RUNNING BACKS OUTLOOK
Fresno State is set to debut a new offense under first-year offensive coordinator Josh Davis, with the running backs expected to take on a larger role than in previous seasons.
"This backfield has a lot of depth and versatility," said Davis. "We have speed. We have power. We have guys with tremendous football IQs."
The Bulldogs return their top two rushers from 2024 in Elijah Gilliam and Bryson Donelson and running backs coach Aaron Prier, one of three assistants retained by coach Matt Entz, enters his third season.
WHO'S BACK: Gilliam rushed for 489 yards on 122 carries last season, averaging 35.8 yards per game with eight touchdowns. With 39 career games under his belt, he is the most experienced offensive player returning this season.
Nicknamed 'Third-and-Gilliam,' he's become the Bulldogs' go-to back in short-yardage situations. Although the team struggled on third-and-short, converting just 13-of-27 attempts, Gilliam accounted for seven of those conversions on only 10 tries.
This season, Gilliam wants to showcase his versatility and prove he's more than just a short-yardage running back.
"Over the offseason, I worked on my speed and my ability to make defenders miss," Gilliam said. "So I can shake off that third defender and give myself the opportunity for big runs. I want to keep getting those short-yardage first downs, but I also want more of those bigger, longer runs this season."
Donelson, recently named to the Doak Walker Award watch list, shined as a freshman, appearing in 12 games and starting the final three. The Valley native rushed for 462 yards and three touchdowns on 77 carries, averaging 6.0 yards per play, the highest by a Bulldogs' freshman since legend Ryan Mathews averaged 6.0 yards in 2007.
Donelson kept getting better as the season went on, making the most of his increased reps after Malik Sherrod went down with an injury. In his first six games, Donelson averaged 29.6 all-purpose yards per game, but that number jumped to 63 yards per game over the final six. He posted his first 100-yard rushing performance in the Bulldogs' MW finale against Colorado State, racking up 140 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He followed that with his first multi-touchdown game against Northern Illinois in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
Johnathan Arceneaux, who has battled injuries throughout his three seasons at Fresno State, added depth to the back field last season. He appeared in 11 games, rushing for a career-high 104 yards on 22 carries and adding four receptions for 42 yards.
The Bulldogs also return Devon Rivers, Ryan Warkentin and Brandon Ramirez to the back field.
WHO'S NEW: The group adds one transfer and one true freshman.
Rayshon Luke, who goes by the nickname "Speedy", spent three seasons at Arizona where he appeared in 24 games and totaled 271 rushing yards and one touchdown on 56 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per attempt. He also caught five passes for 96 yards, including a career-long 66-yard reception against UCLA in 2023. His best rushing performance came that same season at Washington State, where he ran for a career-high 71 yards on 10 carries and scored his first collegiate touchdown. He added two kickoff returns for 22 yards during his time with the Wildcats before redshirting in 2024 and entering the transfer portal.
"They call him 'Speedy,' and he's really fast," said Prier. "He plays at a different speed than a lot of other people. The way he runs is effortless, and he covers a lot of ground. I'm excited to see what he does this season with the ball in his hands."
Julius Gillick began his high school career at Garfield in Seattle before transferring to Edison High in Huntington Beach, where he lettered each season and helped lead the team to the 2025 California State 1A Championship. After a standout senior season, he was named a Sports Illustrated first-team All-American, Orange County player of the year, CIF Division III player of the year, and ALPHA League offensive player of the year. He finished his senior season with 2,489 rushing yards and 39 rushing touchdowns, along with 300 receiving yards and two receiving scores.
WHAT TO WATCH: This group will be the most experienced among the skill positions and will need to take a significant step forward from its 2024 performance, as the Bulldogs lost 66.4 percent of their all-purpose yards from last season
They figure to get plenty of opportunities. In Entz's last three seasons at North Dakota State, the Bison rushed the ball on 66 percent, 75.9 percent and 72.5 percent of their plays from scrimmage.
Last season, Fresno State ran the ball on only 47 percent of its plays, and ranked just 10th in the Mountain West rushing yards per game at 98.2 and last in rushing yards per play at 3.3.