Often as future athletes grow up, they find themselves rooting for their hometown team.
But not former Edison High standout Rykeem Yates. He never attended a Fresno State football game as a youth; and when it came time for him to pick a college, it was conference rival Nevada that landed the defensive lineman.
“I don’t like those guys at all,” Yates said of the Bulldogs, who host the Wolf Pack at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN2. “I just never did.”
What’s transpired in his three years at Nevada has only made it worse.
Yates and the Wolf Pack have lost three straight to Fresno State, including last season’s 40-20 victory that allowed the Bulldogs – rather than Nevada – to seize control of the Mountain West Conference’s West Division and eventually earn a spot in the league’s championship game.