Editor's note: Starting with this feature, former Davis Enterprise sports editor Bruce Gallaudet will provide in-depth content spotlighting the programs, teams and people that represent UC Davis, the City of Davis and the region. On a daily basis, UC Davis proves that young adults can receive a world-class education, compete at the highest level of intercollegiate athletics and live a college experience like no other. Follow the weekly stories Gallaudet will share each Tuesday throughout the upcoming quarter as part of his new column, "Inside Aggie Nation with Bruce Gallaudet."


After a 2017 football season in which UC Davis All-American Keelan Doss led the nation in three key receiving categories and blew up the school record book, most outside observers figured the NFL-draft-eligible wideout Doss would take the money and run -- and run and run and run ...

But most of those observers don't get what being part of the Aggie athletic family means. You have to live Aggie Pride to understand why Doss is returning to UC Davis for his senior campaign.

"We have a lot left to accomplish as a program," Doss told me. "I want to help take that next step this year. I feel like this is ... our break-through year. I haven't had a winning season since I've been at UC Davis, so that would mean a lot to me to go out and overcome that.

"I feel like this will be the year that everything comes together, so I wanted to come back and help the team be where it needs to be."

Last fall, the Aggies went 5-6, finishing eighth in the talent-laden Big Sky Conference. But had just two plays gone differently for UC Davis, it would have meant a 7-4 record and postseason consideration.

Doss knows the Aggies are just that close ...

"We are brothers," the Alameda High graduate says of his teammates. "That unfinished business is a huge part of why I'm back, too."

A Walter Payton Award finalist, Doss led the nation in receiving yards (1,499), receiving yards per game (136.3) and receptions an outing (10.5). No other players -- FCS or FBS -- did better.

His 115 catches were a new UC Davis standard, as were receiving yards and nine 100-yards-or-better games. Doss even got an ESPN Top 10 Plays nod thanks to his one-handed, diving catch against Eastern Washington.

Doss has already been given 2018 preseason All-American status by several football services, a list that also includes STATS LLC's honor when the organization announced its list of award winners on July 31, and is the Big Sky media choice to repeat as the conference's Offensive Player of the Year.

At 6-2, 208 pounds, the cat-quick, bull-strong Doss was ticketed by some to be as high as a third-round NFL pick last year -- the kind of professional consideration that frequently comes with a seven-digit payday.

But for Doss, his Aggie Pride kicked in, and he decided to stay at UC Davis and play out his final year.

In addition to the team aspects, Doss says he wants to hone "areas of my game. Things that will help me transition to wherever I get an opportunity to play in the NFL. Who knows? Maybe (this season) will help my draft stock."

A lifelong Oakland Raiders fan, Doss laughs and admits that that affiliation could change after the 2019 pro draft.

The sociology education studies major adds that "(schooling) is a big part of it for me. I really wanted to get my degree before I left here. Accomplishing that will be a major deal."

Doss is expected to graduate in December, and he understands that there's more to life than just football.

He hopes his course of study will aid not only in personal relationships and the wild media demands that assuredly come with an NFL career, but he sees his major as being a foundation for a career in "maybe real estate" if the gridiron doesn't work out.

"Keelan is the best receiver I've ever coached," head coach Dan Hawkins has told me on more than one occasion. And remember, Coach has had some high-octane offenses in stops at Willamette University, Boise State and Colorado.

"Sometimes we overcomplicate this game; if you have a really good player, you need to get that guy the ball," Hawkins went on. "It's funny at receiver. If he's your best player you think, 'Oh, let's throw it to him eight or nine times a game.' Whereas, with a running back, you'd certainly give it to him more than eight or nine times.

"Our stated goal going into games this year is to throw it to him 20 times a game," The Hawk says with a smile.

During the off-season, Doss looked far and wide for advice on whether to enter the draft.

"Mom and Dad, close friends, coaches, it was a mix of people I could trust," the personable receiver said of his inner circle. 

Keelan, the son of Keith Doss and Tammie Chambliss, said his mom, Aggie offensive coordinator Tim Plough, quarterback Jake Maier and Hawkins were especially helpful in bringing the next-level hopeful to his decision to carry on at UC Davis.

"Keelan has a lot of goals, and they're not necessarily all about him," Maier said during the recent Big Sky Football Kickoff in Spokane, Wash. Maier himself was the FCS' sixth most prolific quarterback last season, at 3,669 yards. 

"I know one of the reasons he came back is he wanted to be part of a winning program: Whether that's a conference or national championship, he wanted to have a shot to compete for that (on behalf of the team). That's what a down-to-earth kind of guy he is."

"With the season he had, in my opinion, most guys might get a little bit selfish and try something new ... either move up a (college) level or go to the NFL," Maier said. 

"But a guy like Keelan, the relationship he has with all the guys here is really special. It's really a rare thing for such a great player to have such tight bonds with all his teammates.

"To be honest, when he said he was going to come back, we were so fortunate, but I don't think anybody was surprised because of how close we all are. Like I said, it's all so special."

And Doss knows where his bread is buttered ...

He talked a little about his chemistry with QB and close friend Maier:

"The thing about Jake, he'll throw the ball with three defenders there but he'll make the ball perfect so you can catch it. The offense is designed for him to spread the ball, get it out quick ... and as you've seen, he does a great job of that.

"He's a baller. A real leader. A student of the game. A great teammate. I could go on and on about Jake. The dude is a huge reason why this program is turning out to be where it needs to be. I can't thank him enough, honestly."

The fun begins anew on Thursday, Aug. 30, when UC Davis opens the season at San Jose State. Kickoff is 7 p.m.

-- Bruce Gallaudet is the former Davis Enterprise sports editor who has been around Aggie athletics since the 1970s. He also writes "Aggie Corner" each Friday in The Enterprise (www.davisenterprise.com).