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The FCS Kickoff is entrenched into the yearly Week Zero routine as a showcase for the subdivision against limited television competition. While it is an FCS Playoff preview in most years, it also gives fans of programs involved a chance to reminisce on times when their stars played in the Blue-Gray Classic, the Cramton Bowl's Christmas Day all-star game of yesteryear.
This year’s game features Mercer and UC-Davis. Mercer restarted its program years after the Blue-Gray Classic faded from the public's radar. However, UC-Davis had one star earn an invitation to play in the venerable all-star game.
Ken O'Brien, the 1983 first-round NFL draft pick and two-time Pro Bowler and J.T. O'Sullivan, who started eight games for the 49ers in 2008, are probably the most-well known former UC-Davis quarterbacks. Although both translated their Aggie careers into solid NFL careers, neither had the honor of being the lone Aggie to play in the Blue-Gray Classic. That honor belongs to Kevin Daft.
Daft threw for 3332 yards and 30 touchdowns in his 1998 senior season. The highlight of the year was a school-record 495-yard performance against Southern Utah, which still stands today. Daft's 482-yard performance against New Haven the year before is the second-best output in school history. His 1998 campaign capped a prolific career that ended with 7,601 passing yards and 68 touchdowns.
His 1998 season made him a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist for the best player in Division II. Daft still ranks sixth in career passing yards, sixth in career total offense, and fourth in career passing yards in the UC-Davis record books.
Daft’s efforts earned him a trip to Montgomery, Alabama for the 1998 Blue-Gray Classic on Christmas Day. Daft struggled in the Blue-Gray Classic, completing just seven of his 18 passes for 94 yards and two interceptions. The Blue (North) lost to the Gray (South) 31-24.
Still, this unfortunate showing did not prevent him from getting drafted by the Titans in the fifth round of the 1999 Draft. Despite never playing a game in the NFL, Daft enjoyed an intriguing pro career. He threw for over 3,000 yards and 34 touchdowns in NFL Europe before ending his career in the Arena Football League. Daft played sparingly, but still threw for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the AFL.
Although the Cramton Bowl is the furthest thing from a landmark for the UC-Davis program, it serves a reminder for a forgotten Aggie great who added to the rich lineage of the quarterback position at the school.
The UC-Davis Football Record Book, ArenaFan.com, and The Football Database were indispensable resources in the making of this article.
