Chris Denman was a bundle of nerves the first time he suited up as a college football player.

That was opening day last season, when he joined his Fresno State University teammates Aug. 30 in Knoxville to face the powerful University of Tennessee Volunteers, ranked No. 12 in the nation at the time.

Denman didn't play that day, a 24-6 Tennessee victory.

"There were 110,000 people there," the Tehachapi High graduate said. "It was nuts. I've never, ever seen anything like it, 110,000 people all against you."

One year later, Denman is no longer the wide-eyed college football newcomer. He has matured.

A sophomore, Denman has taken over as the starting right tackle for Fresno State, which will open its season Sept. 5 at the unranked University of Washington.

Fresno State has a Sept. 11 game at No. 12 Kansas State before hosting unranked Portland State in its home opener Sept. 18.

Denman, a 225-pound defensive end/tight end when he graduated from Tehachapi High School in 2002, is now a 6-foot-6, 275-pounder.

He's still fairly new to playing on the offensive line. Denman, 20, spent his first season at Fresno State -- his redshirt year -- as a defensive lineman, then moved to the offensive line at the urging of head coach Pat Hill and then-offensive line coach Dennis Wagner.

"From a depth standpoint, at defensive end we had a few more guys. On offense, we were thin at the tackle position," Hill said. "If we brought him in at a young age, we thought he could develop into a solid player."

Denman said he quickly agreed to the move.

"Coach Wags said I'd be playing more, so I made the move," Denman said. "I didn't know a lot. I had to learn real quick. I had to learn a ton of plays. The playbook's not small."

Denman worked hard from the moment he made the position switch. That paid off in the sixth game last season at Colorado State when starting tackle Matt Stevenson suffered a season-ending knee injury and Denman found himself thrust into the starting lineup.

Denman started every game the rest of the season, helping the Bulldogs win six of their last seven games, including a 17-9 win over UCLA in the Silicon Valley Football Classic.

"Our last game against UCLA, he was dominating," Hill said. "And he was doing all of that as a 240-pounder."

Which simply adds to Hill's expectations for Denman.

"I'll tell you what: This kid has a chance to be a great player," Hill said.

Unwilling to rest on his laurels, Denman hit the weight room hard in the off-season, adding about 35 pounds to his season-ending weight.

"This year I've tried to be stronger," Denman said. "Last year I weighed so much less than my opponents. This year I'm bigger. I hope it helps my run blocking game."

The added size simply gets Denman closer to the size of many opponents and teammates.

"College football is totally different from high school," Denman said. "In high school, I was one of the biggest players and one of the best. Here, everyone is as good as you or better. And everyone is as big if not bigger than you are."

Hill said he expects Denman to continue adding bulk.

"In a couple of years, he'll be a 300-pound guy," Hill said. "People will say, 'Where did he come from?' And then they will say they were all recruiting him.

"Well, we were after him from the beginning. We're sure glad it's worked out the way it has."

Hill said he first noticed Denman when he scouted a Tehachapi game against Bakersfield High.

"He stood out as the outstanding guy on the field," Hill said. "I liked his body type and bone structure. You could see he had a high ceiling."

Hill offered Denman a scholarship, and Denman turned it down.

"I didn't want to play college football at first," said Denman, a devout Mormon. "I thought about going on a mission for my church.

"I was all burned out on football."

But the fire to play football rekindled when Denman accepted an offer to play in a high school all-star game in Visalia after his graduation.

"Practicing, and then playing the game, it hit me," Denman said. "I knew I couldn't do without football."

Denman called Hill and asked if the scholarship offer remained on the table.

"He told me that all of the scholarships were taken," Denman said. "I asked if I could come and play anyway. He said, 'Yes.'"

Said Hill: "We were not sure how dedicated he was. We wanted to make sure. He had to come in and earn it, and he did.

"It's a real success story. Chris has improved so much, but he's put in the work. Coaching only gets you so far."

Hill and first-year offensive line coach Mark Weber now look for Denman to take his game to the next level. Weber replaced Wagner, now the offensive line coach at the University of Nebraska.

"His progress is good," Weber said. "He's fairly new to the position, but every day he gets a little better.

"Chris has got excellent quickness and excellent work habits. He learns fast and he battles hard. He could be one of the top linemen in the league at some point, as long as he keeps working and learning the position."

Denman's football pedigree was another attraction for Hill.

At Tehachapi High, Denman played for his father, Steve, the longtime Warriors' head coach.

The father-son, coach-player relationship had its challenges.

"It was tough," said Steve Denman, the dean of high school football coaches in Kern County who is starting his 23rd year as Tehachapi's head coach. "You always think your kid can do better. You expect more out of your own kid, especially when you're a coach.

"But you've got to let them play the game like they're everybody else. For the most part, it was a great experience."

Chris Denman's parents both admit they were disappointed when their son initially turned down the chance to play college football.

"People said to me, 'You've got to force him to play,'" Steve Denman said. "But you can't do that, especially at the college level. Chris had to make his own mind up. We told him that this was one of the choices in life he was going to have to make, and then you've got to live with it."

Said Chris' mother, Judy: "I was disappointed when he (initially) decided he wasn't going to play. Here was this opportunity for a free education, and what an opportunity it was."

But the disappointment has turned to elation, she said, as her son's status at Fresno State has grown.

"Just the whole package at Fresno has been great," she said. "The football is great, but the education is great, too."

Judy Denman added: "Coach Hill saw something in Chris. Chris was real skinny at the time, and Coach Hill said he'd put 70 pounds on him.

"As a mother, I said, 'No way.' But he's gained over 50 pounds since then. He's blossomed."

Even to the point of outgrowing his clothes.

"He came home once and nothing in his closet fit him," Judy said. "He couldn't even get into the pants he'd worn the previous year, he got so big so fast.

"Now when he comes home, we've got to get him new clothes. And we've got to get a lot of food because he eats so much."

Added father Steve: "Judy and I started gaining weight. We have to have so much food around the house when he comes home."

As Chris Denman's size increases and his skills improve, the inevitable question will be asked: Is the NFL in his future?

"Everyone in college football wants to make it," he said of his NFL goal. "I've got a lot of stuff to work on. If I make it, great. If not, well, that's why I'm in school."

Academically, Denman is a criminology major who has a 2.8 grade point average on a 4.0 scale.

"Academically, it's tough," he said. "I miss (class) every Friday and I miss many Wednesdays and Thursdays (when the team travels). So I'm missing one-third of the time. It's tough to keep my grades up."