Dual quarterbacks highlight explosive UC Davis football program
DAVIS, Calif. — Despite suffering their first conference loss, don’t sleep on the University of California Davis (UC Davis) football program.
The UC Davis Aggies are off to one of the program’s best starts since joining the NCAA FCS Big Sky Conference in 2012.
Why? The program’s quarterback duo. Traditional junior quarterback Hunter Rodrigues has put up two 300-plus yard games to open the season with wins against Tulsa and San Diego State University. Rodrigues has also been a threat on the ground with 49 rushing yards and a touchdown in the recent loss to Idaho State.
Rodrigues is a local to Northern California and UC Davis. Despite several injuries during his high school career at Whitney High School in nearby Rocklin, California, Rodrigues had a strong senior season and played quarterback at American River College, a community college near Sacramento, California, before transferring to UC Davis.
His high school career can best be summarized by the following stat line: throwing back-to-back seven touchdown games as a senior at Whitney.
Rodrigues isn’t the only one with college football credentials. His older brother, Jake Rodrigues, was a quarterback at the University of Oregon and San Diego State University.
The Aggies have another weapon in addition to Rodrigues. UC Davis head coach Dan Hawkins can also call upon Trent Tompkins to step in at quarterback. Tompkins is affectionately called “Magic” by the coaching staff because they say he can do a little bit of everything and essentially runs the Aggies’ version of wildcat offense.
Tompkins’ impact was felt at the expense of Idaho University during their away game on Oct. 2. He executed an Aggie trick play, lateraling to wide receiver Carson Crawford, which led to a 30-yard touchdown pass to McCallan Castles.
Tompkins’ versatility is also evident in his stat sheet. The Central High School star out of Fresno, California, recorded 45 yards passing and a touchdown, as well as 85 yards rushing in the Idaho win.
Together, the duo has helped the Aggies hit some impressive offense numbers in the new season, with an average of 194.3 yards rushing and 234.8 yards passing per game and 21 total touchdowns. The Aggies are also efficient when they visit the red zone, scoring 23-27 times so far this season.
The Aggies are in a good position to bounce back after suffering this first loss. They face the University of Northern Colorado on October 16. UC Davis has beaten the UNC Bears in their last two matchups in 2018 and 2016. The UC Davis Aggies lead the all-time series 6-2, with their last loss coming against UNC in 2015.
UC Davis still has two big rivalry games at stake as well. One will be in October against California Polytechnical State University, or Cal Poly, called “The Battle of the Golden Horseshoe.” The Aggies will end their season in November against cross town rival Sacramento State University with the “Causeway Classic,” appropriately named for the long causeway that connects Sacramento to Davis.
Wherever the season takes the UC Davis football program, you can bet that quarterback duo Rodrigues and Tompkins will be front and center for the Aggies offense.
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