Tim Plough returned to UC Davis in 2023 to become the head football coach with no idea whether Lan Larison would stay to play in 2024. Plough could only hope talk of Larison leaving because the running back could not bear another season of Dan Hawkins at the helm was simply gibberish.
Entering the transfer portal would have given Larison an opportunity to bolster his NFL Draft stock. Cam Skattebo did that in 2002 by leaving Sacramento State and going to Arizona State after being named the Big Sky Conference Offensive Player of the Year. The award was presented to Larison a year later.
Skattebo is projected to go in the third round of the NFL Draft, which begins Thursday with the first round. The second and third rounds will be held Friday, leaving the final four rounds for Saturday. Skattebo is the ninth best running back in ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest position rankings.
Larison is nowhere to be found in Kiper’s rankings or most mock drafts. He was also missing from the college all-star games and the NFL Combine. Opting to remain at UC Davis did not cost him as much as his ankle injury during the 35-21 loss at South Dakota in the FCS quarterfinals on Dec. 14.
The subsequent surgery became just another reason for skeptics to question whether Larison has what it will take to make an NFL team. Like all NFL prospects from FCS colleges, Larison is being knocked for facing lesser competition on a weekly basis. Skattebo dodged all that by transferring after running for 1,373 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore at Sacramento State.
Larison’s 1,465 rushing yards, 62 receptions for 847 yards and 20 touchdowns in 2024 seemingly count for nothing. He rushed for 1,101 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior even though he missed three games with a knee injury. When it comes to what counts for Larison, Plough has his own numbers.
Start with the NFL scouts who attended the Aggies’ Pro Day on March 31, many of whom spoke to Plough after getting an eyeful of Larison in the flesh. “He gets surgery and 11 weeks later he’s doing a Pro Day,” Plough said. “That’s another example of Lan and his determination to be great.”
And then there are the phone calls that Plough would rather not try to count. “I’ve talked to gosh, I don’t know, 15 to 16 teams in the last two weeks about him,” said Plough, who pointed out that all will not be lost for Larison if he is one of the 257 players to hear their names called in three days.
Signing as a free agent might turn out better for Larison. “He probably hopes he’s a free agent because then you get to pick where you go,” Plough said. “Everything I’m hearing is if he doesn’t get drafted, he’s going to have at least a dozen teams that are trying to bring him into (their) camp.”
The risk of losing an undrafted rookie to a team offering a better playing opportunity or a guaranteed contract might compel a few teams to spend a draft pick on a player they covet instead of waiting for the draft to end and trying to sign him.
“I think if you really want him,” Plough said, “you don’t want to go through that.”
Skattebo and Larison are two of the four area players who might be drafted. Sacramento State guard Jackson Slater impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl on Feb. 1 in Mobile, Ala. Former UC Davis linebacker Teddy Buchanan is also a prospect after playing at Cal in 2024 to boost his stock.
Slater was the fifth Sacramento State player and the first offensive lineman to three-peat as a first-team selection to the All-Big Sky Conference team. He also was a first-team pick to the Associated Press FCS All-America team. Larison joined Slater on the All-America team as a running back and all-purpose player.
Buchanan led Cal in tackles with 114 and was a first-team pick in All-Atlantic Coast Conference voting. He was named the ACC Linebacker of the Week after compiling 11 tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble Sept 7 in the Golden Bears’ 21-14 win at Auburn. The Tigers were 11½-point favorites.
