Dan Hawkins has already moved on.

After leading UC Davis to one of its best seasons since joining the Division I level in 2012, Hawkins is focused on the here and now. The time to celebrate last year’s achievements is over.

Hawkins was one of 12 coaches to speak at the Big Sky Football Kickoff, an annual gathering of the league’s coaches, players and media members that took place earlier this week in Spokane, Wash.

“It’s all about the process and we’re just trying to get better.” Hawkins said in a live video interview with PlutoTV on Monday. “We’re trying to improve our culture, improve our leadership. And it’s just like the NFL or CFL — we talk about limiting turnovers, running the football, field position and all the other corny things people hate hearing about. But those things matter.”

A former head coach at Boise State and the University of Colorado, Hawkins enters his second season at the helm in Davis. In his first year at the controls, Hawkins led the Aggies to a 5-6 record, a two game jump from Davis’s 3-8 mark in 2016.

When asked what the difference between the first and second seasons when coaching a college football team, Hawkins reminisced on his days at Boise State and Colorado before noting the importance of continuing to build a strong culture.

“They’re all different and I think that’s the biggest key,” Hawkins said. “You can’t keep doing the same things you’ve been doing at previous jobs because every situation is different. I have to credit Ron Gould (former UC Davis coach) for recruiting a lot of great players here before me. They’ve all adapted very well to what we’re trying to do now. I think culture is a big thing in any organization and any team. Our kids have really jumped right into it. That’s a credit to UC Davis and the kind of kids they attract, and also Ron for bringing those guys in.”

One of those players, of course, is Keelan Doss, who returns for his senior season after leading the country (FBS and FCS) in receiving yards (1,499), receptions per game (10.5) and yards per game (136).

Doss is one of the top 2019 NFL Draft prospects coming out of the FCS. He’s ranked as the 15th best receiver in college football by NFLDraftScout. Last year, he snagged 115 catches for 1,499 yards and seven touchdowns, earning a trip to Frisco, Texas, as one of the three national finalists for the Walter Payton Award — bestowed to the most outstanding FCS offensive player in the nation.

Doss was also selected as the Big Sky Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.

“(Keelan Doss is) really a unique individual,” Hawkins said of his star receiver. “He’s hard to accurately describe. Everybody looks at his size and speed. He led all of Division I in catches. He’s a really, really talented player. He could’ve went out early or transferred up, but had a real loyalty to UC Davis — had a real loyalty to the guys in the locker room. Had some unfinished business. It says a lot about his character.”

Doss should put up similar jaw-dropping numbers this year and will be aided by a crop of offensive talent around him. Doss and tight end Wesley Preece were both named to the Big Sky Preseason All-Conference Team. Preece is a 6-foot-5, 238 pound tight end with good hands and elusive speed.

“We have Wes Preece at tight end and, I’ve had a lot of guys go to the NFL from my previous coaching jobs at Boise State and Colorado, and he’s in that mode,” Hawkins said. “He’s a big, tall kid who can go get it. We also have a group of other great receivers who should help take some pressure off Keelan and help him get open.”

In charge of delivering the ball to the weapons will be Jake Maier, a 6-foot, 200 pound Long Beach City College transfer who put up big numbers at quarterback as the UC Davis starter last year.

“Jake is all about it, it’s funny because our offensive coordinator thinks sometimes he’s too serious,” Hawkins said with a laugh. “But he is exactly what you want out of a quarterback. He’s all about the leadership, the work ethic, the mentoring. He knows the playbook inside and out. He knows he sets the standard and he’s very serious about getting better.”

UC Davis will open the season at San Jose State on August 30. The Aggies were predicted to finish ninth in the Big Sky Conference in both the coaches and media preseason polls.