George may not be quite as well known as some of the other players because he played at a small school. However, there is nothing small-time about his game, although he still has to shed the “soft” label.

He has quickly risen up draft boards because scouts are intrigued by his combination of size, athleticism and shooting ability. George just turned 20-years old, so the fact that he is younger than some other players also helps his cause.

That tough double-overtime loss to Wyoming in the New Mexico Bowl is history. Now it’s time for the Fresno State Bulldogs’ football team to look ahead to 2010.

And there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful Fresno State can improve on last season, during which the Bulldogs went 8-5, finished third in the Western Athletic Conference with a 6-2 league mark, and just missed out on winning a ninth game in the aforementioned bowl contest.

Fresno State returns eight starters on both offense and defense for coach Pat Hill, who is 100-66 in 13 seasons at the school. Replacing NCAA rushing leader Ryan Mathews won’t be easy, but quarterback Ryan Colburn is back, as is Joe Benardi (one of the top centers in the nation), two-year starter Devan Cunningham at left guard, and No. 2 receiver Jamel Hamier.

Defensively, the Bulldogs bring back two All-WAC first-team honorees in defensive end Chris Carter and middle linebacker Ben Jacobs (who led the Bulldogs with 106 tackles). All-WAC first-team placekicker Kevin Goessling also is back.

Fresno State opens the season at home Sept. 4 against Cincinnati. The early schedule is favorable. A bye follows opening night, followed by two road games at Utah State and at Mississippi. Then comes three home games in a row: Oct. 2 vs. Cal Poly, Oct. 9 vs. Hawaii and Oct. 16 against New Mexico State.

After two road games at San Jose State and Louisiana Tech, WAC runner-up Nevada visits Nov. 13. Fresno State then travels to WAC champion Boise State on Nov. 19, and closes the schedule with two home games against Idaho and Illinois.

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