Las Vegas Bowl Preview: Breaking Down Fresno State Receivers and Tight Ends

Dec 7, 2013; Fresno, CA, USA; Fresno State Bulldogs wide receiver Davante Adams (15) catches a touchdown pass in front of Utah State Aggies cornerback Nevin Lawson (1) in the third quarter at Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs defeated the Aggies 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It’s bowl week for USC and as the Trojans gear up to face Fresno State in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl, we’ll help you study for Saturday’s match up with break downs on everything you need to know about the Bulldogs.

This morning, the focus is on receivers and tight ends:

Fresno State features as the nation’s top passing offense, in no small part due to an excellent receiving corp.

The talisman of this unit is redshirt sophomore Davante Adams, who has earned All-American honors for his outstanding play.

Adams is one of the most dangerous receivers in the country. His 1645 yards are second nationally and 23 touchdown receptions are eight more than the next highest receiver in that category. He’s tall enough at 6-2 to present match up problems for the secondaries he’s faced and is capable of leaping over most defenders to catch the ball at its highest point, especially in the redzone.

However, the Bulldogs are not a one man machine when it comes to aerial threats.

Redshirt junior Josh Harper is smaller than Adams, but only slightly less productive at 6-1, 184.

Despite competing for touches with Adams, Harper still boasts the seventh most touchdown receptions in the country with 13. He has racked up more than 1,000 yards receiving this year after sitting out most of last season with a sports hernia.

It won’t be enough to take Harper and Adams out of the game and call it a day though.

Fresno State has another weapon in the passing attack in senior wide out Isaiah Burse, who is just shy of his first 1,000-yard season with 987 receiving yards. He adds five touchdowns to the scoring total of this unit and is a big play threat with 20 receptions of greater than 20 yards this year.

Also in the mix is redshirt senior Marcel Jensen. The 6-6, 270 pound tight end is NFLdraftscout.com’s sixth-rated player at that position for the 2014 draft and a projected third round pick. His size and athleticism make him a dangerous, albeit underutilized receiving option. He has 24 receptions for 344 yards in 2013 and three touchdowns.

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