Starters memorialized.
After all the commentary about five returning OL starters, the right side of the line had a redshirt freshman playing tackle and the returning starter at tackle moving to guard. Played a lot of two tight end. The run blocking was not consistent.

On defense started a true freshman, the transfer from D3 Tufts, a redshirt freshman DT.. The defense was great except the big plays which was probably expected as it had so many new players and players in new roles.
The transfer from Dartmouth didn’t start but played quite a bit.

TE 0 SIMPSON,I
WR 7 DOBBINS,S
WR 8 GBATU, JR.,S
QB 12 PINNICK,C
RB 20 FISHER,J
TE 23 WILLIAMS,W
OL 52 COLLIER,Z
OL 64 RODRIGUEZ,J
OL 65 POROTESANO,D
OL 70 SIMONSON,E
OL 79 NAVA,E

DB 1 RIDDICK,K
DB 3 RICHARDSON,T
DB 4 CONNORS,R
LB 8 RUTCHENA,N
DB 10 STANLEY,J
DB 11 COFIELD,D
LB 31 GOLIGOSKI,S
LB 39 CONNORS,P
DL 90 CARRADE,T
DL 92 MAYO JR.,R
DL 94 PSYK,J

I think the last FCS kickoff that Mercer was in had a lightning delay
Rainy conditions forecast until 1AM local time Moderate intensity

The delay is fortuitous for Davis as they were getting whipped. Offense has no plays that they can rely on.
Defense was also either gassed or making mistakes. So a time out is a good thing.

Anyone find game notes or depth chart for Mercer?

Now guess whether he starts tomorrow’s game,

A current Aggie was the leading tackler for his team in last year’s FCS kickoff in the Cramton Bowl. Guess who.

I understand the point.

As a streaming only customer, upgrading was easy. I had disney+ hulu, and I just changed my subscription to a new bundle of ESPN unlimited in the Disney+ app. Cost me 35.99 a month, they prorated the service until my billing date. The ESPN app looks different after upgrade. I had to watch a little Montana women’s soccer to be sure I hadn’t lost ESPN+.

The author loves Ty Richardson, mentions him every time he talks about Davis.
Davis had lots of guys on defense that are interesting, but only Richardson and Connors made his list.
Rutchena, Psyk, and Porter Connors honorable mention.

I’m sure you are right but the defense has 3 lineman, 3 linebackers and 5 defensive backs.
I take your word for that not being a 3-3-5.

The depth chart is laid out for 3-3-5, their base defense.

Regarding “It is a little odd that Psyk isn't on top”
I belatedly figured out how the depth chart order works.
When they say OR, they list the players they are ORing alphabetically.
So the positions like defensive tackle and end everyone is tied for first, but listed alphabetically.
When players are not separated by an OR the order means ranking. This may seem obvious but i didn’t parse it.

we will only know who is at the top of the list when they play a game and we see who starts.
They list so many of the freshmen, even guys who were lightly recruited, i wouldn’t attach much meaning to it.
However, Cravin and Cofield were top prospects, they may play and one of them might not redshirt, thats my guess.

You can find the depth chart in this document last page.

https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/sidearm.nextgen.sites/ucdavisaggies.com/documents/2025/8/20/25FBGameNotesMERCER.pdf

They have posted the game niotes in the schedule and there is a depth chart. Lots of ORs
The players aren’t listed in alphabetical order. Make of it what you will.

DE 96 Jaden Few (Fr., 6-5, 250) -or-
94 Jacob Psyk (Gr., 6-3, 265)
-or-
56 Julius Ray (Jr., 6-2, 250)
Does that mean Jaden Few is the #1 guy? No way.

Interesting they list so many freshmen. I doubt most of them play but they must look good

They moved Nava to Main’s spot at right guard, put Porotesano at right tackle.
If you listened to Ploughs press conference he said this year was the first that players gained weight. The roster weight are updated. Zaire Collier is 320lbs, Jace Rodriguez the left guard is 305, Porotesano is 300 Eli Simonson at 295 is the lightest lineman likely to start.

Here is the video offensive position preview.

They posted the text version of the offensive position review.
Not much to say about it, although they claim David Porotesano is a returning starter which i don’t think is right.
We seem to have lost OL Souriolle, Strange trajectory for his career. He played in his first game as a true freshman against A&M Commerce, which is a rare thing for an offensive linemen. I’m pretty sure he was on the summer roster.

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2025/8/19/2025-football-positional-preview-offense.aspx

i listened to the posted press conference video twice, Plough said “PJ” was injured, one time he said a broken collarbone. He also mentioned Carrillo and Main haven’t recovered completely and won’t play until later in season.
The mystery is who he meant by PJ.
Main being out ends the all five starters on the o-line are back analysis.
David Porotesano is featured in this promotional image is a likely starter.

Rodrigues was a little on the thin side to be running, 6’0 170lbs.

Who is PJ? He is injured, broken collarbone. Main and Carillo not recovered from surgery.

I checked the Media Center to see if they have put up Game Notes, but they aren’t posted.
They misspelled the word denotes as donates