Larison and Buchanan sign with NFL teams, Hastings and Hutton head to the Great North
Freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick lights up UC Davis Spring Game
Between an entertaining "Spring Game" extravaganza last Saturday afternoon and the professional football offers to half a dozen Aggies, UC Davis head football coach Tim Plough is happy and optimistic as he looks three months ahead to the opening of fall camp for the 2025 football season.
"To have the community come out and support us as they did was really special," said Plough as he begins his second season leading his alma mater.
"It felt like family out there, which is what we want. It was a really cool day from start to finish."
Plough was not talking about the weather, which was cloudy and unseasonably cool with a few sprinkles mixed in, but that did nothing to dull the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Freshman quarterback Caden Pinnick had several "wow" moments as Plough continues to evaluate who will replace longtime starter Miles Hastings, one of the most prolific quarterbacks ever to wear the Blue and Gold.
"I think he's a really, really special player," said Plough of Pinnick, who played at Del Oro in nearby Loomis.
"I think he has a chance to be a really unique leader and that's what you need in that position."
Pinnick left Saturday's action early with what appears to be a high ankle sprain and sat on a table under the trainer's tent for the rest of the session.
"That was a scary moment, obviously, and we're keeping our fingers crossed, but initial reports are he'll maybe be out a couple of weeks and then be fine," Plough said.
Added Plough of his budding freshman phenom, "I don't know if we've had a guy come in here and make the kind of impact he has so quickly. He's had some really bright moments this spring and makes everyone around him better."
Asked when he might name a starting quarterback for fall, Plough said it would ideally be sooner rather than later.
"Caden and Grant (Harper) are both great players, and I want to do it the right way, but if there's clear separation, we want to make that decision and let the team know who it's going to be."
From the looks of things, though, it appears as if Pinnick is the frontrunner for the starting job heading into summer.
As for the NFL draft, Plough said it was "an emotional day for the staff," with former Aggie linebacker Teddye Buchanan taken in the fourth round by the Baltimore Ravens and standout running back Lan Larison signing an undrafted free agent contract with the New England Patriots.
Buchanan played for the Aggies and graduated after the 2023 season, but with a year of eligibility remaining he entered the transfer portal and had a standout 2024 campaign at Cal, even facing his former teammates in the season opener in Berkeley.
Larison smashed nearly every UC Davis rushing record before going out of the final 2024 game against South Dakota with an ankle injury that required surgical repair.
"I know some people were maybe disappointed that Lan didn't get drafted, but if you're going to go in the fifth, sixth or seventh round, it's almost better to sign as a free agent because you get to pick the spot that really fits best for you," Plough explained.
"I don't think he could have picked a better team, and that deal was really done before the draft was over."
As for Buchanan, Plough said "I have tremendous respect for coach John Harbaugh and I think Teddye fits their scheme really well." (See video of Buchanan learning the good news.)