Samuel Gbatu Jr. was not the only UC Davis player to miss a tackle last Oct. 19 when the Aggies beat Eastern Washington for the first time in 12 tries. His miss came at the bad time, however. It allowed the Eagles to hold out hope of rallying after the Aggies built a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
UC Davis led 38-24 after Miles Hastings tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chaz Davis with 12:33 remaining. Eastern Washington was in desperate need of a big play to stay in the game and Michael Wortham provided it by returning the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Eagles’ 42.
Gbatu had a shot to stop Wortham at the 17, but he dove at Wortham and Wortham skipped out of his arms. Gbatu was haunted by his missed tackle even after the wide receiver had another stellar performance in the Aggies’ 48-38 win by catching four passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
“Missing that tackle gave them momentum. That made me more mad than dropping a pass,” Gbatu said. “You’ve got to take the life out of a team. Missing that tackle gave them a little bit of life. And not only them, their fans too. That was on me.”
UC Davis owned momentum after scoring four touchdowns in the second quarter for a 28-9 lead. Eastern Washington rallied to make it 31-24 early in the fourth quarter and it would have been closer had the Eagles not failed on two-point conversions after their two third-quarter touchdowns.
Hastings’ touchdown pass to Davis restored order for UC Davis, but Gbatu’s missed tackle cut the field nearly in half for Eastern Washington as the Eagles tried to respond with a touchdown of their own. Fortunately for Gbatu, the defense bailed him out with a timely three-and-out stand.
Landon Ogles’ 50-yard punt pinned the Aggies at the 7-yard line, but all that did was set the stage one play later for Gbatu to turn a pass from Hastings into a 90-yard touchdown. The play was the fourth-longest passing touchdown in program history and the first of at least 90 yards since 1985.
The play was designed for Gbatu to split wide right, drive into cornerback Jonathan Landry and run a post pattern. Landry dropped off Gbatu as if he was in zone coverage, so Gbatu went straight instead of breaking to the post and waved at Hastings to ensure Hastings saw he was wide open.
Few folks will remember Gbatu’s missed tackle and no one will forget the longest reception of his career. That play contributed to Gbatu averaging 17.7 yards per reception last season to tie for fifth in the Big Sky Conference. Cal Poly’s Michael Briscoe, a Vacaville High graduate, was first at 21.5.
Gbatu and Briscoe were named to the All-Big Sky preseason team. So was Wortham. The Aggies had the most selections with seven. Gbatu was joined by tackles Ernesto Nava and Eli Simonson, tight end Winston Williams, linebacker Porter Connors, safety Rex Connors and kicker Hunter Ridley. Rex was also the preseason pick as the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year.
Much more will be expected of Gbatu as a senior after the Aggies lost four players who combined to catch 217 passes for 2,752 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2024. Trent Tompkins led in receptions (65), Lan Larison led in receiving yards (847) and Davis had the most touchdown receptions (eight).
Gbatu caught 44 passes for 779 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024. He was one of six Aggies to caught at least 30 passes in 2024, but Gbatu and Williams are the only players to return. UC Davis also lost C.J. Hutton, who caught 51 passes for 669 yards and two touchdowns in his final season.
“Coach (Tim Plough) said the guys that left are irreplaceable, but I think you’re going to hear about the guys that are here in the next couple of years,” said Gbatu, who was born in Liberia. “We’re not going to worry about what we don’t have. We’re going to make the best out of what we do have.”
