I noticed that too, OBUA. I've never seen a high school freshman offer in any Aggie sport. It seems like that's a sign of the times; coaches need to create relationships with the athletes and their families early and often. Montana offered him 3 weeks before we did. He must be one heck of a prospect.

I'm not sure this is cast in stone yet but it certainly seems likely and great for Coach Gould if that's what he wants at this point in his career. Best of luck Coach!

I think you're correct on all of this, DrMike.

I'm not sure what's "melodramatic" about posting a quote by Bob Dunning from an Enterprise article. I think Dunning is expressing what many Aggie football fans feel in that, at this level of FCS football and playing in the Big Sky Conference, we are not going to be successful without the necessary support systems and structure in place that the coaches and the players need to have a good chance to be successful.

What we have been doing since our move to D1 has not worked to achieve the level of success we all want. By comparison to the elite teams in the Big Sky, I believe Biggs and Gould were significantly handicapped and did not have the resources they needed to hit the ground running and it has led to a failure to be the competitive program UCD deserves. As a result, interest in Aggie football has declined and fans have become disillusioned in the direction of the program in general.

Blue understands this as he has so intelligently state in his article "The Way Forward for Aggie Football." He has done his homework and I'm optimistic that he and the advisors he has enlisted to help him achieve the vision he has articulated, will get this program on the fast track to success.

I follow Coach Les' recruiting as closely as I can on various internet sites and he has offered several players 6'10 and taller this year. I believe one player had a 3 or 4 star rating but all of them signed elsewhere.

Our style of play may have had something to do with that but I do not think Les does not value getting more length on the team. He brought in Neil Monson (6'10) and Nolan Berry (6'10), so I expect he will be looking to land some more bigs soon. Unfortunately, Berry was injury plagued and it didn't work out as expected. Until then we have several players that play bigger than their height: Moneke, White and Adenrele all play big because of their leaping ability and overall athleticism.

Interesting Enterprise article: UCD football? Ask the guy who’s been around the longest

Excerpt: (Bob Dunning comment) “Now that the dirty deed has been done, UC Davis needs to do a critical assessment of the football program and what is expected of the next head coach. Are we giving the coach and athletes every chance to succeed at this level? If not, and if the will to provide such support is not present, then drop the sport and concentrate on the other 22 varsity sports.”

http://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/ucd-football-ask-the-guy-whos-been-around-the-longest/

Wow...what a great list of people advising Kevin Blue on the football coach search! I am 100% confident that Blue and this esteemed group will get the right coach for the Aggies. I think we are very, very lucky to have Kevin Blue as our AD. (Y)

Here's another nice gallery of photos posted by the Golden One Center:

http://www.golden1center.com/galleries/detail/ncaa_doubleheader_uc_davis_vs_sac_state_cal_vs_sdsu

I seriously doubt it but, even if it was, it's their right to do so. Just saying..not agreeing or not and certainly don't want to start any political back and forth.

Unfortunately, our out-of-conference home schedule stinks so I doubt that we will see a really good crowd before league starts. We just might start rocking the Pavilion again if we continue to win games and start conference play with an impressive record. I hope it happens! (Y)

I think Gould will always have a place in his heart for Cal but I also believe that he was deeply devoted to his players here and they seemed to care very much about him as well. I wish he would have been more successful on the field because I do believe he grew to share the values that define Aggie Athletics.

I think Les is doing a pretty good job recruiting mid-major athletes within the Aggie Way guidelines. Talented big men are so very hard to come by in the first place and, when you add in our academic filter, the pool of eligible big men shrinks dramatically and the competition gets very fierce.

What Les has done is build some depth at the guard and forward positions. I'd even put JT, Chima, and Goode in more of a power forward category. Newcomer Mikey Henn is a true power forward and next year Logan Strom, 6'8 and 240, will be here. Les emphasizes defense first and overall team speed with his smaller, guard oriented lineups. Unless Les can get an agile big man, 6'10 or taller who can run the floor, I think we will continue to see him opt for athletic, shooting and power forwards.

I thought UC Davis Athletics did a really nice job creating this photo display from last nights game:
https://spark.adobe.com/page/LFER5itlS4yzK/

And Wayne Tilcock of the Enterprise always does a great job of capturing Aggie athletes in action:
http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/view.gal?id=199533

Bob Dunning (Nov. 22): UC Davis AD Has a Weighty Decision to Make

http://www.davisenterprise.com/update/bob-dunning-uc-davis-ad-has-a-weighty-decision-to-make/

Sounds like the Ags had to come back from as much as 11 down to win this one. 3-0! Keep it going ladies!

Just got home from the games. What a fabulous arena the Golden One Center is! I can't imagine that there is a better basketball venue in the nation. I'm really happy for the team to win the first college game ever played in the GOC and it was really special to see Darius hit the first basket from 3 in his hometown. Official attendance for the Aggie game was 10,112. Not bad.

I thought the Ags played a solid game all around tonight. The thing that impresses the most about this team is their maturity, poise and discipline. Our defense was very good and the we executed the offense with good decisions and smart play.

The Aggies faced a challenge with the Hornets' size made even tougher with Garrison Goode out with a boot on his right foot. But we have some athleticism inside with Moneke, White, and Adenrele and they battled tough in the paint and on the boards. Moneke can sky and he has a nose for the ball. Mikey Henn is a blue collar type player who is not afraid to mix it up with bigs. He can also step out hit the 3. So what we may lack in overall height and length we counter with smart play and athleticism.

Bryton Lemar was rock solid and showed his leadership and poise by hitting some big shots when we needed it. He had 23 and we need him to put up good numbers. Moneke is a very talented player and he has been consistently good on both ends of the floor. Darius drives the team and his maturity is very evident and Siler Schneider can get hot and he always plays hard.

I like how Coach Les has this team playing. We need Goode to heal up fast. We need his length and defense.

Great win for the Ags and a real treat for the team and the fans to have the game in the GOC.

Next up: The Great Alaska Shootout.

Go Ags!

That's great, 6th. You youngins' are taking us taking us "older" Aggie fans into the digital age. So for us, keep it simple!

Go to this link from the article and vote for Luuga as the Hero Sports FCS Football Hero of the Week: http://herosports.com/news/fcs-football-hero-of-the-week-12

Great job all around by the men's water polo program!

I worry that Gould may take some very good Aggie talent with him wherever he ends up. He was certainly a good recruiter and some of his current recruits might opt out as well. So this year's recruiting process might be in a state of flux for a while. I think it's crucial that we get a top quality coach in here as reasonably quick as possible so he has a bit of a chance to get his coaching staff assembled with at least some time to hit the recruiting trail.

As for the future of Aggie football, I'm optimistic. I feel like we've got some solid D1 athletes returning, fingers crossed, that give us a good foundation to move forward. Four Big Sky teams made it to the playoffs and two of them had 4 loses. We can do the same or better. I'm getting excited again for Aggie football!