By MIKE ROBLES
UC Davis Sports Information
UC Davis embarks on its 97th season of football on Friday morning when the Aggies begin a nearly month-long stretch of practices under third-year head coach Ron Gould in preparation for the 2015 season opener on Sept. 3 at Nevada.
“We’re very, very excited and enthusiastic about the work the players have put in,” said Gould. “It’s been a long time coming. We feel like the guys did a very good job from winter conditioning all the way through spring practices.”
UC Davis will open the season with a rare Thursday night game when it travels to face the Wolf Pack on Sept. 3. It’ll mark the first of two games over the first three weeks against Mountain West opponents, joining the Sept. 19 matchup at Hawaii. South Dakota, which returns to the Aggies’ schedule for the first time since 2013, will open a five-game home schedule at Aggie Stadium on Sept. 12.
Gould makes a note of not looking ahead in the schedule and rarely talks about opponents beyond the next one. He knows it’s a long way until the opener but said keeping the players focused through the grind of fall camp will not be difficult.
“There’s no motivation that needs to be made,” he said. “We have a lot of work that we need to do. In order to reach the goals that the players have set, we need to be ready to practice. The guys have been chomping at the bit to get practice started and I’ve had to reel them in and tell them to relax the last few days. Everybody’s really anxious and excited and nervous and everything that goes along with that.
“That also goes for with the coaching staff,” he added. “We’re so eager to get started, to spend time day in and day out finding out who we’re going to be. The biggest thing is we need to grow as a family. We’re looking forward to building that.”
UC Davis returns 66 letterwinners, including 21 starters from last year’s team that finished 2-9 overall and 1-7 in the Big Sky. A bulk of the returners are on the defensive side of the ball where eight of the top nine tacklers are back. Safety Keleen Culberson (73 tackles), linebacker Artice Nelson (60 tackles) and safety Zach Jones (59 tackles) lead the way while defensive end Zak Pettit (41 tackles, 6.5 TFLs) is also back.
The offensive side of the ball welcomes back five starters including three off an experienced line. Senior Parker Smith (6-4, 290) and junior Christian Schneider (6-6, 268) will anchor the left and right tackle spots, respectively, while senior Andrew Hunter (6-2, 295) returns to left guard. They’ll be protecting a passing game that last year featured the potent combination of quarterback Ben Scott (1,734 yds, 19 TDs) and wide receiver Ramon Vargas (41 rec., 665 yards, 8 TDs).
UC Davis lost the services of running back Gabe Manzanares who rushed for more than 2,000 yards in his two seasons before graduating. The Aggies will look to a capable stable of backs, however, to pick up the load with junior Manusamoa Luuga (137 yds, 2 TDs) and sophomore Justin Williams (110 yds, 1 TD).
Placekicker Brady Stuart has 37 career field goals while punter Colby Wadman (42.3 avg., 18 inside 20) was one of four returning All-Big Sky honorable mentions along with Smith, Scott and Vargas.
An annual highlight for the Aggies is their visit to Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Sacramento. It’s an opportunity for the players to interact with the young patients and bring smiles to their faces. This year’s visit will be during the evening of Aug. 19.
Practices are closed to the public with the exception of those announced as being available to fans. The first practice open to Aggie fans is Saturday from 10:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. UC Davis will be in helmets the first two days, add shoulder pads on Sunday and Monday and then wear full pads beginning Tuesday.
