Position Preview: Inside the 2026 Aggie Offense

The UC Davis offense enters 2026 with familiar playmakers, significant production and an important opportunity to establish its next identity.

BY UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

Aug 19, 2026, 11:09 AM

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The UC Davis offense enters 2026 with familiar playmakers, significant production and an important opportunity to establish its next identity.

The Aggies return a 1,000-yard rusher, a 1,000-yard receiver and multiple All-Big Sky selections from a team that made another deep FCS postseason run in 2025. That experienced core will anchor a unit replacing several key contributors, including its starting quarterback, two All-America tight ends and multiple offensive linemen.

With a combination of proven veterans, returning depth and a promising group of newcomers, UC Davis begins the season with competition throughout the offense and established leaders at nearly every position.

QUARTERBACK: UC Davis enters the season with an open competition at quarterback following the departure of Caden Pinnick, the 2025 Big Sky Freshman of the Year and runner-up for the Jerry Rice Award. Pinnick accounted for 35 total touchdowns during his lone season with the Aggies.

Treynor Cleeland and Minnesota transfer Jackson Kollock are competing to take over the offense, but the expectations for the position remain unchanged.

“The identity of UC Davis quarterbacks is toughness, leadership and accuracy,” offensive coordinator Paul Shelton said. “The pulse of the team is really going to run through the quarterback.”

Cleeland begins his second year in the program after spending last season learning the Aggies’ system. Kollock brings a different background to the competition after beginning his collegiate career at Minnesota. The Laguna Beach, California, native was rated as a four-star prospect coming out of high school in the class of 2025.

Although both quarterbacks are pursuing their first meaningful role at UC Davis, each will be surrounded by an offense returning established production in the backfield and on the perimeter.

RUNNING BACKS: The backfield features one of the offense’s most proven performers in Jordan Fisher, who surpassed 1,000 rushing yards for the first time and earned All-Big Sky Honorable Mention recognition in 2025.

Fisher enters the season as the leader of the room, but running backs coach Vavae Malepeai is placing the emphasis on the identity of the group as a whole. He wants the Aggies to play with physicality, dependability and what he described as a willingness to “detach from the result and find joy” in their work.

Fisher provides a strong starting point after his breakout season, while Matteo Perez, Kai Acia, Aden Jackson and Mason Walsh return behind him. Perez and Acia combined for more than 250 rushing yards last season and will have opportunities to earn expanded roles within the rotation.

UC Davis also added Weber State transfer Chauncey Sylvester, who appeared in five games for the Wildcats in 2025 and produced nearly 400 all-purpose yards. His versatility and previous Big Sky experience give the Aggies another option as they work to replace Carter Vargas, who rushed for 445 yards and five touchdowns in eight games before transferring to Cal.

The result is a backfield built around Fisher’s established production but deep enough to offer several different combinations throughout the season.

OFFENSIVE LINE: Experience should once again be a strength for UC Davis up front, where the Aggies return a large portion of last season’s rotation.

Senior center Zaire Collier anchors the group after earning All-Big Sky Second Team honors in 2025. He has started 27 consecutive games dating back to his sophomore season and helped lead an offensive line that protected one of the nation’s most productive passing attacks a year ago.

David Main, David Portesano and Jayden Montanez are among the other experienced contributors returning alongside Collier. That continuity is particularly valuable for a unit in which communication and cohesion are as important as individual experience.

For offensive line coach Mike Cody, developing those qualities remains an everyday process.

“Physicality and playing together are two things you have to train all throughout camp,” Cody said.

That work will be especially important as the Aggies replace Eli Simonsen and Ernesto Nava. Simonsen earned All-Big Sky First Team honors in 2025 and later received an invitation to participate in the New England Patriots’ rookie minicamp.

Freshman Robert Beverly also joins the room following a successful career at Carmel High School, where he helped the Padres capture a California state championship in 2024. He enters a veteran-heavy group with an opportunity to develop behind several established contributors.

TIGHT ENDS: The names within the tight end room may change, but its standard remains rooted in what position coach Taylor Chapatte calls “TEU”: toughness, execution and unity.

For Chapatte, those principles are not simply goals for the position. They are how the tight ends help establish the offense’s overall approach.

“We want to make sure that we are the ones setting the pace,” Chapatte said.

Winston Williams returns for his fifth season and will be central to that effort. Although an injury cut short his 2025 campaign, Williams enters the fall as one of the most highly regarded tight ends in the FCS. He has already earned preseason All-America recognition from FCS Football Central and Stats Perform and was ranked as the second-best returning player at his position by HERO Sports.

Sophomores Jordan Rogers and Edward Khutsishvili return alongside senior Franz Pohlman, giving the Aggies four returning players in the room. Cal transfer Jake Houseworth adds another option after beginning his collegiate career with the Golden Bears. The former three-star prospect was also a three-sport athlete at Fortuna Union High School.

Together, the group will be asked to replace both the production and leadership of Mitchell Dixon and Ian Simpson. Dixon, a team captain in 2025, set career highs with 18 receptions, 202 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Simpson appeared in all 13 games and completed his Aggie career with an All-America season that included 425 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Williams gives UC Davis an established centerpiece, but the development of the players around him will help determine how the Aggies replace one of last season’s deepest and most productive position groups.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Two-time All-American Samuel Gbatu Jr. returns for his fifth season as the established leader of the receiving corps and one of the most accomplished offensive players in the FCS.

Gbatu surpassed 1,000 receiving yards while serving as a team captain in 2025. His preseason recognition entering the new year includes multiple All-America and All-Big Sky selections, along with a place on the Walter Payton Award watch list.

“There’s no doubt he’s a productive football player for us,” wide receivers coach Trey Shimabukuro said. “He will go down as one of the great UC Davis Aggies.”

While Gbatu’s production gives the Aggies a proven primary option, the larger question within the room is who will emerge alongside him. Scott Nixon, Laviel Pickett and LaDanian Streets all contributed to the passing game last season and enter 2026 with opportunities to take on larger roles.

Freshmen Koen Parnell and Matt Watts add young talent to the group. Parnell arrives from Southern California powerhouse Mater Dei, where he recorded 354 receiving yards across three varsity seasons.

With Gbatu drawing significant attention from opposing defenses, the Aggies will look to their returning receivers and newcomers to create a more complete group around him.

UC Davis opens the 2026 season against Portland State on Aug. 29. Kickoff from Hillsboro Stadium is scheduled for noon PT.

The Aggies return to Shredville on Sept. 19 for their home opener and New Student Orientation Game. Don’t miss the first game back at UC Davis Health Stadium. Secure your tickets now.

BUY 2026 SINGLE GAME TICKETS

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Mini Plans offer a great way to save by bundling multiple games. Choose from two different options and select the games that fit your schedule.

Both Mini Plan options include the Montana game and allow fans to add one or two additional home games at a discounted rate compared to purchasing single-game tickets. All Mini Plan seats are located in Sections 119 or 125 on the west side of UC Davis Health Stadium.

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Season tickets start at just $100 for new alumni (2017–26 UC Davis graduates) and $140 for the general public. Season ticket holders also receive a variety of exclusive benefits, including priority access to postseason tickets, select away games and parking.

Additional benefits include a dedicated Aggie Ticket Representative, flexible payment plan options and invitations to exclusive season ticket holder events. Purchase your season tickets today. For more information, email the Aggie Ticket Office at aggietickets@ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-2471.

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Create a memorable birthday experience with a player high-five tunnel or reserve a turnkey tailgate space for your group before kickoff. Call the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 to customize an unforgettable game-day experience.

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For more information about purchasing tailgating or parking for the 2026 season, contact the ticketing office at (530) 304-1433.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS

UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.