NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Cal senior inside linebacker Evan Weaver was named Thursday by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation as one of nine semifinalists for the prestigious Lott IMPACT Trophy.
The award, now in its 16th season, recognizes the player who makes the biggest IMPACT on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. The honor is first and only college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

A national voter panel will choose the winner that will be presented by Ronnie Lott at the Lott IMPACT Trophy Award Show on December 15 at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach. Four finalists will be invited to attend the event with Joel Klatt and Marcellus Wiley, both of FOX Sports, serving as the master of ceremonies and keynote speaker.

The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation will donate $25,000 to the general scholarship fund of the winners' university and $5,000 to each of three runner-up schools.

To date, the Foundation has also donated more than $1.5 million to various charities throughout the country.

Weaver has been honored by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation throughout the 2019 season as a three-time Lott IMPACT Trophy Player of the Week. Weaver won the honor outright in Week 2 after his 18-tackle performance at Washington and again in Week 8 when he had 21 tackles, a season-high 2.0 tackles for loss (season-high -17 yards) and a career-high-tying 2.0 sacks (season-high -17 yards) in a loss to Oregon State. He also shared the honor with Joe Bachie of Michigan State in Week 4 after making a career-high-tying 22 tackles that equaled the most in Cal football recorded history including a stop of Ole Miss quarterback John Rhys Plumlee just shy of Cal's goal line on the final play of a 28-20 win at Ole Miss. His three selections earned $3,000 for Cal's general scholarship fund.

Cal's Daymeion Hughes was the winner of the Lott IMPACT Trophy in 2006 while Jordan Kunaszyk was a semifinalist in 2018.

For more information on The Lott Trophy visit LottImpactTrophy.org.

Below are notes on Weaver with an extended bio available by clicking on his name and national honors candidate information available at calbears.com/leaveittoweaver.
 
Evan Weaver, ILB, 6-3, 245, Sr., 3L, Spokane, WA (Gonzaga Prep)
Senior (2019)
• A national honors candidate who is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, as well as a semifinalist for the Butkus Award, Chuck Bednarik Award and Lott IMPACT Trophy
• A nearly unanimous first-team midseason All-American (Associated Press, Athlon Sports, CBS Sports, ESPN, The Athletic, USA Today) and named the midseason's leading candidate for Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and a first-team All-Pac-12 selection by the Bay Area News Group
• Leads the nation in total tackles (151), total tackles per game (15.1), solo tackles (83) and solo tackles per game (8.3)
• On pace for 181 tackles in a 12-game season and 196 in a 13-game campaign with the current NCAA record for total tackles in a season 193 set in 14 games by Lawrence Flugence of Texas Tech in 2002 and the most in a 12-game season 191 by Luke Kuechly in 2011
• Has 21 more tackles than anyone else at an FBS program and 31 more than anyone else who has played 10 games or less.
• Has his first three career forced fumbles to co-lead the Pac-12 and rank tied for eighth nationally with an average of 0.30 per game while adding a team-high-tying 9.0 tackles for loss (-35 yards) to rank tied for seventh in the Pac-12, 2.5 sacks (-19 yards), three pass breakups and a career-high five quarterback hurries
• Has combined with Kuony Deng (98 tackles) to form the nation's leading FBS duo with 249 tackles and 24.9 stops per game with the duo on pace for 299 tackles in a 12-game season and 324 in a 13-game campaign with Cal's current school record of 307 set in 2018 by Weaver (159) and Kunaszyk (148)
• Has twice equaled Kunaszyk for the most tackles in a single game in Cal's recorded history when he had a career-high-tying 22 at Ole Miss and at Utah
Cal Career (2016 – Present)
• Has played in 46 of 47 possible games with 28 starts since his arrival at Cal in 2016 including a current streak of all 23 possible contests over the past two seasons
• Has posted career totals of 381 tackles, 22.0 tackles for loss (-87 yards), 8.5 sacks (-54 yards), two interceptions that he has returned for 47 yards and one touchdown on a career-long 37-yard return against Washington as a junior, three forced fumbles, 11 pass breakups, 13 passes defended and six quarterback hurries
• Cal's active career leader in tackles and fourth on the school's all-time list
• Ranks third in career tackles nationally among all active FBS players and first among Power 5 schools
• Has recorded double-digit tackles in 16 of his last 17 games and had a streak of 12 straight contests with double-digit tackles that included the final seven games of his junior season and first five contests of his senior campaign