Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content
UC Davis Wordmark

UC Davis Athletics

25FBTeamRunOutSACST

Football

10 Aggies Earn Big Sky All Conference Honors

DAVIS, Calif. – After a season where No. 8 UC Davis football battled to a top three finish in the Big Sky Conference and a first round bye in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, 10 Aggies have earned All-Conference honors to wrap up the regular season.
 
Five Aggies were named to the first team, three to the second team and two earned honorable mention honors. Across both sides of the ball, six offensive Aggies earned the honor and four defensive Ags got the nod.
 

FIRST TEAM
 
Samuel Gbatu, Jr. – Sr., WR
  • Finished regular season with 949 receiving yards, making 60 catches and snagging 10 touchdowns
  • Lead the conference in touchdown receptions; Ranked second in the conference in total receiving yards; third in receptions per game and 10th in scoring (TDs); Ranked ninth in the nation in receiving yards per game and total receiving touchdowns
  • Had six games, all in conference, with at least 100 yards receiving; In conference play had seven games with at least one touchdown reception
Jacob Psyk – Gr., DL
  • Finished the season with 46 total tackles, making 12 solo adding 15.0 tackles for loss; added a team-high 9.0 sacks
  • Led the conference in sacks; tackles for loss and fumbles forced
  • Ended the season 14th in the nation in total sacks and tackles for loss; Was ranked 11th in forced fumbles and 12th in fumbles recovered nationally
Khalani Riddick – Gr., DB
  • Led the Aggies with 63 total tackles, adding 1.0 tackles for loss, one interception, seven pass break ups and two forced fumbles; Made 45 solo tackles, second-most on the team
  • Finished ninth in the Big Sky in solo tackles and 30th in the conference in total tackles
  • The seven pass break ups places Riddick 13th in the nation 
Ian Simpson - Sr., TE
  • Set career highs in receiving yards, average yards per catch, average receiving yards per game and total receptions
  • Racked up 395 receiving yards, with two receiving touchdowns, 26 receptions, 15.2 average yards per catch and 35.9 average yards per game
  • Finished 23rd in the conference in total receiving yards; Totaled the second-most receiving yards by a tight end in the conference
Eli Simonson - Gr., OL
  • Made all 11 (12) starts at left tackle
  • Part of a starting group that opened holes for the third-best rushing team in the conference and 27th in the nation
  • Blocked for a passing offense that ranked 17th in the nation and fourth in the conference
SECOND TEAM
 
Drew Cofield - Fr., DB
  • One of only two true freshmen defenders in the entire nation to start all games
  • Finished fourth in the conference and 23rd in the nation in passes defended; Tied for the fourth-most interceptions in the conference
  • Ended the year with 29 total tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions and nine passes defended 
Zaire Collier – So., OL
  • Made all 11 (12) starts at center
  • Part of a starting group that opened holes for the third-best rushing team in the conference and 27th in the nation
  • Blocked for a passing offense that ranked 17th in the nation and fourth in the conference 
Nate Rutchena – Gr., LB
  • Finished just behind the team leader in total tackles, ending the year with 62, making 42 solo stops (third-most on the team), adding two interceptions, two pass break ups, three quarter back hurries, one forced fumble and one recovered fumble
  • Sits 32nd in the conference in total tackles and 14th in solo tackles
  • Tied for the fourth-most interceptions in the conference
HONORABLE MENTION
 
Caden Pinnick – R-Fr., QB
  • Big Sky Freshman Player of the Year
  • Ended the year among the best quarterbacks in the conference, in 10 starts racked up 2,527 total passing yards; 24 passing touchdowns; a season completion percentage of 71 percent; rushed for 312 yards and scored three times on the ground and averaged 252.7 passing yards per game
  • Led the conference in passing yards per completion; passing efficiency; points responsible for per game and yards per pass attempt; While also finishing top five in the conference in completion percentage (2nd); completions per game (5th); passing touchdowns (2nd); passing yards (5th); passing yards per game (5th); points responsible for (3rd) and total offense (2nd)
  • Tied a conference record with three straight Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week awards; Twice named National Offensive Player of the Week; Ended the season ranked fifth in the nation in passing efficiency; 10th in passing yards per game; 12th in passing touchdowns and 24th in total passing yards

Jordan Fisher – Jr., RB
  • Totaled a team-high and career-high 911 rushing yards, on 156 attempts adding six rushing touchdowns at 5.8 yards per carry
  • Added 255 receiving yards on 23 catches for a total of 1,166 all-purpose yards and with his two receiving touchdowns finished the season with eight total touchdowns
  • Ranked fourth in the conference in total rushing yards and fifth in rush yards per carry; Ranked 23rd (rush yards per carry) and 26th (rushing yards per game) in the nation
PLAYOFF TICKETS: Playoff tickets are on sale now for the Dec. 6 NCAA FCS Playoff Second Round game set for a 12 p.m. kick. Fans can secure their spot in Shredville for the playoffs by hitting the link, by calling the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or by emailing the Aggie Ticket Office at aggietickets@ucdavis.edu.
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Zaire  Collier

#52 Zaire Collier

OL
6' 4"
Junior
Jordan Fisher

#20 Jordan Fisher

RB
5' 8"
Junior
Samuel Gbatu, Jr.

#8 Samuel Gbatu, Jr.

WR
5' 10"
Senior
Caden Pinnick

#12 Caden Pinnick

QB
6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
Ian  Simpson

#0 Ian Simpson

TE
6' 3"
Senior
Jacob Psyk

Jacob Psyk

DL
6' 3"
Graduate Student
Drew Cofield

#11 Drew Cofield

DB
6' 1"
Freshman
Khalani Riddick

#1 Khalani Riddick

DB
6' 0"
Graduate Student
Nate Rutchena

#8 Nate Rutchena

LB
6' 4"
Graduate Student
Eli Simonson

#70 Eli Simonson

OL
6' 6"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Zaire  Collier

#52 Zaire Collier

6' 4"
Junior
OL
Jordan Fisher

#20 Jordan Fisher

5' 8"
Junior
RB
Samuel Gbatu, Jr.

#8 Samuel Gbatu, Jr.

5' 10"
Senior
WR
Caden Pinnick

#12 Caden Pinnick

6' 0"
Redshirt Freshman
QB
Ian  Simpson

#0 Ian Simpson

6' 3"
Senior
TE
Jacob Psyk

Jacob Psyk

6' 3"
Graduate Student
DL
Drew Cofield

#11 Drew Cofield

6' 1"
Freshman
DB
Khalani Riddick

#1 Khalani Riddick

6' 0"
Graduate Student
DB
Nate Rutchena

#8 Nate Rutchena

6' 4"
Graduate Student
LB
Eli Simonson

#70 Eli Simonson

6' 6"
Senior
OL