In Psyk they trust: Harvard transfer helps fuel UC Davis Aggies defense
Tim Plough prefers to build his UC Davis football roster with high school recruits, all the better to nurture and utilize blockers, tacklers and skill players over a five-year stretch.
But it is also sound business logic to pore through the transfer portal, which bursts at the seams of talent from across the country. So the Aggies coach last winter gladly looked into a Harvard defensive anchor Jacob Psyk, because who can turn down a scholar and a baller who can boost your program?
As a graduate transfer from the esteemed Ivy League school, Psyk has provided UCD with a defensive punch in the trenches. Psyk had a collegiate career-best seven solo tackles, three for loss, in the Aggies’ 50-34 victory over Southern Utah last week to move the team to 2-1.
Psyk was everywhere. He also had two sacks and forced two fumbles, much to the glee of his teammates and coaches, in earning Big Sky Conference co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.
UCD hosts another Utah team this week at UC Davis Health Stadium in the Weber State Wildcats, and you can bet that Psyk will be in the trenches ready to pounce in the Big Sky opener.
“He fits in perfectly, since the moment he got here,” Plough said this week during his weekly newsconference. “He fits the environment here perfectly. His work ethic, his attention to detail, his leadership, a tremendous player, and he does some things that are not coachable.”
That includes instincts. The coaches trust the 6-foot-3, 265-pound defensive end from Sugarland, Texas, to do his thing, even if coaches initially flinch at his intentions. But the results are there.
“He makes some choices in plays that make you nervous, but he has an innate ability to read plays before they happen,” Plough said. “He’s played so much football, and he sees plays before they happen. He’s been a real bright spot. He’s going to be a guy that can wreak some havoc.”
Psyk wreaked havoc for Harvard last fall, earning first-team All-Ivy League honors and leading the conference with 6.5 sacks for a loss of 47 yards. Psyk was a member of Harvard’s 2022 and 2024 Ivy League championship teams. He earned a degree in economics and is in UCD’s masters program.
Record crowd watched UCD ground game
UCD ran all over Southern Utah in its home opener, rushing for 357 yards and five touchdowns before a delighted, record crowd of 17,217 fans.
Jordan Fisher rushed for 170 yards on 12 carries, including a 75-yard score, and Carter Vargas went for 136 yards on six attempts and two touchdowns. Caden Pinnick passed for 162 yards and found Winston Williams and Mitchell Dixon for touchdowns to provide the balance as UCD piled up 519 yards.
Plough after the game was emotional in talking about the largest crowd in the 110-year history of Aggies football.
“I can get tears in my eyes when I think about all the hard work that people behind the scenes put in to make a crowd like this happen,” the coach said. “I can’t say how thankful we are to have such a great turnout. To have a crowd like this proves what we’re capable of here. It’s now up to us to continue to play like this so people will want to come out and enjoy this great atmosphere.”
Weber State (2-2) at No. 8 UC Davis (2-1)
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
On air: Sactown Sports 1140 radio, ESPN+
Of note: Weber State opened with losses of 45-10 to James Madison and to Arizona, 48-3, and the Wildcats responded by defeating McNeese State 42-41 and Butler, 38-24. Against Butler, Weber State’s Davion Godley rushed for a career-best 193 yards and Jackson Gilkey passed for 185 and two scores. Weber State is 7-4 all-time against UC Davis, including a 17-16 win in Ogden in the last meeting (2023). Weber State has a three-game winning streak over UCD in Yolo County. UCD ranks third in the Big Sky with 199 yards rushing a game.