Young CSM Bulldogs return from state title run hungry but untested

“Not yet,” Tulloch said. “Not decided yet. They’re competing. They’re competing like crazy.”

Plenty of players from the reigning California Community College Athletic Association champion Bulldogs are busy competing for spots. Nothing new there. What is new is just how many inexperienced freshmen those spots will go to. Of the upwards of 90 names on CSM’s roster, 60 of them are freshmen.

“It’s like two-thirds freshmen,” Tulloch said. “That’s a high number. So, the majority of this roster will be playing their first game.”

A byproduct of the free-for-all free agency bonanza the college football landscape has become due to the modern transfer portal, CSM has adapted accordingly. The Bulldogs saw 39 players transfer on scholarship directly from last year’s squad, many of whom having burned just one year of athletic eligibility.

“We’ve become the development phase,” Tulloch said. “So, like Major League Baseball, they have a Triple-A, a lot of these high-end Power 4 programs ... they have such a short time window to win, and extremely high expectations, they’re leaning towards a lot more of their scholarships going to veteran guys in the portal. So, a lot less high school guys. So, there’s a gap.”

In the days leading up to the 2024 season opener, Tulloch said he didn’t know who among CSM’s three freshmen quarterbacks would get the starting nod. It turned out to be Conner Annicharico, who helmed the Bulldogs to a dramatic 27-26 victory at Sierra.

But the competitive quarterback room whipped into a dizzying merry-go-round in the weeks to come when Annicharico suffered an injury, and Conner Stoddard got the start in Week 3 at Modesto. The following week, both Annicharico and Stoddard hit the injured reserve, causing CSM to activate grayshirt Dominic Ingrassia, who took the starting job and ran with it for the remainder of the season.

Come the offseason, all three freshmen QBs transferred to four-year schools.

“It’s becoming that,” Tulloch said of freshman transfers. “Rarely do you get ’em for two. It’s become a lot more prevalent for having guys for shorter time windows.”

This year’s quarterback room is gelling with three more freshmen — 6-2, 210-pound Luke Alexander out of Grant Union-Sacramento; 6-1, 190-pound Johnny Koett out of Vista de Lago-Folsom; and 6-2, 195-pound Devin Wilson out of Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland.

Tulloch’s breakdown of his QBs:

Alexander: “He’s really calm under pressure. I mean, I don’t know if I’ve seen him rattled ever since he’s been here. He’s very even-keel, makes good throws under pressure.”

Koett: “He has really good accuracy, really good decision making, and a really firm grasp on the offense.”

Wilson: “Devin’s a gunslinger. He’s right in that mix and they all are neck and neck. And that’s a beautiful thing, because they’re all pushing each other.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Dovenberg’s biggest task will be replacing 1.351 rushing yards from All-America Offensive Player of the Year running back Lolo Mataele, who transferred after his sophomore season to Western Michigan.

CSM has a deep running back corps, with sophomores John Stowers, Ali Collier and Malakhi DeMoss returning, and Palo Alto grad Jason Auzenne joining the mix as a freshman.

“You have big shoes to fill when you lose a Lolo Mataele — state Player of the Year on offense and whatnot,” Tulloch said, “but I think this group is a talented group, it’s a deep group, and there’s a lot of different styles of backs in that room.”

Defensive coordinator Hansen Sekona has two Serra graduates competing for linebacker jobs in Jojo Latu and Danny Niu. Returning sophomore Kyle Hall will start at safety after declining an offer to transfer to Washington State. Sophomore cornerback Trevon Watson and sophomore nickel back RJ Whitten will highlight the secondary. And freshman linebacker Jeramiah Lewis out of Wilcox-San Jose is one to watch.

“They like to work, they care, they want to be good, they’re really, really trying to embrace and ramp up to our culture,” Tulloch said of his young Bulldogs. “So the newer guys, they came here for a reason and they’re really, really working at it. So, I like the work ethic, I like the cohesiveness of the team, but we’re going to be an extremely young team.”

Sophomore kicker Dieter Kelly returns after setting the CSM single-season scoring record last season with his 50-plus yard range. The sophomore out of Orange Lutheran-San Diego listed at 5-10, 225 pounds as a freshman, but dropped 35 pounds in the offseason, Tulloch said.

“They’re athletes,” Tulloch said of kickers. “Leg strength, leg swing, core — all those things work into kicking velocity and all the things with kicking a football. But he’s down, he’s in much better shape. ... He really wanted to work on some other components of his game, kickoffs, and really be a complete guy.”

CSM is ranked No. 1 in the CCCAA (3C2A) preseason poll. Sierra ranks No. 20. The other Bay 6 Conference teams other than the Bulldogs to crack the top 25 are No. 14 Foothill, No. 19 Diablo Valley and No. 24 City College of San Francisco.