The Fresno Bee du lieu suivant : Fresno, California • C6

6C FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18 2016Colleges FRESNOBEE.COM yielding to Jeff Tedford for 2017. smart, knows what doing, is com- petitive, plays hard. We need help at that position, so why not? This staff, not giving up. not going to just throw in the towel. going to try to find solutions where we can.

You keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different Hokit points out that he has a history of running the As a senior at Clovis High, he rushed for 820 yards at 6.7 per pop with eight touchdowns. But where he ends up next season is a guess. a good, solid, hard-nosed football play- running backs coach Dave Ungerer said. has some skills. He was a pretty darn good running back in high school.

like to have a lot of those kind of guys that can do a variety of Said Kiesau: best fit? I really know. Maybe linebacker, but so versatile he can do a lot of things for us, so we just have to find spots for him to help us Hokit, The Fresno Bee Defensive Player of the Year in his final season at Clovis, showed a knack at the Mike in the fall. love he said. love WRESTLER, TOO But with a goal of play- ing in the NFL, moving to fullback or running back might be a better fit. That and talents on the wrestling mat would put him on the same course as former Fresno State star Lorenzo Neal, who played fullback and was a heavy- weight wrestler for the Bulldogs from 1989 to 1992 before a 16-year NFL career.

Those are footprints few attempt to follow, but Hokit will in his next tran- sition. Once football season ends, he will start to train with the wres- tling program, restored this year and set to begin competition next season. The sports overlap be- ginning in November and there could be a bowl game in a future Decem- ber. Plus, there is spring football. But he is commit- ted.

have to talk to the coaches to see how going to said Ho- kit, a CIF state champion at 182 pounds as a high school senior. know Lorenzo Neal did it. I have to see the schedule, I know going to be busy. Playing football and wrestling at the same time, it sounds crazy, but you only live once; only in col- lege once, so make the most of For that, Neal has only applause. think awesome when you have a guy that dedicated to those two particular Neal said.

very unique. You hear a lot of people say, play football, I play basketball, I play baseball, I play golf, I play You never hear anyone say, play wrestle, I play Those are the most te- dious, vigorous sports, I think. play those sports. you and anoth- er individual. tough.

You go on your back it happen to me but looking up at the lights and people are screaming and you hear anything. like, got myself here, do I have enough heart? Do I have enough will? Am I going to get And you have to exert that much more energy just for your pride, your preserva- tion. You never want to be pinned. If he pins you, that means to me you even competitive. one of the most demoralizing feelings you can ever have.

That sport is just full of emotions. average football play lasts six seconds. You get winded on a long drive, you can always touch your helmet and you can come out. Wres- tling, you touch your helmet, you touch your hat and say, coming out, I need some- one to take my Hokit turned down a wrestling scholarship to Drexel to compete in both sports at Fresno State and is not giving that up. gave the wrestling coaches my word that I was going to do it and a lot of people want to see me wrestle now that the program is he said.

want to be a part of that. going to be He plans to wrestle as a heavyweight he is up to 226 pounds and has de- signs on getting to 235 by next football season. He plans to participate in spring football, the first under Tedford, and can compete for playing time at positions where the Bulldogs do not have a lot of depth. And participating in one sport, Neal said, will help the other. give this young man kudos and much Neal said.

hat goes off to him because after all said and done, you look back and I change it for anything. Wrestling made me. When fourth-and-1, I wanted the ball. When you line up and playing against Ray Lewis, Zack Thomas or Patrick Willis, the linebackers I was able to play against, when you line up and you do a lead play and just you and that guy, bam, you hit like two battering rams, you go back to the huddle and I would say, going to Some- body is going to quit be- cause your body is not meant to do this. what wrestling gave me.

It gave me that, I will not be denied. I quit. going to outwork you. No matter what you do, going to be On Saturday, Hokit will be on the football field. The rest, his best fit on the field, moving between sports, can be figured out later.

many people wres- tle and play Hokit said, the peo- ple that do, they have an advantage in the NFL. Lorenzo Neal, look at him. Stephen Neal (Bakersfield College England offensive line- man), look at him. who I want to be. going to be crazy, but I can get through Robert Kuwada: Fresno Bee file Josh Hokit, left, carries the ball last season for Clovis High, where he rushed for 820 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Fresno State freshman linebacker is taking reps at running back in practice for game against Hawaii. FROM PAGE 1C HOKIT IS A AND MENTALLY TOUGH. HE DOES A GREAT JOB FOR ME ON SPECIAL TEAMS. JUST A GOOD OVERALL FOOTBALL PLAYER. LIKE TO HAVE A LOT OF THOSE KIND OF GUYS THAT CAN DO A VARIETY OF THINGS.

Fresno State running backs coach Dave Ungerer, on Josh Hokit the room grappling, sweating, pushing each other. much different when there are only a handful. hard to get the energy Steiner said. was frustrated the other day just because the ener- not there, but as driving home I reminded myself to use this time for what worth. have time to really spend on them individual- ly that when you have a group of 25 or 30 you really Have to take that as a positive and use it for all The six Bulldogs signees are allowed to compete in open tournaments, in- cluding Roa- drunner Open at Clovis North High.

However, they must enter as and wear official Fresno State sin- glets. (However, that stop one of them, Clovis High grad Khristian Olivas, from creating his own custom design.) Why is a wrestling tour- nament in Fresno named the Roadrunner Open? Because co-organized by Cal State Bakersfield, which for years has been the closest Division I col- lege wrestling program. The irony lost on Steiner. year, I told them, if we wanted to continue having it, it be the Roadrunner he said with a smile. If first batch of recruits is any indication, the Bulldogs will have a strong Valley flavor.

Twelve of the 16 grew up between Oakdale and Bakersfield, including four graduates of local jug- gernaut Clovis High. Steiner scored quite a few by picking up a CIF state champion (Clo- Josh Hokit, who also is playing football) and sev- eral state finalists and medalists. The biggest was Justin Mejia, the three-time state champion who chose Illinois after decommit- ting from Iowa. talked to him and obviously I wanted him, but if he feel this is the place, then he needs to go Steiner said. everyone is going to want to step into this challenge, but there are some kids that are.

They want to be a part of this. Twenty years down the road, going to be proud of what they ac- Steiner still has a lot that needs accomplishing over the next several months. He needs to sign six more recruits, hire a volunteer assistant and put together a schedule. Fresno State will wrestle in the Big 12 Conference, guaranteeing six to eight duals. However, Steiner is wary about his fledgling program having to face any national powerhouses too soon during its re- launch 2017 season.

ask if going to have (Iowa) here for the first dual he said. do that to my team. not going to do anything for us. not going to be ready for that yet. trying to find a bigger program that may- be is down a bit.

Because I want our guys to know not going to sched- ule cupcakes here. not going to prepare us for down the road. At the same time, got to be smart about how I bring guys along. Because if you throw them out there too early, you might never get their confidence The yearlong buildup also gives Steiner time to raise funds for a club team, made up of wres- tlers who have finished their college careers but aspire to reach the Olym- pics or World Champion- ships. These athletes would make Fresno their home base (again, as a USA Wrestling regional training center) and work out with the current Bull- dogs.

All the national power- houses sponsor such clubs. To make it happen at Fresno State, Steiner needs to find $40,000 for each member to cover living expenses and travel costs to some events. just feel one of the pieces you have to have in Steiner said. you think going to compete with the top programs like an Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota or Oklahoma State, got to have Wrestling supporters waited a long time for Fresno State to resurrect the program. In the end, the slow build should be worth their extra patience.

Marek Warszawski: 559-441-6218, FROM PAGE 1C WARSZAWSKI REALLY TRYING TO HONE INWHAT WE PUT IN PLACE SO THAT WHEN WE START NEXT SUMMER READY TO GO. Fresno State wrestling coach Troy Steiner LOS ANGELES Sam Darnold has a knack for turning poten- tial disasters into some- thing special. remarkable freshman quarterback does it all the time on broken plays. Instead of robotically falling on the ball when a snap goes awry or a handoff is mis- placed, he often attempts to improvise a happy end- ing to a perilous situation. always, but some- times good to try to make a Darnold said.

like trying it some- Speaking of potential disasters, Darnold has done a pretty great job saving season, as well. Darnold is the engine driving the No. 15 Trojans (7-3, 6-2 Pacific-12 Con- ference) from their 1-3 start to a six-game win- ning streak entering Sat- urday crosstown showdown with UCLA (4-6, 2-5). With a confident arm and that incredible elu- siveness in the backfield, Darnold has completed 68.1 percent of his passes for 2,161 yards this sea- son. He has 22 touchdown passes and six intercep- tions, and he does it all with a buccaneering play- ing style that reminds everybody football is sup- posed to be fun.

More importantly, Dar- nold has won six straight starts since losing his first. The Trojans have roared back from their brutal September schedule into contention for a Pac-12 South title, taking the pressure off first-year permanent coach Clay Helton in the process. not a finished product by any means, but helping us win foot- ball said Helton. you have a kid with his instinct and cre- ative ability, I think you handcuff him. I told him, it like you stole You (have to) play the game with no fear, and he Darnold and Helton say they waste time thinking about where USC might be if Darnold had been the starting quarterback from the season opener.

Max Browne started the Tro- losses away from home to top-ranked Ala- bama and defending Pac-12 champion Stanford before Darnold seized the job. Michigan Two days before the No. 3 Wol- verines face Indiana at Michigan Stadium, coach Jim Harbaugh said start- ing quarterback Wilton Speight is getting better, the Detroit Free Press reported. see how he feels he said Thursday in a radio interview. really been a day-by-day thing; progressing.

I know some people have said out for the year, and I have not heard that from the doctors. see how he is today, and were at. a day-by-day thing right Speight was injured in last 14-13 loss at Iowa and did not practice early this week. The Free Press reported it was a broken collarbone. Florida Kicker Eddy Pineiro faces misdemean- or charges that he dam- aged two scooters on campus.

The University of Flor- ida Police Department filed its report Nov. 7 with the State Of- fice. According to the report, which alleges mis- demeanor charges of property damage, multiple witnesses saw Pineiro over scooters that were next to in an on-campus parking lot on Nov. 7. Pineiro dam- aged two scooters by them and then ripping off the side mir- before driving away.

FOOTBALL Elusive freshman QB has USC on the rise The Associated Press.