Fresno State Adds a Sackmaster and Safety from Transfer Portal

Fresno State Sports

By Steven Sanchez

Published 6 months ago on

January 6, 2025

The Fresno State football team adds to its defensive roster by adding defensive end Finn Claypool from Drake and safety Ethan Tierney from Northern Illinois. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)

Finn Claypool, a decorated DE from Drake, joins Fresno State with impressive stats and accolades from his FCS career.
Safety Ethan Tierney follows his coach from NIU to Fresno State, adding depth to the Bulldogs' secondary.
Coach Matt Entz welcomes nine transfers, strengthening various positions on the Bulldogs' roster.

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After a weekend of loading up at the running back position, the Fresno State football team added two players to the defense from the transfer portal on Monday: redshirt junior defensive end Finn Claypool (Drake) and redshirt freshman safety Ethan Tierney (Northern Illinois).

Coach Matt Entz now has four transfers heading to the program to help the defense.

The Bulldogs lost the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl to NIU but are feeling victorious in the postseason by hiring Huskies’ defensive coordinator and safeties coach Nick Benedetto and linebackers coach Adam Breske. Throw in a defensive player to that mix. Who else will be coming to Fresno from DeKalb?

Claypool’s Impressive Career at Drake

Claypool had a significant career at the FCS level with the Bulldogs of Des Moines. In 2024, he earned First Team All-Pioneer Football League honors for the third time. He was the 2022 PFL Defensive Freshman of the Year and 2023 PFL Defensive Player of the Year.

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The 6’1, 232-pound DE accumulated a total of 155 tackles and 30.5 sacks in his career at Drake. He has one year of eligibility left.

With Fresno State team captain Devo Bridges graduating, Claypool could be a fitting replacement at end to complement redshirt junior Korey Foreman on the other side.

Much like Fresno State, Drake is a program in transition. On Dec. 23, Drake named Joe Woodley, one of the most accomplished coaches in NAIA football history, as its new head coach. He replaced Todd Stepsis.

Stepsis, whose teams won eight games and made the FCS playoffs each of the past two seasons, was 29–32 overall at Drake. He’s now the head coach at Northern Iowa.

Finn Claypool Transfers to Fresno State — Finn Claypool totaled 30.5 sacks in three seasons at Drake, an FCS level football program. (Drake Athletics)

Tierney Follows Benedetto to Fresno State

Tierney, a DeKalb native, follows Benedetto to Fresno. He saw limited action for the Huskies and has three seasons of eligibility remaining.

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He can add depth to a secondary saying farewell to graduating safeties Dean Clark and Kosi Agina. Tierney will compete with returning DBs like senior Camryn Bracha and sophomore Jayden Davis, a part-time starter in 2024.

Incoming Players from the Transfer Portal

Entz has nine incoming transfers. Here’s the list of the new incoming players and where they came from:

Incoming Transfers

LB Jadon Pearson (Utah State)
DB Simeon Harris (Utah State)
OL Gino Quinones (USC)
OL Kyson Van Vugt (Iowa)
RB Rayshon Luke (Arizona)
DL Finn Claypool (Drake)
DB Ethan Tierney (NIU)
DL Logan Goodspeed (Bakersfield College)
OL Braylan Henderson (Snow College)