Cal Football: 5 Questions for Bob Dunning, Who Is Covering UC Davis for the 53rd Season

He gives us a scouting report on the Aggies and predicts a final score for Saturday.

Welcome back to our annual tradition of reaching out to someone who knows Cal’s weekly opponent to ask them 5 Questions.

There is no better source of information about UC Davis than Bob Dunning of the Davis Enterprise. Bob attended Davis and has covered the team for 53 seasons.

That’s right . . . 53.

That means he was on the beat before Cal coach Justin Wilcox was born.

Dunning likes this Aggies squad, but you’ll have to wait to hear his game prediction until our final question.

The Aggies emerged from spring practice seemingly with a five- or six-player logjam at quarterback. But sophomore Miles Hastings, who started the final five games last season, has secured the job, as Dunning explains in the video at the top of this story.

His experience may have been the difference. “Going up against the Pac-12 they want a little bit of experience," Dunning reasoned.

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In the video above, Dunning talks about Aggies senior running back Ulonzo Gilliam Jr., who rushed for 89 yards against the Bears when the teams met in 2019 and is the No. 2 all-time rusher in program history.

Dunning calls Gilliam "one of those All-American kids that coaches dream about."

Gilliam is only 5-foot-9, but he gets the most out of that. “He just grinds," Dunning says. "He always falls forward. Even at 5-9, that’s almost two yards. That makes a difference. You run for three and fall for two. That’s second-and-5.”

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The Aggies' offense gets far more attention than its defense, but in the video above Dunning says there are some very good players on this unit, especially at linebacker.

Cal fans will be familiar with one of them -- graduate transfer Evan Tattersall, who spent four seasons in Berkeley before moving on.

Dunning calls Tattersall "a real find," but adds, “Hawk’s probably not into trying to raid Coach Wilcox. And it’s not going to happen too often.”

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Three former Cal players will be suited up for the Aggies on Saturday, including Tattersall and reserve quarterback Jack Newman.

Tight end McCallan Castles was a promising young player for the Bears, but he exited after the 2019 season and has blossomed into a preseason FCS All-American with the Aggies.

“Davis uses tight ends. They like ‘em to go down the field about 8 yards, catch the ball, go out of bounds. They nickel-dime you all the time," Dunning says in the video above. 

And Castles? "He’s an NFL-looking tight end.”

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Dunning isn't the only one who likes this UC Davis team. In the video above, he talks about coach Dan Hawkins' weekly news conference in which he said this is the best Davis team ever.

Hawkins played for an Aggies team 40 years ago that reached the NCAA Division II championship game, and even while coaching elsewhere has never lost touch with his alma mater.

Even so, that was an expected statement from the coach about his team.

“He just boldly stated that. Boy, you go 5-6, coach, you’re going to lose your job,” Dunning says, laughing.

Hawkins may be feeling pretty safe after recently signing a contract extension through 2027. Still . . .

“Wow. He didn’t say this may be . . . or if we live up to our potential," Dunning says. "He just straight out said, talent-wise, top to bottom, best team in UC Davis team history.”

Which set up the final question of the interview: What's the final score?

Dunning picks Cal 35, Davis 14.

“Davis scared ‘em three years ago, no question about it. It was 13-13 late in the third quarter," Dunning recalls of the game ultimately won 27-13 by the Bears. "Coach Wilcox will be ready this time."

Cover photo of Davis quarterback Miles Hastings courtesy of UC Davis Athletics.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo