Weaver Earns Preseason All-American Honors From Phil Steele

BERKELEY – Senior inside linebacker Evan Weaver was named a second-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele on Monday and also led a group of eight Cal football student-athletes honored on Steele's preseason All-Pac-12 squads. Weaver was the Golden Bears' lone first-team preseason All-Pac-12 pick, while DB Camryn Bynum and KR/S Ashtyn Davis were second-team selections at defensive back and kick returner, respectively. Cal had a trio of third-team picks in DE Luc Bequette, P Steven Coutts and CB Elijah Hicks, while OT Jake Curhan and incoming ILB Kuony Deng were fourth-team choices.

Cal has had a total of 10 student-athletes earn preseason recognition prior to the 2019 season with the others being S Jaylinn Hawkins and OLB/DE Tevin Paul. Hawkins was a second-team pick and Paul a fourth-team selection on Athlon Sports' preseason All-Pac-12 team announced last month.

Below are notes on all of Cal's selections with extended bios available by clicking on each name.

ALL-AMERICAN (SECOND-TEAM)

Evan Weaver, ILB, 6-3, 245, Sr., 3L, Spokane, WA (Gonzaga Prep)
Cal Career (2016 – Present)
• Has played in 36 of 37 possible games with 17 starts since his arrival at Cal in 2016 and posted career totals highlighted by 230 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss (-52 yards), 6.0 sacks (-35 yards) and two interceptions that he has returned for 47 yards and one touchdown on a career-long 37-yard return against Washington as a 2018 junior
• Cal's active career leader in tackles who will begin the 2019 campaign 29 stops shy of the school's top 10 list
Senior (2019)
• Second-team preseason All-American (Phil Steele), first-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele)
• One of 42 student-athletes on the watch list for the Ronnie Lott IMPACT Trophy that goes annually to the nation's top defensive player
Junior (2018)
• Earned second-team All-American honors (Pro Football Focus), as well as first-team (Associated Press, Pro Football Focus) and second-team (Athlon, Pac-12 Coaches, Phil Steele) All-Pac-12 recognition, while he was also the recipient of Cal's Bear Backers Award as the team's Co-Most Valuable Defensive Player
• Recorded career highs of 159 tackles to rank tied for second on Cal's all-time single-season list, 9.5 tackles for loss (-42 yards), 4.5 sacks (-28 yards), and two interceptions that he returned for 47 yards and his lone career touchdown
• Tied for fifth nationally with 6.4 solo tackles per game and eighth in total tackles with 11.9 per contest

ALL-PAC-12

FIRST TEAM

Evan Weaver, ILB, 6-3, 245, Sr., 3L, Spokane, WA (Gonzaga Prep) … see notes above

SECOND TEAM

Camryn Bynum, CB, 6-0, 190, RJr., 2L (Corona, CA/Centennial HS)
Cal Career (2016 – Present)
• Has started each of Cal's last 25 games at cornerback and posted career totals highlighted by 106 tackles, four interceptions and 18 pass breakups
• Cal's active career leader in pass breakups and passes defended (22)
Junior (2019)
• Second-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele)

Sophomore (2018)
• Earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors from the Associated Press and Athlon Sports, as well as third-team recognition from Phil Steele while he was an honorable mention selection of the league's coaches
• Recorded 48 tackles, a career-high 2.5 tackles for loss (-3 yards), a career-high-tying two interceptions and a career and team-high 10 pass breakups to total a career-high 12 passes defended

Ashtyn Davis, KR/S, 6-1, 195, RSr., 3L, Santa Cruz, CA (Santa Cruz HS)
Cal Career (2015 – Present)
• Has played in 37 games with 22 starts and has defensive totals highlighted by 114 tackles and five interceptions that he has returned for 90 yards and one touchdown R
Senior (2019)
• First-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Athlon Sports) as a safety and second-team preseason (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele) as a kick returner
Junior (2018)
• Earned first-team (Associated Press, Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus), second-team (Phil Steele) and honorable mention (Pac-12 Coaches) All-Pac-12 honors with all at safety other than the a second-team selection by Steele at kick returner
• Registered a career-high 56 tackles to rank third on the team while ranking tied for third in the Pac-12 in both total interceptions (4) and interceptions per game (0.3), as well as tied for 16th and 27th nationally
• Returned his four interceptions for 59 yards and his first career pick-six
• Returned 24 kicks for 629 yards and his lone career kick return touchdown (all team highs) with the touchdown coming on a career-long 89-yarder against Idaho State
• Shared the Pac-12 lead with three others with his single kickoff return touchdown that ranked tied for sixth nationally as one of 32 players in the country who had at least one each, while his 26.2 yards per kick return average were second in the Pac-12 and 17th nationally
• Led the team with 24 kick returns for 629 yards and was second on the squad with 688 all-purpose yards

THIRD TEAM

Luc Bequette, DE, 6-2, 295, RSr., 3L (Little Rock, AR/Catholic HS)
Cal Career (2015 – Present)
• Has played in 29 games over the last three campaigns and started all 25 games over the past two with his career stats highlighted by 78 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-41 yards) and 7.0 sacks (-39 yards)
Senior (2019)
• Third-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele)
Junior (2018)
• A third-team All-Pac-12 selection of Phil Steele and an honorable mention choice of the league's coaches who contributed career highs of 49 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss (-31 yards), a team-high-tying 5.0 sacks (-29 yards) and two fumble recoveries, as well as his first career blocked kick that was Cal's lone one of the campaign

Steven Coutts, OL, 6-4, 215, RSr., 1L (Brisbane, Australia/Louisiana/University of Queensland/Citipointe Christian College)
Senior (2019)
• First-team (Athlon Sports) and third-team (Phil Steele) preseason All-Pac-12
Junior (2018)
• An honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection of the league's coaches, a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic choice and the winner of Cal's J. Scott Duncan Award as its Most Valuable Special Teams Player, as well as a Ray Guy Award candidate
• Played in all 13 games and punted 72 times for 2985 yards and a 41.5 average
• Led the nation by trapping opponents inside their 20-yard line 37 times including on a career-high-tying five occasions in three contests while totaling only two touchbacks, forcing opponents into fair catches on 25 occasions and registering nine punts of 50 or more yards

Elijah Hicks, CB, 5-11, 195, Jr., 2L (Long Beach, CA/La Mirada HS)
Cal Career (2017 – Present)
• Has played in all 25 games possible with 18 starts since his arrival in January of 2017 and posted career totals of 69 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss (-18 yards), one interception that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown at Colorado as a 2018 sophomore, five pass breakups, six passes defended and two forced fumbles
Junior (2019)
• Third-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Phil Steele)
Sophomore (2018)
• Played in all 13 games with 11 starts and recorded 31 tackles, a career-high 5.0 tackles for loss (career-high -14 yards), his lone career interception that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown vs. Colorado and two pass breakups
TCU that were the most in any bowl game during the 2018 campaign and earned him a spot on the Sports Illustrated All-Bowl team

FOURTH TEAM

Jake Curhan, OL, 6-6, 330, RJr., 2L (Larkspur, CA/Redwood HS)
Cal Career (2016 – Present)
• Has started each of Cal's last 25 games at right tackle during his 2017 redshirt freshman and 2018 sophomore seasons
• A two-time Pac-12 All-Academic pick as a redshirt freshman and sophomore
Junior (2019)
• Fourth-team preseason All-Pac-12 (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele)
Sophomore (2018)
• Helped the offense improve by an average of 32.3 yards per contest from its final 2017 number including a season-best 305 yards rushing at Oregon State that was their most since a 2016 contest against Oregon
• Made a memorable tackle in overtime against TCU at the Cheez-It Bowl when he chased down Jawuan Johnson at the Cal 13-yard line after Johnson had returned an interception 72 yards with Curhan's prevention of a game-winning pick six forcing TCU into an offensive possession that they eventually converted into a field goal on for a 10-7 overtime win
Freshman (2017)
• Winner of Cal's Andy Smith Award for the most Big "C" time

Kuony Deng, ILB, 6-6, 225, RJr., JC (Aldie, VA/Independence CC/VMI/John Champe HS)
Junior (2019)
• Spent his first spring at Cal after enrolling as a mid-year
• Registered four tackles and one interception in the spring game
Independence CC (2018)
• Recorded 48 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss (-26 yards), 1.0 sack (-26 yards), one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and six pass breakups as a 2018 sophomore