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Chat Reel: Pat Hill

Bulldogs ready for tough early schedule

CNNSI Host: Welcome to today's college football chat with Fresno State head coach Pat Hill. Welcome coach and thanks for joining us.
Pat Hill: Thank you for having me.

From Erik Carlstrom in Eugene, Ore.: First of all, congratulations on your success last year. I hope that you have a great season this year. Now, can you tell me your impressions of the Oregon State game? I've heard that their defense is even better than last year's. What are your thoughts on this? If OSU's defense is on fire, what are your chances against them?
Pat Hill: Well, just talking about OSU last year -- I know Dennis Erickson, and he does a great job. By the end of the year they were playing as well as or better than anybody. Every year is a new year. OSU, they've got a great mentality up there. We'll find out what they have on September 2.

From Jeff Tucker in San Francisco: Congratulations on 15-straight home wins! Why do you think Bulldog Stadium is such a tough place for opponents to come in and play?
Pat Hill: The environment in Fresno is just like any other, just not as big. It's similar to Eugene, Ore. It's a great atmosphere and a tough environment to play in. Our opponents aren't always prepared for what they're going to get when they walk down the ramp. When you come to Fresno, this is basically a midwestern town in California. Football is very important in the valley.

From Debo: The Colorado Buffaloes are going to be a hungry team trying to get past last year's miserable season. How are you going to prepare for them?
Pat Hill: We're also a very hungry team. My main concern is how we will be prepared. I can't control anything about Colorado. I expect Colorado to be a much-improved team from last year. It's going to come down to execution on Sunday.

From BigDog: TCU was a highly regarded team last year, and gained a lot of national respect coming from the WAC. Do you think Fresno State is getting that kind of respect this year?
Pat Hill: In the preseason we are, but we're going to have to back it up on the field. The good thing about TCU is that they played the kind of season that gave them a lot of momentum and they backed it up. We're going to have to back it up early in the season. If you want to be considered a legit top 25 team you have to play and win against tough opponents. It's a journey least traveled, but a path you have to take if you want to be recognized in the structure of college football as it is today.

From Van: The defensive line and secondary are both good to go, but we lost all three starting linebackers. Do you think the new starters will be ready for such a tough early schedule, and what are you concerned about the most regarding the linebackers?
Pat Hill: The main concern is always experience. Athletically I feel very good about them. But it's very hard to duplicate game speed in practice. When you go out and play games it's a whole different level. We have to see how we step up when we go out against Colorado. I think if our linebackers take care of their assignments, all the rest will fall into place.

From Alexis Hongamen in Orlando: What areas do you want the Bulldogs to improve on this year?
Pat Hill: Well, on offense I was not happy with our running game. That's an area I believe that if we want to win we have to improve. On defense we need to be a better takeaway team. We have to get fumbles and interceptions. We've got to make the picks and force the fumbles and recover them. On special teams, our punter did his job, but he needs to be a difference maker, establish field position. And we need to be more of a threat from anywhere in the 47 to 37-yard line. We need to be more efficient as far as field goals go.

From BigDog Do you feel like you have a running back that can be "the guy" and not have to use running back by committee?
Pat Hill: We're going to find out early. I do not like running back by committee, I would like someone to step up and get 25 to 35 carries a game -- a back that is an every-down back. I'm looking for a guy that's going to take it over. I don't know if we have that guy at this time, but we're looking for someone to step up and take the job. But we're not going to put a guy in there that is not ready. We'll stay running back by committee until we find the right guy.

From Ekman: Everyone knows about Alan Harper, but what other players on the defensive line will make some noise this season?
Pat Hill: Jason Stewart who moved from defensive end to noseguard. We have two people inside that are quick and have strength. At defensive end Jake Porbst is back, but Clarence Denning is back too. On the other side, Nick Burley is back as a starter, and Brian Morris who missed the entire season is back at full speed. We have a one-two punch. Our defensive line has really improved since my first year here. Then we only had one guy who weighed over 200 pounds. I think we have matured and gotten better at those positions.

From NoCalDog: How are George Benson, Fai Satele, Robert Santiago, and Claude Sanders doing in fall camp?
Pat Hill: All four of those young men are going to be redshirt freshmen. I expect big things out of them. They have the size and are going to be under the gun. All four are going to be outstanding. There's no doubt that these are the types that we're looking to be the mainstays of the defensive front.

From notredame: What do you want to accomplish this season?
Pat Hill: Our No. 1 goal is to win a conference championship. We've also talked about putting ourselves in the top 25. You do that with a bowl win. I want to establish that we're top 25 early in the year. We have to come out of the gate fast and I think it's important that we start early. And we have to play the tougher opponents and beat them.

CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with Pat Hill. Coach, thinks for joining us and good luck this season.
Pat Hill: Thank you very much!

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