UC Davis football coach Dan Hawkins eyes another Big Sky title: ‘I love our dudes!’
Dan Hawkins doesn’t hide his affection for his football team.
“I love our team,” the UC Davis football coach said this week on the eve of fall camp. “I love our dudes. We have a lot of good football players.”
Make that a lot of good players to go with a cast of good coaches, and that generally translates to success. Hawkins lived out that experience as a gritty fullback for the Aggies in the early 1980s and he’s lived it even closer as the UCD head coach since 2017. UCD won its first Big Sky Conference championship in 2018 and reached its second FCS playoff in 2021.
With a host of returning starters in the backfield, in the trenches and on defense, UCD expects to be in the championship chase again. The Aggies have won 31 conference championships since 1929, their first in Division I coming in 2018.
“Seems like every year we have an audacious statement that this is the best team in Aggies history, all the skill and experience,” Hawkins said. “I think we can be equal to last year or better. I can see the level continue to rise.”
UCD doesn’t have a for-sure starting quarterback at this point. The camp’s most interesting competition starts there to replace Hunter Rodrigues, but there is no shortage of options or talent. Each guy in the running has a unique skill set, UCD offensive coordinator Cody Hawkins said. His father, the head coach, said he likes it when players compete also against themselves to “be the best version of themselves.”
The quarterback candidates include: Mitchell Dixon, a redshirt freshman from Rio Americano High School in Sacramento; Gunnor Faulk, a junior from Christian Brothers of Sacramento; Grant Harper, a redshirt freshman from Moraga; Miles Hastings, a sophomore from San Marcos who started the last five games of 2021 in place of a hobbled Rodrigues, passing for 1,173 yards and seven touchdowns; and Jack Newman, a junior transfer from national JC powerhouse City College of San Francisco.
And there’s the guy they call “Magic” — sophomore Tent Tompkins of Fresno, a speedster who scores on 80-yard plays at quarterback or on kick returns. Tompkins has been used as a situational player to scare the heck out of the defense expecting him to carry the ball. He is as electrifying of a skill player as the Aggies have ever had, and they’ve had a ton.
“If Trent isn’t a focal point, we’re doing it wrong,” Cody Hawkins said while raving about each quarterback’s abilities and desires to lead this team, stressing that the main objective is to “find your role on this team.”
He added, “We have a legacy and tradition at quarterback here. Guys come here to be a part of something special. Being a quarterback here is special.”
UCD does not have a battle at running back. The Aggies know who will carry the ball: Preseason All-American bruiser Ulonzo Gilliam, Jr., and the speed combo of Lan Larison and Tompkins. Gilliam is the workhorse. The 5-foot-9 Merced native has rushed for 3,435 career yards, leaving him 155 shy of the school record held by G.P. Muhammad from 1995-98. Gilliam has also caught 164 passes at UCD for 1,045 yards. He is 150 all-purpose yards shy of Muhammad for that school mark. Gilliam rushed for 901 yards and scored seven times last season. He is the preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the Big Sky.
And how fitting that the Aggies will break in a new field turf this fall, all the better to fast-track their fleet of skill players, including receivers Justin Kraft of Whitney High who has overcome myriad injuries, and C.J. Hutton of Folsom High, and tight ends McCallan Castles and Garren O’Keefe of Colfax.
Among the offensive linemen leading the way are Jake Parks, a preseason All-American. He has started 42 consecutive games, including all of last season at right guard. UCD center Connor Pettek is also a returning anchor on the offensive line at center.
The defense includes returning starter defensive backs Jehiel Budgett of Monterey Trail High in Elk Grove, Chris Venable and Jaylin White and linebackers Cam Trimble and Teddye Buchanan, who led the Aggies in tackles in 2021 with 74.
UCD opens the season at Pac-12 member Cal on Sept. 2.