Becoming the head football coach at UC Davis is an opportunity for Tim Plough to fulfill the promises he made to four quarterbacks whom he recruited as the Aggies offensive coordinator. Plough could not resist an offer from Boise State in 2021 even if he had renege on his vow to those players and their parents.
Plough talked Miles Hastings, Trent Tompkins, Lan Larison and Mitchell Dixon into coming to UC Davis by making a pledge to their parents. “I told their families that I was going to take care of them and that I would be here to develop them,” Plough said with regret. “I didn’t get to coach them. I kind of felt like I left them hanging.”
Having followed the Aggies from afar, Plough knew three of his four recruits were no longer quarterbacks before he returned to his alma mater. Larison’s switch to running back was determined before he arrived in 2020 because he rushed for 2,373 yards and 27 touchdowns as a senior at Vallivue High School in Caldwell, ID.
“Lan was a guy who played quarterback, but we knew right away that he wasn’t a quarterback. He knew it, too,” Plough recalled. “A lot of times the best player in high school plays quarterback, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily suppose to be a quarterback. It’s the guy you want to have the ball in his hands the most.”
Hastings’ commitment in 2019 did not stop Plough from pursuing Tompkins, who was the only player in the country in 2018 to pass for 5,000 yards and run for 1,000 when he was a senior at Central High in Fresno. Even with all that, Plough had to sell head coach Dan Hawkins on offering a scholarship to a second quarterback.
“I had been recruiting Trent for over a year and got to know him and his family. I fell in love with who he was a person, how hard he worked, how competitive he was and how he was such a leader,” Plough said. “I thought he was an electric player. I kept telling (Hawkins) that this is a guy you don’t want to play against.
“I said ‘Let’s bring him in as a quarterback. If he wins the job, great. If he doesn’t, he’s talented enough to play something else,'” added Plough, who proved to be prophetic when Tompkins became a jack of all trades after Hastings won the job.
This season will be Hastings’ third as the full-time starter. He also started the last five games in 2021. Tompkins has put his versatility to good use as a running back, receiver and return specialist. He had 70 carries for 333 yards, a team-high 49 receptions for 420 yards and four touchdowns as a junior last season.
“It’s been cool to see Trent develop into a really good receiver,” Plough said. “I got a year with Trent (in 2020) and he was a little immature in dealing with adversity because he had been so good in high school. He wasn’t the best quarterback and that was hard for him to handle. To see what he’s doing now is pretty impressive.”
Tompkins admits he could have handled the position decision better. “When you get to college, you kind of get humbled,” he said. “If I have to play somewhere to help the team, it’s not a big deal to switch. It never really crossed my mind that being (a jack of all trades) is a bad thing. I just look at it as I’m good at football.”
Plough recruited Dixon in 2020 even though the Rio Americano High quarterback was considered to be a “developmental guy.” Plough was intrigued by the 6-foot-4 250-pound Dixon’s size and athleticism, which explains why Dixon is now playing tight end and becoming a “respectable” one at that as far as Plough is concerned.
In a recent team meeting, Plough joked that he must not be much of a recruiter if three of the four quarterbacks he landed are playing other positions. Then again, the willingness of Dixon and Tompkins to switch “shows how great of a teammate they are and how selfless they are,” Plough said. “I’m really proud of those guys.”
