Aggie News

Update 07/20/06

GRANT, KAYS PICK UP MORE PRESEASON FOOTBALL ACCOLADES

DAVIS, Calif. -- The UC Davis passing combination of quarterback Jon Grant and wide receiver Tony Kays continued to receive accolodaes heading into the coming season with their selection to the 2006 I-AA.org preseason All-America football second team.

The honor is the second during the summer for Grant, who was earlier named the No. 4 top returning quarterback by Matt Dougherty, executive director for I-AA football at The Sports Network. Kays, meanwhile, earned his fifth either postseason or preseason All-America honor since the end of last season and the second of the summer. He was named to The Sports Network's All-America second team earlier this month after being tabbed the No. 3 top returning receiver by Dougherty.

Grant threw for 2,873 yards and 13 touchdowns last season on his way to being named the Great West Football Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year, while Kays had a school-record 93 receptions for 1,213 yards and was named to a trio of All-America teams.

Kays returns as a team captain for the second straight year this season while Grant is a captain for the first time. Defensive end James Amos and cornerback Nevan Bergan will also serve as team captains in 2006.

The Aggies finished last season with a 6-5 record, securing a share of the GWFC Championship with Cal Poly with a 3-1 record. It was UC Davis' 36th straight winning season.

The Aggies have been ranked in the top 20 of two preseason polls released so far, including a No. 15 ranking by Street & Smith's and a No. 20 position by AnyGivenSaturday.com (AGS). UC Davis received yet another preseason mention with a top 40 ranking by Don Hansen's Football Gazette. The publication has ranked UC Davis No. 33 to start the season.

The Aggies will open preseason practices on Aug. 10 in preparation for their season opener on Sept. 2 at Northern Colorado. UC Davis will travel nearly 11,000 miles while playing its first five games on the road, including contests at high-powered TCU (Sept. 9), Big Sky Conference member Montana State (Sept. 16), perennial I-AA contender Youngstown State (Sept. 23) and GWFC rival Cal Poly (Oct. 7).

The Aggies will begin their final season of play at Toomey Field with an Oct. 14 matchup against Central Arkansas, which finished 11-3 in its final season at the NCAA Division II level and advanced to the national quarterfinals in the postseason.

Information courtesy UC Davis ICA/Media Relations