The press secretary.

Lan Larison, With his incredible scores on the 10 yard and pro agility tests I think he ranks as the most athletic guy on the team with Teddy a very close second. Larison is a RB so fast speed to the line of scrimmage is essential and we have already seen Larison do some of that. So that said with a decent OL we should be very good with the running game next season. As to the WR issue, why not Tompkins out there or as a slot. My feelings are to just get the guy on the field because he is just such a gamer. Very hard to bring down as well. I think he also seems to energize the team when he’s on the field. I would think he is recognized as an exceptional teammate IMHO. Hey, anyone called MAJIC has to be on the field!

Tompkins was listed as a wide receiver in the tests. He’s as fast as Larison for 10 yards but not for 40. He ranked best in the agility and L drill of any of our players and 1st and 2nd in those tests for any wide receiver in whatever database of results they have. I think he can be a good wide receiver. I hope they keep the wildcat and run it sometime by with Tompkins on the field with no player substitution.
Teddy is the best athlete if you factor in his size. Impressive jump numbers for a guy weighing 239#.

And Teddy is young.

Looks like Tompkins' short space burst numbers are tops on the team.

Hero Sports preview.

https://herosports.com/fcs-2023-uc-davis-football-preview-bzbz/

I think our team has good depth, which doesn’t really show in previews which focus on returning all conference players. We lost most heavily on the offensive line, tight end and defensive back. But there and elsewhere we return guys who’ve had playing time.

Did not know about the punter Hunter Ridley from UNLV. Not on roster yet, he may be sitting out a season. At least 2 years of eligibility left.

They haven't updated the roster since before spring practice.
No text in the bios about 2022.
The roster lists some players who graduated and won’t be back.
Would you believe none of our true freshmen in 2022 redshirted ? I don’t.

Speaking of Ulonzo Gilliam, I know he was not drafted, but does anyone know if he is in the CFL or has signed as an NFL free agent?

Gale is now listed at 240 lbs, up from 209, one of the few updates they’ve made to the roster.

Signed an UDFA contract with Miami, don't think it panned out.

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2023/5/12/football-ulonzo-gilliam-jr-invited-to-miami-dolphins-rookie-minicamp.aspx

Finally have updated roster, its still a work in progress, but we can see who is on the team.
We have a wide receiver transfer from Iowa Hawkeyes. He is Gaven Cooke a QB/RB/Safety from Marin Catholic High School, who walked on at Iowa and is now a redshirt sophomore in terms of eligibility.
Lyric Fata, who was a good recruit in 2022, but must have found something interesting to do last year is on the roster as an outside linebacker, out of Mater Dei.

Nice to see another Marin Catholic Wildcat join the squad. Versatile player and nose for the ball in the secondary. He walked on at Iowa…Spencer Petras has been the starting QB there. Being a Marin Catholic kid, he helped influence Gaven’s to enjoy some corn fields. Random trivia…family lineage to legendary Redskins owner, Jack Kent Cook.

Three players, Gaven Cooke, Michael Ingrassia, and Matteo Perez were teammates at Marin Catholic

Geordie Aarsheim was another player who was on our roster as a linebacker. Never saw the field. Assuming he’s still a student but playing days seem to be behind d him.

Ulonzo is not on the Dolphins current roster.

Who will shine this year? Larison, Connors, ???

Better be this year, I think Connors could be playing at Cal or Stanford in '24 if he balls out again this season.

I was surprised Larrison and Tompkins are juniors. I thought they were fifth year seniors. But maybe that was just because it seems like you all have been talking about them forever. Lol.

I hope it's a lowerclassmen who achieves distinction because talking about the same players is boring.

I didn't see Cooke on the roster

https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/football/roster/gaven-cooke/17403

The opening opponent, Texas A&M commerce fans had a podcast about UC Davis as an opponent.

https://thelionwire.com/2023/05/25/the-lion-wires-call-the-roll-podcast-a-way-too-early-2023-lion-football-preview-uc-davis/

Pretty much as you would expect. A of time talking about Coach Hawkins in Colorado. They realize we have some explosiveness on offense. They thought the August temperature in Davis might occasionally reach 90 degrees. They had a table of the mean temperature which was a pleasant 73 degrees, but they don’t know it cools off at about 9:00PM when the cool air finally makes it up the river. I’m sure its hotter and more humid in Texas, but if it is desired to practice in the heat you have no trouble finding hot days in Davis. Before expecting Davis to wilt, they might check out the end if the Tulsa game. Of course they don’t have air conditioning in the visitor clubhouse.

Zack Kennedy, Jake Parks and Rex Connors named to the Media Preseason Big Sky All Conference Team:

https://bigskyconf.com/news/2023/7/23/montana-state-tabbed-preseason-football-favorites.aspx

Hunter Ridley and DE Joey Carrillo played at Acalanes high together. Looks like Hunter will be the starting field goal kicker. Fine punter as well.

This season def has the possibility to be a big one for us, as long as we can figure out RB we'll be okay, i hope Miles improves further, there were a few moments last year where he looked quite mid to me, but he's been given a lot of time to grow. The schedule is just like last year, playoff hopes are determined by us winning our big games (Sac, Weber, Montana). Personally I'm excited for the EWU game, the 2021 matchup was a ton of fun in the stands, with the fog and some good tension between the teams, I really want to get em back for that game. I agree with the above post about Montana being a literal toss up, and even without Troy and the QBs, I will never sleep on Sac after these last 2 years. Can't wait for the end of the month!

I've watched countless interviews of Aggie players, and not once do I ever think "meathead". These guys are switched on.

Big Sky had their media days recently, here's Hauck on Montana's outlook: