As much help as the Connors Bros. will bring, the schematic tweaks are probably more important. I noticed, especially late in the season/playoffs, that teams were able to manipulate the box and displace one of the two inside backers, forcing a safety into the box fit which is less than ideal. Especially vs. playoff caliber competition.

Agreed on Bell and Faulkner, both capable.

Forty times are definitely overrated. Biletnikoff is an interesting comp; very similar to Kupp I would say on the field from what I remember. Hell of a route runner, physical, caught everything. Kupp is probably faster than Fred was though, but that's just a guess. And it really doesn't matter. How fast can you play and does the QB trust you?

Back in the 80s before some of you were born, we had WR Tay Thompson, who could play for us now. Not the fastest guy but he could sure run the pattern any play called for and had great hands as well. Got hurt in the playoffs broke his collarbone and I think if we had him we could won it all. I believe he is now a physician and still practicing in California.

Dr. Taylor Thompson is with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard
https://researchers.mgh.harvard.edu/profile/2185246/Taylor-Thompson
It was the 70s. class of 74, UCD Medical School class of 77.. Back then the medical school was in some temporary buildings on campus. So he overlapped with Biggs and Speck at QB. He would have played in the Broadway Bowl against UMASS, And in the classic game against Boise.and probably the Miracle Game against Hayward.

Definitely against Hayward. Lined up opposite Mike Everly.

I think Thompson may have been the intended 1st look, but Sundown Brown got quick pressure up the middle. I think it was George Mock who barely made a sack-saving block, but Biggs had to move to the right, away from Thompson.

There was a colorful player from that era, DE Tom Williams who later played for the San Diego Chargers. Does he ever attend alumni events?

Don't know. Colorful is an understatement!! I believe it was Tom's senior year that he lived in the gym part of the year. Slept on the training room tables, used the showers and the laundry.

Free spirit? I was surprised to see he was a high draft pick but his career ended after two years.

Neil Zoumboukas, a former roommate, was coaching at USF at that time. He later coached at Oregon under Mike Belotti. Neil said that Williams was the #2 rated D-lineman on the West Coast, behind Al Cowlings of UCLA.

Tony Kays a modern example as well.

I looked at some bio info on Tom Williams, "retired" after two seasons ('70 & '71). No idea why, and he appeared in 27 games over the two seasons according to what I saw, "anchoring the Defensive Line".

Plenty of guys have lived in training rooms and locker rooms, especially during the summer. You have everything you need right there and most coaches or staff tend to turn a blind eye. Players also camp out in cars sometimes in extreme cases. I have heard Plough speak continually about the need for funding summer living expenses, as well as program nutrition. The struggle is real for these kids who are expected to stick around all year, but only get covered for 10/12 months. Funding summer living would be a huge step in the right direction for the program.

Theres an apartment complex in Davis thats going to provide free summer housing for players if they rent for the rest of the year.

Good start

Could local families offer rooms free, legally, for two months?

I don't see how anything isn't legal these days :rofl: Knowing the NCAA, probably illegal though and counts as "impermissible extra benefits". I don't think there is any way of tracking it though. Food is probably as big an issue. I know when I played back in the 80s in juco, we had little cards we could use at 7-10 restaurants in town every week. You just showed the card, signed on a clipboard, and that was your meal for the week at that joint. We were threatened by our coaches to order reasonably!

NCAA needs to pay for their growing legal staff somehow!

FWIW. According to instagram, PJ Johnson DB/WR of Granite Hills HS committed to UCD couple days ago

Dang, that kid is big and can run! Big time high school program in San Diego, way to go Ags!

For sure. Kind of a late commitment. wonder what the story is there

In his "committed" post he talks about 2nd chances and Granite Hills "taking him in." He started out at Cathedral Catholic in San Diego, so maybe made some poor choices while there?

4.43 40 | 10.9 100

https://x.com/parker6johnson/status/2054218480212492298?s=20

Everybody is a 4.4 until they run it for real... 10.9 does not equate to 4.43. He plays fast, which is what really matters

Ravens safety Ed Reed ran a 4.57 40 yd dash --- was one of the fastest on field players ever due to his recognition ability.

Sam Herder has us as the #4 team in the nation in his pre-season top 15:

After back-to-back quarterfinal appearances, is UC Davis ready to make it a round further? The Aggies retained great talent, especially at the skilled position. Standout receivers Samuel Gbatu Jr. and Stacy Dobbins are back, as is productive tight end Winston Williams and 1,000-yard running back Jordan Fisher. Davis will need a new starting quarterback to step up, and the Aggies have shown they can reload at that spot. The defense has to improve to win games deeper in the bracket, though. All-Big Sky defenders Rex and Porter Connors headline that unit as the twin brothers earned an extra year of eligibility.

Link to article

I just can't drink the Montana Kool-Aid. They strike me as soft on defense and they have a lot of holes to fill on that side of the ball. They also don't strike me as a formidable road team.

Going back to a few weeks ago, my Top 5, with one change, is:

1. Montana State: The champs are the champs until someone takes it from them.
2. South Dakota State: Lots of returning talent. Pedigree of winning. Road to Nashville runs through Bozeman and Brookings.
3. Ags: Early Montana game tells the story as to whether or not they deserve the hype. Doesn't make or break the season for either team, but it might be the difference between a national 2 seed and home field throughout, or having to go to Bozeman or Brookings eventually. Win the games you're supposed to win, which are 11 out of 12 of them
4. Rhode Island: I like this team...
5. Illinois State
5. To me, this is between Montana and Tarleton State. ISU just loses too much to garner the Top 5 ranking I gave them in my original Top 5. Tarleton looses too much talent, so I will go with the hated Griz here to round out my Top 5.

Herder has Idaho State as a Top 20 team? Sure, they're in the alphabetical 16-20 group, but I don't see that either. I still can't believe UC Davis lost to that team. Yes I can... you lose something like 90% of the time when you have a punt blocked. Terrible loss. Still pissed. That Saturday in Davis was the one time in the "if we played them 10 times, we win 9 of them" scenario/excuse.

Our game vs EWU will be on ESPN!

that's awesome