Folsom offense deep in skill players

When Folsom coach Paul Doherty was asked who his starting receivers would be, he instead rattled off a list of 14 players who would likely touch the ball on offense this season, not including centers or quarterbacks. Doherty mentioned four outside receivers, four slot receivers, four tight ends and two running backs. It's amazing to think about the amount of talent the Bulldogs have a receiver, starting with wideout Rico Flores, committed to Notre Dame, along with Stanford-bound tight end Walker Lyons. Those two combined to catch 123 passes and 18 touchdowns a year ago. Another committed scholarship recipient, Greco Carrillo, who also plays cornerback, will play next year at San Jose State. Folsom has much more than that: tight end Mason Norberg returns. The 6-3, 220-pound seniors has half a dozen offers from Division I schools from San Jose State to the Ivy League. DJ Brown, who also plays cornerback, is another three-year outside receiver like Flores and has an offer from Columbia. Onterrio Smith and RJ Whitten, two slot receivers with DI offers, will also have to be contended with. Smith has offers from Utah, Oregon State, Sac State and BYU, while Whitten has an offer from California on the table. That's seven players, all seniors but Whitten, who have accepted offers or have offers on the table, but wait, there's more. Doherty has high hopes this season for a pair of juniors, wideout Brian Ray and tight end Colin Gallagher. Senior Ayreon Smith, all 6-4 of him, is another outside receiver who will see the field, as will junior Daniel Chavez in the slot. Senior Diallo Washington stars at defensive end for the Bulldogs and might not play much offense, but if he does, you'll see him at tight end. The tandem running back situation will feature senior Donovan Maxey-Parler and junior Abraham Woodson. Maxey-Parler rushed for 607 yards and eight touchdowns a season ago. The group of receivers is the strength of the Bulldog offense. Teams will certainly want to shut down Flores and Lyons, but there are plenty of other talented players to get the ball to and that's one reason Folsom is so good. Teams just can't cover everybody. The problem for the Bulldogs, which is a good one, is only five of those players will be on the field at one time, so finding playing time and catches for all of them will be difficult. In charge of getting the ball into their hands will be one of three quarterbacks: 6-6 junior Austin Mack, who has about eight Division I offers from schools mostly from the West Coast, including California, Stanford, Washington and San Jose State or seniors Carter Martinelli and Julian Vasquez. Mack, with all the scholarship offers, is the most highly regarded and will be given every chance to earn the job. If he can't nail it down, don't be surprised if all three quarterbacks play this season. Last year when senior quarterback Tyler Tremain was injured, Mack and Martinelli both were given opportunities to be the starter and neither was able to wrestle the job away from the other. Both played in losses to Rocklin and Granite Bay and while Mack played the whole game in a win over Whitney, his numbers weren't overly impressive. For the season, Mack completed 53 percent of his passes for 379 yards, throwing two touchdowns and four interceptions. Martinelli completed 55 percent of his passes for 356 yards and two touchdowns against three interceptions; basically a wash. Who will step and win the job this season? If neither of them can, look out of Vasquez. Doherty said he looked the best of the three in the Blue-White Scrimmage and said he's just as talented as Mack and Martinelli. The quarterbacks can't throw, the running backs can't run and the receivers won't have anything to catch if the Bulldogs don't get it done in the trenches. Up front for the Bulldogs this season is a solid group that the coaching staff likes, but missing are any 6-4, 300-pound types. Folsom will have to get it done with a smaller, quicker line this season. Two returning starters include center Mason Starkey (6-0, 265) and junior Lucas Hardeman (6-0, 240), who moves from guard to tackle this season. Newcomers to the line this season are junior guard Remington Masterson (6-1, 235) and a pair of sophomores, tackle Nela Tupou (6-3, 205) and guard Luke Sorensen (6-3, 260). Senior Julio Garcia (5-11, 235), juniors Diego Villarreal (6-1, 255) and Elijha Gulewich (5-11, 190) and sophomore Theo Greule (6-1, 230) provide depth on the line, more than they've had in a few years.