He participated in a UC Davis coaching clinic.April 10 & 11 as a keynote speaker

Do Taylor and Plough know each other? I would think Taylor is what you might call damaged goods at this point in his career. So why are we inviting him to come and give speeches? Just wondering. . . .

Because he has a good offensive football mind and experience. Don’t know all the details of the Stanford thing, but he always seemed level-headed with no sideline outbursts when at Sac. Seemed to be much better in that regard than
someone like Hauck (berated Hyde local press in press conferences.

Good Rainy day to everyone! Sorry I cut my spring game notes off. I got busy talking to some alumni.

Notes from today Mon 4/20

Cleeland took all snaps today. He looked incredible. Full command of the offense. Multiple crisp throws both middle of the field and flats. Shows great running ability. I think he missed just a couple throws today but everall very good.

Gbatu #8 WR is our best player. What an absolute gem to have on our offense. Great hands, speed, and change of direction. I expect him to have a great year.

#13 Hennessy is right there. Runs good routes. Catches everything thrown his way.

Can I give a quick shot out to the coaches? Man, these guys know what they are doing. So much good coaching out there. The pace and organization is really great. Not much standing around. The emphasis on special teams is evident. Vast improvement.

OL is still a work in progress. The tackles to me are the weakest link. Edge constantly beats both tackles especially the left tackle. They are playing a lot of young guys so don’t read too much into it, but just note it.

DB. The DBs on this team are the best I’ve ever seen at Davis. Cofield is a legit D1 starter who could start on multiple top tier schools. He absolutely blanketed Gbatu on one play. Incredible talent.

I also like the Idaho transfer #1. This kid stands out on the field. He has excellent size and real nose for the football.

Kickers continue to impress. We have two legit kickers.

Soild practice nothing to exciting today.

-SG

Plough on Cofield, 20 pounds heavier.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXW-hx5Ao9q/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Thats from aggiepride podcast I think.

Way to gut it out in the rain today! Thanks for the report. Did the transfer QB practice today, or did he get banged up in the scrimmage? Good to hear that Cleeland had a day, when the dust settles my money is on him, but long way to go. Any chance of Eason getting back out there before the end of spring ball?

Hennessy was a multi year Trinity League starter at O Lu. I saw him play on TV once in high school, didn't pass the eyeball test but the announcer kept saying "Tyler Hennessy with the reception". Big time pass catcher. That receiver group is going to be fun. Same with the RBs.

Left Tackle has me legitimately concerned. Is there an actual, legit Left Tackle body in the building? Don't tell me it is going to be a freshman; that ain't happening and if it does, the Ags will go through QBs at an alarming rate. There's plenty Plough can do schematically to cover for the LT, but that's no way to live when the rest of your roster is loaded and you're starting a rookie QB. I know, I know, it is only April and I pray that someone will call me out on this after 4-5 games once it works itself out!

If Davis' offense lines up against our base defense, is the edge playing opposite the left tackle the DE (Few) or the $ linebacker (Gologowsk and others) ?
I'm wondering who is beating the LT,
Plough has confidence in the O line. Porotesano, Hasson, Collier, Main, Thurston, Montanez are the top players. Hasson he says is the best they've had here. I think he means in talent.

the DE and $ line up on both sides depending on what hash the ball is on, so they get their reps against both tackles

The Sacramento Bee erroneously reports that Carter Vargas was the leading rusher in 2025.

AOL Link

There are a hundred ways to slice it as to where to align your big, traditional Defensive End type and your hybrid, Outside Linebacker/Edge type rusher. I can go into a dissertation on that, or we can settle for "every defense is different." Looking at our personnel, I would put the bigger cat to the run strength, often including the TE, and try to set the edge with the bigger body. You hear that from Kyle Shanahan all the time, the importance of setting an edge and evaluating how a defense will try to set the edge. Then you put the speed guy on the opposite side where he'll typically have a 1-on-1 with the Tackle. It probably all starts with personnel match ups: who is their weak link and how can we exploit him with our guys?

For the record, I do not question that we have a talented Offensive Line unit as a whole. I do question whether we have an actual game-ready Left Tackle to open the 2026 season. Fortunately, we have a few months to figure that out or grow into it. I am evaluating this team based on playoff potential, not it's ability to beat PSU, USD, Stetson, and Cal Poly.

As someone with zero knowledge in football strategy, I enjoy your nuances in your responses. How long does it typically take to develop a reliable left tackle?

If we don't have the guy, move somebody, and / or make sure we have 2nd / 3rd player prepped.

Hasson - 6'5", 310, double Legacy.

Advance apologies for the message board version of War and Peace below. I am a bit of a personnel evaluation nerd. I geek out on all of the NFL Draft talk and breakdowns this time of year:

Left Tackle is about length and feet. Length stems from body type/genetics, so those guys are ideally at least 6'4"+ with long arms. At the FCS level, 6'5" or so is about average from what I've seen, at least with the better teams. NFL Left Tackles will range up to 6'7"-6'8" even. Arm length and wingspan are critical because a great pass blocker wants to engage the defender at range, "keep him at arm's length" right? Keep his body off yours if at all possible. This requires a unique and freakish combination of length, technique, and upper body strength.

Pass blocking is basically like playing basketball defense while being allowed to box the opponent. Keep your body between the bad guy and the QB. Easier said than done, and the reason why those guys get paid so much.

Developing those traits takes time; you may find a 6'5"-6'6" kid who leans on people in high school but gets to college and his punch/arm extension collapses on him every time he sets because he doesn't have his man strength yet. That takes age and work in the weight room. Most 18 year old Tackles aren't as big and strong as 21-23 year old Tackles. That's just the way it works.

So, if we don't have the guy, , what do we do? Keep coaching the best man for the job who is most game-ready to play. If that's last year's Right Tackle, and he's only 6'3", so be it. How do we help him? Focus on his technique, give him a few tricks to add to his bag, and help him with the Tight Ends and Running Backs, throw some screens, whack them with pulling Guards and Tight Ends in the run game, do what you have to do to slow down the best opposing pass rusher. Then, concurrently, you continue to develop the longer, young kids like the one tall kid others have posted about. He has that frame you're looking for but he is still a boy as far as technique and physical development. Bring him along properly. The worst thing that can happen is throwing him out there if he's not ready and he gets beaten like a drum. Our hand may be forced if there's an injury so he has to be ready, but put that off for as long as possible and get him garbage time reps vs. lesser opponents.

One thing UC Davis has always been known for is player development. We aren't privy to who they went after in the Portal to replace an elite Left Tackle, but we will now move forward with who we have. We have an outstanding O-line coach and staff, including the head ball coach, who know what they're doing and understand the limitations of their personnel a hell of a lot better than I do. In Plough we trust.

Could easily be a top 5 hardest position in all of sports. Very hard to get one ready but I think the front portion of our schedule will get whoever it is at LT ready to go. A couple things that will help (TE’s staying in to block creating a 6 vs 4 protection, and or RB’s chipping) very easy to cover up weaknesses in one guy vs multiple weaknesses in the line. We should be fine.

Weird for Joe Davidson to miss that one....

I have yet to be remotely impressed by Sac area sports reporting. Constant errors and much a do about nothing. Often find myself asking "did anyone even read this??"

] The FBS bias runs deep and subconsciously. Of course the top performer is the guy who transferred, no need to check.

Funny, Sacramento has a small town feel to it despite the professional and "major" college sports presences in town. I always enjoy flipping on the local news there when I'm close

In the rain - it shouldn't even be close with Cleeland owning the field. Played in the northwest, half of those HS seasons are drenched in rain. Kollock is from Laguna Beach.

Also, so everybody remembers you spell Samuel's last name with a "G" -- that's Gbatu. Gbatu, Jr. to be precise. It'll get easier as he makes his case for 1st Team All-American FCS.

Great episode. Tim is so forthright. I’m glad Brock asked about the quarterback coaching. The times I’ve visited the qb room its been Sheldon doing the heavy lifting. And this goes for the drills as well.

Trivia question. How many fathers and son pairs have we’ve had on the team?

Hassons
Eason
Bryce Rogers and Father...

Going back in history

Paul & Nathaniel Hackett
Joe Fiack and sons Paul and Jim (my roommate at one point)

]
Taylor Sloat and Todd Sloat.
Frank Scalercio and Frank Scalercio.

I really like Samuel Akem. Always has good videos and seems like a fun guy to be around.

Totally. Might be cool to see him on the APP someday

I would love to watch that! I think they would all bounce off each other really well :-)

He does a good job and from the limited content of his that I've consumed, he's been pretty spot on and loves what he does.

I agree with his projection. Top 4 seed, anywhere between 11-1 and 9-3 seems about right.

Samuel Akem had Brock on his podcast before the Montana State game.last year.