How this former Merced High standout has become a breakout star for UC Davis.

Ulonzo Gilliam had never taken a year off of football. So you can imagine the excitement of the former Merced High star when he took the field for the first time in a UC Davis uniform in the season opener at San Jose State earlier this season.

It was just like old times for Gilliam.

The redshirt freshman caught national attention with his debut after rushing for 132 yards and two touchdowns to go along with eight catches for 59 yards and another score that helped lead the Aggies to a 44-38 upset of the Spartans.

In one game Gilliam had put all his skills on display.

“My first year, I redshirted and I was disappointed at first, but it helped me prepare for my first game and it helped get me ready for fall camp,” Gilliam said. “When I got to San Jose I was ready for it. I wasn’t surprised because I had expectations for myself.”

After his first game Gilliam was named the STATS FCS National Freshman Player of the Week and was also named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week.

The 2016 Merced Sun-Star Football Player of the Year hasn’t slowed down, scoring three more touchdowns in the Aggies’ 54-21 win over the University of San Diego in his second game. In four games, Gilliam has carried the ball 60 times for 268 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also second on the team with 17 receptions for 176 yards and two touchdowns.

UC Davis is off to a 3-1 start. The Aggies’ lone loss was to Stanford, which is ranked No. 7 in the country.

“It was surprising to go on Twitter and see all these things I got from the first week like conference player of the week,” Gilliam said. “I was really proud of myself, but I want to stay humble.”

For most players, it’s tough when they learn they are going to redshirt. It can be tough to go out to practice each day and work hard when there isn’t the reward of that Saturday game.

Gilliam was no different. His expectation was to come to UC Davis and play right of away. He admits he was disappointed when he found out he was going to redshirt.

“It’s a fine line when you’re recruiting a guy,” said UC Davis running back coach and former Merced High coach legend Mark Speckman. “You want him because you see the value in him. The kid thinks he’s going to play right away, but in the back of our mind, we’re going to redshirt all our guys.

“Now the rules allow us to play a guy four games and still redshirt him, but Lonzi didn’t have that chance. It hasn’t taken Lonzi long to get going.”

UC Davis coach Dan Hawkins and his coaching staff preached to all the players to accept their role. Each player has a role to fill on the team, whether it’s the starting quarterback to the backup long snapper. For redshirt players on the scout team, their role was to use that year to get better and also help the starters get better.

That’s exactly what Gilliam did.

“I played my role,” Gilliam said. “I took my reps that I got on the scout team and I showed out. I wanted to show what I could do the upcoming year. It was disappointing at first. Our coaches talked about accepting your role, take pride in your role. That’s what I did. I went against the No. 1 defense and I wanted to give them the best look I could.”

Gilliam was named the scout team player of the year.

“He didn’t waste his time since he’s been here,” Speckman said. “He learns fast. He gets something out of film sessions. One of the things I liked about him at Merced was his versatility. He played defense, he played offense, he’s shifty, he can catch the ball. He’s really an improved, two-year older version of himself than when he played at Merced High.”

Gilliam’s transition from Merced High to UC Davis has only been helped with Speckman being his position coach. In Speckman he has a coach who grew up in the same town.

“I’m sure Lonzi is sick of me teasing him about being from Merced,” Speckman said. “I tease him about which middle school he went to (Cruickshank). I went to Hoover. I tell him we’re not stopping at the Taco Bell on G Street. His dad played basketball at Merced High when I was coaching there. I’ve known the Gilliams for a long time.

“Coach (Rob) Scheidt was very persuasive and gave me good information when we were recruiting Lonzi. I told him I have many Merced connections. That was one thing is I didn’t have one person tell me one negative thing about Lonzi. I told him I’ve got a lot of spies working for me in Merced.”

The transition from high school to college has been smooth for Gilliam after the redshirt season. Gilliam rushed for 2972 yards and 36 touchdowns during his three-year varsity career at Merced, including 1,597 yards and 22 touchdowns his senior year.

He’s putting on the same kind of performances Merced fans got used to watching during his time wearing the black and orange.

“I feel football is football,” Gilliam said. “There’s nothing new to it. The speed and size of the guys is an adjustment because I didn’t see that in high school. That’s been the biggest thing.

“I just want to make plays for my team. Whether it’s getting the ball on a running play or passing play, I want to do what I can to put our team in the best position I can.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2018 at 3:43 PM.