Last year, points-against decreased by almost a touchdown a game. Foes’ total yards dropped from 459 a game in 2017 to 431. Thirty-seven Aggie sacks were up by 13 from the year before and 24 turnovers forced were nine more than in 2017.

Still Tucker and Company want to be “more disruptive.” He knows more turnovers and punts mean more opportunities for a UCD offense that knows what to do when it gets the ball.

“Improvement is always our goal … be even more disruptive than we’ve been in the past,” Tucker told The Enterprise. “From last year, we’ve lost some key seniors, so during camp it’s been really interesting to see who will replace those seniors.”

Meanwhile, coach Robert Tucker’s defensive unit is keeping its head down, moving forward each practice session. Those seven returning starters seem to be mixing nicely with a wealth of veteran colleagues and 11 other players, who are either redshirt freshman or true first-year players.

So, coach, how do your Aggies transition themselves from last year to this, be the same kind of team? "I hope we're not," came Hawkins' reply. "I hope we reinvent ourselves. I hope we take advantage of every day and don't take anything for granted. We can't assume anything. We have to go back to Square One. We talked about that today. You can't say you come in at point M and let's get to point Q. It's all about coming in at point A." Kind of like zero-based budgeting? "Exactly."

One hole needing a patch, although not glaring on this first camp day, is the departure of All-American wide receiver Keelan Doss. Doss is plying his trade with the Oakland Raiders. Losing the Alameda native's career numbers — 4,019 yards and 28 touchdowns — might at first blush seem catastrophic, but Hawkins knows there is plenty of powder left in the keg. "Obviously you have Lonzy (Gilliam) and Tehran (Thomas) as running backs," Hawkins said earlier this summer. "Tight end Wes Preece is back, Jared Harrell, the evolution of Justin Kraft and Carson Crawford. There are just so many of those guys."

Maier — entering his senior season — will have a passel of proven and emerging targets to keep opponents guessing. "There are just so many of those guys," says Hawkins, maybe still understating an embarrassment of riches. "It's a talented, talented group. And so many young guys coming on. "We have a lot of fire power. A group of really good players. A lot of depth."

A feel-good story to keep your eye on: two generations of Davis High offensive linemen are working together. Paul Wulff (Class of 1985) has come to UCD as an offensive-line assistant, where he's working with Nick Amoah (Class of 2017). Amoah is hoping to win a job at tackle in the veteran Aggie trenches. Ex-Devil Wulff is the former Washington State head coach who most recently was an assistant at Sacramento State.