Zack Greenlee will open the 2015 season as Fresno State’s starting quarterback, Bulldogs head coach Tim DeRuyter announced Wednesday.
Greenlee, a redshirt sophomore, beat out redshirt junior Ford Childress, redshirt freshman Kilton Anderson and true freshman Chason Virgil to win the starting gig. The 6-foot-1, 216-pound Greenlee played in three games (one start) for the Bulldogs last season as a redshirt freshman, completing 18-of-41 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown.
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DeRuyter said Greenlee’s ability to take care of the football separated him from the rest.
"The competition was extremely close between the top three quarterbacks," DeRuyter said in a release from the program. "The completion percentages in fall camp and decision making were all relatively close, but the big separator was taking care of the football. Zack only had two picks and he had those the first week of camp. Since then he's done a great job taking care of the football."
DeRuyter said Greenlee’s performance in an Aug. 20 scrimmage – 9-of-11 for 166 yards and two touchdowns – was a big moment for him in camp.
"He's been in our system the longest, you'd expect those kind of things from him because he has been here," DeRuyter said. "He competed really well and has made tremendous improvements over last year, has improved since the spring and I'm proud of him."
Though Greenlee is the starter, DeRuyter said Virgil will see action in Week 1. Childress, a West Virginia transfer, may play as well.
"Zack knows that we are going to play two quarterbacks," DeRuyter added. "If he lights it up in the first quarter against Abilene Christian or doesn't, he is going to play and at some point we are going to bring in Chason and potentially will bring in Ford."
The 6-foot-1, 184-pound Virgil enrolled early at Fresno in January and participated in spring practice. He was rated as a three-star recruit and the 23rd-best dual-threat quarterback in the country by Rivals in the 2015 class.
Childress started two games at West Virginia in 2013 and completed 36-of-63 passes for 427 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions. He spent the 2014 season redshirting at Trinity Valley Junior College (Texas) before landing at Fresno.
Coming off a 6-8 record in 2014, the Bulldogs open up at home against Abilene Christian on Sept. 3 before traveling to face Ole Miss on Sept. 12.
For more Fresno State news, visit FSBulldogs.com.
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