DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis head football coach Dan Hawkins often speaks of the "thousand invisible moments" that take place each day during a football season. Perhaps invoking John Muir's "thousand invisible cords" philosophy of an interconnected universe, Hawkins' concept is similar to Muir's: no one coach, player or team can succeed without a multitude of factors, often unseen by the casual observer, contributing to the overall cause.
Any college football staff has an army of non-coaching positions who play key roles, although most of them have self-explanatory titles: a director of operations, like Joshua Nash; strength and conditioning coaches, like Jeff Bourque and Jake Myers; or a director of video services, such as the award-winning Tim Ornelas.
However, one common title may be less obvious in terms of its duties and responsibilities: quality control. At UC Davis, Deontrae Cooper serves as offensive quality control for his second season, while Evan Hicks wraps his second year as the defensive counterpart. Sam Eisenstadt joined the Aggie staff in 2019 as another defensive quality control. Meanwhile, Paul Shelton served as quality control in 2018, but has since been retitled as a volunteer assistant – a distinction that allows him to actually participate in the on-field instruction.
But what is quality control? As Eisenstadt puts it, "Making the position coaches' lives much easier is really our job."
More specifically, Hicks, Cooper, Eisenstadt and Shelton are reconnaissance specialists. Sometimes listed on rosters as analysts, the quality control staff serves the crucial role of preparing the position coaches, coordinators and head coach with the intel needed to prepare for upcoming opponents. With a huge assist from Ornelas, they take a deep dive into video of opponent's previous games, pair it with the game statistics, then provide the coaching staff with the materials needed to prepare that week of practice. They look for tendencies based on situations or formations, and find efficiencies (and inefficiencies) based on this data.
Volunteer assistant Paul Shelton served as quality control in 2018, but now can participate in on-field instruction.
"If you're getting into coaching, it's the one position you should have to do," said Hicks, who previously served on the staffs at Atascadero High and Moorpark College before arriving at UC Davis in 2018. "Your job is film breakdown, scouting reports, seeing what it all looks like – all of those things are what you need. My growth in two years, in terms of my confidence and my knowledge, has been exponential to this point. Credit the people I'm around, who allow me do what I get to do."
Eisenstadt, who played for and served as a student assistant coach at Elon, has the added bonus of having Hicks' as a mentor in learning "the ins and outs of football," as he calls it. As a player, Eisenstadt was focused with his one role on the field. As a quality control staffer, he is learning to see the whole field, the big picture.
"I tell people that I actually see the game differently now," said Eisenstadt. "There are so many little things that you'd never think about that play a role in every single down. Now, after having been immersed in this and learning a new level of football – and I still have so much more to learn – I'm noticing all of these things when I watch a game."
"Monday is my busiest day because I have to get all of the drawings ready for the guys on offense. I have to get them the new plays. Then I have to get the scout defense the looks that we'll see against Montana State," said Cooper. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are then particularly grueling, as the scout teams sharpen their abilities to prepare their Aggie teammates. By the end of Wednesday, while the coaches are still locked in on that weekend's opponent, the quality control staff has already moved on to the task of the following week's opponent.
Thus, while the cliche of "taking it one game at a time" is often heard from the mouths of coaches, the quality control staff performs its craft four games at a time. For example, they began analyzing this weekend's opponent, Montana State, during the week leading into the October 19 game at Southern Utah. At that point, they would have been in their second week of breaking down Portland State, and their third at looking at Weber State.
One drawback of quality control, however, is that the NCAA defines it – and enforces it – as a non-coaching position. As a result, the QC staffers are relatively limited in their participation at practice and games. ("I can't even throw a ball at somebody," says Cooper.) That's a tough ask for someone who wants to become a coach. A passion for teaching is what drew Eisenstadt to the profession in the first place, although he does get to keep those skills sharpened by holding Vinyasa yoga sessions on Sundays.
Cooper hopes to be a receivers coach, a post he held at West Texas A&M prior to his arrival at UC Davis. Hicks' ideal step would be to coach defensive backs, although his expertise with the Aggie defense has him prepared to mentor linebackers if the opportunity arose. Both long to have their own room full of athletes, eager to learn.
For that matter, being able to take a more hands-on role has been a welcome change for Shelton, who went from quality control in 2018 to being a volunteer assistant (along with Paul Wulff) in 2019. "Our guys are unbelievable, so any time you get a chance to really coach team and teach them, it's an honor and a privilege," said Shelton, a former strength coach and high school teacher/coach who moved his family from Tennessee to begin his college football coaching career.
Most importantly, working in quality control allows Hicks, Cooper, Eisenstadt and Shelton to draw from the wealth of knowledge owned by the Aggie coaches, a benefit not lost on any one of them. After all, Coach Hawkins has mentored every level of football in more than a dozen different countries. Associate head coach Tim Plough was an "35 Under 35" honoree by the AFCA last year as one of the country's top young coaches. Assistant head coach Mark Speckman has 37 years of experience as a football coach, and is honored by multiple halls of fame. Defensive coordinator Robert Tucker has coached in six Division I Bowl games, two NAIA championships and two IFAF world championships.
"Soaking up knowledge from Coach Plough and just the philosophy from Coach Hawk, or the different coaching styles from all of the other coaches – that's the biggest takeaway I get from being here," said Cooper.
"Last year, being quality control, it was really fun to just dive into the numbers and really scout," said Shelton. "It was the first time in my life that I had ever done that. It was a new adventure, a new role, and something to learn from. It was a great year to really learn from Coach Creighton, pick his brain, and see how he breaks things down. I learned a whole lot of football as a quality control, and I continue to do so this year."
Hicks caught the coaching bug perhaps earlier than anyone. While still a student at Atascadero High, his father, Reggie, took a job coaching a seventh-grade girls basketball team. Reggie asked his son to help, and the seed was planted. Nine years later, Evan Hicks shares an office with outside linebackers coach Jerry Brady, and finds himself drawing from Isaiah Jackson (inside linebackers), Robert Tucker (defensive coordinator), Brandon Huppert (defensive line) and Cha'pelle Brown (defensive backs).
Ultimately, Hicks goes back to his original assertion: working quality control is a must for any aspiring coach: "You don't get to run the meetings or be out here on the field. But if you're getting into coaching, you need to learn what that looks like. You learn what you would or wouldn't do, what your philosophy would be and what your culture would look like. All of that comes from doing this."
UC Davis hosts its regular-season home finale against Montana State this Saturday. Kickoff is 4 p.m.
ABOUT UC DAVIS: Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO: Established in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
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