The offense shined during the spring scrimmage as the Aggies closed out their spring football practice. Incoming senior London Lacy led all quarterbacks with 280 passing yards and two touchdown receptions. Lacy is battling with sophomore Ben Scott and senior Turner Baty for the starting position next year.
“Overall, I thought the offense did really well. We came out and started pretty fast and executed,” Lacy said. “I give thanks to my o-line and my receivers and running backs for just being there and executing for me. The defense gave us a lot of good looks but overall I thought it was a good day.”
Lacy and the offense found rhythm early on, scoring a total of five touchdowns. The offense’s first play was an 11-yard pass to senior wideout T.J. King. King stood out in his performance and led all receivers with 83 yards and one touchdown in five receptions.
The running game also triumphed over the defense, gaining 172 yards and scoring three touchdowns. Senior fullback Dalton Turay and sophomore Manusamoa Luuga ran for 85 and 65 yards respectively, with Luuga scoring one of the three rushing touchdowns.
Head coach Ron Gould was content with the overall performance, but expressed slight disappointment in the defense.
“Our defense has played extremely well the first 14 [practices],” Gould said. “Today, we didn’t play as well as we had been but, all in all, I’m very, very pleased with both sides of the ball. The offense moved the ball well which was great to see.”
Although this is just spring practice the players and coaching staff are pleased with the way that their regular season preparation is shaping up so far. Coming off a 5-7 record in his first year as head coach, Gould holds the team to high standards. Since his introduction as the head coach, Gould has implemented a new system; the foundation of this new system is trust. For Gould, trust is everything.
After the 2013 transition season, the players have adjusted from former head coach Bob Biggs to coach Gould and his new coaching staff. Now that the players are familiar with the playbook Gould, and the players themselves expect big things this season.
“The guys are doing a great job embracing the changes, and the expectations in everything that they’re doing,” Gould said. “One of the things that we talk about is that it is about family, not about individuals, not about me as the head football coach, but it is about these young men and each and every one of us, the coaches and players come together. And I am very, very pleased in my second year to say that things are coming along great.”
The team and the coaching staff are excited for one of the toughest schedules that UC Davis football has ever had. The whole team is on the same page, they are focused and are aiming for a common goal.
“I love it,” King said. “I’m blessed that on my senior year we get to play the toughest schedule we’ve ever had. Its’ a blessing cause Stanford’s our first game, obviously that’s what everyone has their eyes on, but every single game, our conference is the real deal.”
UC Davis opens its season on the road versus Stanford who was ranked No. 13 in the AP Post-season poll in 2013. The Aggie home opener will be on Sept. 6 against Fort Lewis in Aggie Stadium.
OSCAR DUENAS can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
