TRENT DILFER

The former Fresno State quarterback and ESPN analyst will be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame November 5th, and will also be given the Distinguished Alumnus Award by Fresno State October 16th with fellow former Bulldog football star Cory Hall. Dilfer talked with George Takata about the good ol’ days, his pending induction, and how much he enjoys being in front of the camera.

GEORGE TAKATA: What does it mean to you to be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame?
TRENT DILFER: George, obviously it’s an incredible honor. I’m flattered by it, I was taken back by it actually. It’s nothing I ever expected to happen. It’s one of those things when you get older and you move on in your different careers I think sometimes you forget about the impact you had in earlier stops. And I was very very fortunate to play under an unbelievable head coach in Jim Sweeney, the best offensive coordinator in the country in Jeff Tedford, and just had incredible players around me. I joke to this day that I was definitely a product of the system and the players around me more than it was my ability.

GT: With the likes of Lorenzo Neal, Anthony Daigle, Charlie Jones and Ron Rivers around you, did you feel like you were spoiled when you played here?
TD: Oh yeah. And let’s not forget Tydus Winans, Malcolm Seabron and Michael Ross. We had a plethora of incredible athletes in my time there at Fresno State. I think we were one of the best offenses in the country my last two years there, my sophomore and junior years. We were really unstoppable offensively because we had great coaching. They knew how to get each one of these athletes involved. And all of them went on to have great collegiate careers and very productive careers in the National Football League.

GT: Would you say your offense back then is comparable and maybe even better than the Matt Leinart-Reggie Bush dynasty at USC?
TD: That’s a hard comparison to make because playing in the WAC in the early 90’s opposed to playing inthe Pac-10 is different. I think if you look at the success of the players from both programs that went on to the NFL, our success was probably a little bit better. We were legitimately unstoppable. And it probably had less to do with me and more to do with everyone else. I remember my last game I ever played (for Fresno State) against Colorado in the Aloha Bowl. We threw for over 500 yards against a Big 12 team that had something like 14 to 16 NFL guys on it. We were very very good. The greatest football memories of my life was definitely my time at Fresno State.

GT: Including the Super Bowl (won by Dilfer’s Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV)?
TD: Yeah it really is. The Super Bowl is the pinnacle of your professional career and I cherish the memories from it, but I think the relationships which you go through during your college years, it’s the beginning of your manhood and all the things that happened in your time there, they’re just more vivid memories. And I think they changed and molded my life more than any of my experiences in the NFL.

GT: You’re going to be part of one of the greatest Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame classes ever: Marquez Pope, Tom Goodwin, Laura Berg, Ron Anderson and Stephen Abas to name a few. What does that mean to you?
TD: It’s funny. It’s kind of a theme in my athletic career. It seems like every class or team I’m on, I’m the weak link (laughs). What an incredible class. I admire so much each team and person going in with me. I think especially of Laura Berg. I had the chance after we were both done at Fresno State, she was on the Olympic team and I was living back in Fresno training for my NFL days, we worked out together. I was always taken back by her incredible work ethic, her passion for getting better every day. And when you accomplish such great things like she has, to continue to hammer the nail so to speak and always push the envelope of getting better, I was just taken back by that. And Marquez is one of the fiercest competitors I ever played with.

GT: How much do enjoy your job as an NFL analyst on ESPN? You look like you’re having a lot of fun.
TD: I am. What a great opportunity. I can’t believe they put somebody with a face for radio on TV every week. I’m really enjoying it. It keeps me in the mix in the NFL. I think I still study the game as much as I did as a player because I want to be right. I want to be informed. I want to educate the audience. My mission with this TV thing is to kind of change the way people watch football and give them an inside look. Teach them some x’s and o’s. And let them appreciate a game that has meant so much to me in my life and help them better understand what I think is the greatest sport in the world.

GT: Do you have a message for everyone here in the valley?
TD: I’ve lived all over the country and to this day I tell people all the time the best people that live in this country live in the San Joaquin valley. The area is so dear to my heart. My best friends still live there. I live and die by how the programs are doing and try to represent the university and the area the best I can. And I’ll forever – and I mean this, forever – be indebted for the opportunity I had at Fresno State. Let’s never forget that nobody else in the country offered me the opportunity to play quarterback. And Rich Olson and Jim Sweeney gave me that opportunity. To this day I feel like I’m always trying to earn that. I’m always trying to justify their decision to have me come play football there and be a part of that great university.

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