickoffs without reaching the end zone.