UC Davis has hired Cal tight ends coach Tim Plough as its new head football coach.

UC Davis announced the hire Friday afternoon. The school is planning a Monday morning news conference on campus to announce the hiring of the one-time Aggies quarterback who had two previous coaching stints with the program. Plough knows a lot of the current players as he helped recruit them while working as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator under previous coach Dan Hawkins, who resigned earlier this week.

“We are absolutely thrilled that Tim will be taking the helm of our football program and that the torch is passed from Coach Hawkins to one of our own,” UC Davis athletic director Rocko DeLuca said in a news release. “During my numerous conversations with Tim over the past few days, it became evidently clear that he shares our values, passion, and competitive spirit, and most importantly, is truly dedicated to the personal growth of student-athletes. He has a great vision for the future of our football program, and I cannot wait to see where he leads us. Tim is an Aggie through and through, and we look forward to welcoming him, his wife, Christine, and their three sons back to the UC Davis family.”

The Bee reported Tuesday that Hawkins told Aggies team captains he was stepping down as head coach to spend more time with family and to pursue other interests, content with six winning seasons in seven years at his alma mater.

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Hawkins in his farewell news conference Wednesday said the Aggies would be in good hands if the right coach came along, and the plan appeared to point to Plough. He said the Aggies were “loaded” next season with a lot of returning players.

A Southern California native, Plough, 38, played quarterback at UCD from 2003-07. He started his coaching career with the Aggies in 2008 and was calling plays by the time he was 25. He served in that role from 2010-12.

From 2013-16, Plough was an assistant coach at Northern Arizona, where he met current Sacramento State coach Andy Thompson. They have become the best of friends, and their relationship will surely boost the Causeway Classic, the rivalry game between the Hornets and Aggies to cap the regular season. Next season will be the 71st meeting between the programs.

Hawkins hired Plough before the 2017 season to inject new offensive life into an Aggies program that had suffered five consecutive losing seasons after decades of success. Plough was the Aggies assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2019 and 2020, unleashing a wide-open offense designed to stretch and buckle defenses. It became known by players and coaches as “Shredville.”

Plough was the offensive coordinator at Boise State from 2021-22 before the switch to Cal.

Plough said he is eager to get to work with the Aggies.

“I am so honored and humbled by this amazing opportunity,” Plough said. “UC Davis is always in my heart and I’m a proud ‘Davis Guy.’ I want to build on the wonderful program that Coach Hawkins has developed and carry that momentum he’s created into the future. I am extremely grateful for Chancellor May and Rocko for this incredible opportunity and for their belief in me. I can’t wait to get back to ‘Shredville’ and find joy every day.”