Twitter: @cameronsaffle | @calfootball
Instagram: cameronsaffle | cal_football
Saffle was on the 2017 preseason watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy honoring college football's defensive best in character and performance. He played in the first contest of the 2017 campaign but will miss the remainder of the campaign with a season-ending injury. Saffle has played in 21 games with 13 starts since his arrival at Cal in 2015 with career totals of 73 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss (-42 yards), 5.5 sacks (-26 yards) and four pass breakups, ranking second among all active Cal players in sacks and third in tackles for loss. Saffle registered all of his single-season career highs as a 2016 sophomore with his 12 games played, 12 games started, 57 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-36 yards), 4.0 sacks (-22 yards) and four pass breakups.
Saffle's Career Game Highs
Tackles: 8 (twice, last at Arizona State, 2016)
Tackles For Loss: 2.0 (twice, last at Arizona State, 2016)
Tackle For Loss Yards: 10 (vs. Washington, 2016)
Sacks: 2.0 (last at Arizona State, 2016)
Sack Yards: 10 (vs. Washington, 2016)
Pass Breakups: 1 (four times, last vs. Stanford, 2016)
Cal Career (2015 – Present)
• Has played in 21 games with 13 starts since his arrival at Cal in 2015
• Has registered career totals of 73 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss (-42 yards) and 5.5 sacks (-26 yards), ranking second among all active Cal players in sacks and third in tackles for loss
• Registered all of his single-season career highs as a sophomore with his 12 games played, 12 games started, 57 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-36 yards), 4.0 sacks (-22 yards) and four pass breakups
• Recorded a single-game career-high-tying eight tackles twice as a sophomore at San Diego State and at Arizona State, while his 2.0 tackles for loss vs. Hawai'i and at Arizona State equaled a career-high and his 2.0 sacks at Arizona State were a career-high
• Had a career 10 tackle for loss and sack yards vs. Washington in his sophomore campaign
• Has equaled a career-high with a single pass breakup on four occasions all as a sophomore at Oregon State, at USC, vs. Washington and vs. Stanford
Junior (2017)
• Will miss the remainder of the season due to injury after contributing six tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) and 0.5 sacks (-1 yard) in the season-opener against North Carolina
• On the preseason watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy honoring college football's defensive best in character and performance
• Had two tackles and 1.0 sack (-6 yards) in the spring game
Sophomore (2016)
• Earned Cal's Frank Schlessinger Award for outstanding athletic and academic success who started all 12 games and registered career highs of 57 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-36 yards), 4.0 sacks (-22 yards) and four pass breakups
• One of eight defensive players that started all 12 contests including six that are scheduled to return in 2017
• Led the team in tackles for loss and sacks, while ranking second in tackle for loss yards, tied for second in sack yards, and fifth in tackles
• Had his most productive contest of the season at Arizona State when he recorded a career-high-tying eight tackles, a career-high 2.0 sacks (-7 yards) and a career-high-tying 2.0 tackles for loss (-7 yards)
• Also had a career-high-tying eight tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss at San Diego State
• Registered seven tackles against both Utah and Texas, adding 0.5 tackles for loss on a half-sack (-2 yards) against the Utes
• Matched his 2.0 tackles for loss (-5 yards) among his five tackles vs. Hawai'i and also had five stops in back-to-back games at Oregon State and vs. Oregon, adding the first pass breakup of his career against the Beavers
• Had the longest sack of his career and 1.0 tackle for loss for 10 yards among two tackles vs. Washington that started a string of at least 0.5 tackles for loss in each of his four contests also at Washington State (3 tackles; 1.0 TFL, -5 yards), vs. Stanford (2 tackles; 1.0 TFL, -4 yards; 1 PBU) and vs. UCLA (4 tackles; 0.5 TFL, -3 yards; 0.5 TFL, -3 yards)
• Added one tackle and a single pass breakup at USC
• Named a Jonathan and Judy Hoff Scholar-Athlete of the Week
• Saw limited action in the spring game but did not record any statistics
Freshman (2015)
• Played in the final eight games off the bench as a backup defensive end after missing the first five contests with an injury and contributed 10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss (-5 yards) and 1.0 sack (-3 yards)
• Did most of his damage in the regular-season finale vs. Arizona State when he had season highs of five tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss (-3 yards) as well as his lone sack of the campaign for a three-yard loss
• Added three tackles at UCLA and one each vs. USC and at Stanford, also picking up 0.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards) vs. the Trojans
• Earned Cal's Clint Evans Award for the Most Intense Freshman Competitor
• One of three true freshman to play on the defensive side of the ball along with Evan Rambo and Trey Turner
Skyline HS (Class of 2015)
• Played on teams that won KingCo titles each of his first three seasons, while his freshman and sophomore squads were state champions
• Finished his career with 21.0 sacks in 18 contests all over his final two campaigns
• Named one of the Seattle Times Players of the Year, second-team Associated Press Washington 4-A All-State, All-County and Team Co-Defensive MVP as a 2014 senior despite playing in only seven of 10 contests, leading the squad in tackles for loss (13.0) and sacks (8.0, -39 yards), while adding 39 tackles for a squad that finished 6-4 overall, 6-2 in the 4A KingCo District and ranked second in the league in rushing defense
• Finished fourth on the team with 62 tackles as a 2013 junior when he was the Seattle Times KingCo Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-County and first-team All-KingCo District selection on defense after ranking second on the team and in the state with 13.0 sacks (-81 yards) while adding 5.0 tackles for loss, one interception that he returned 43 yards and one fumble recovery
• Added second-team All-KingCo honors on offense as a junior for a team that finished 9-2 overall and was 5-0 in 4A KingCo District play to win the West Division title while finishing the season ranked No. 8 in the state of Washington
• Named a team captain and earned his team’s Most Inspirational Player both voted on by his teammates during his junior and senior campaigns
• Missed nearly all of his 2012 sophomore season due to a knee injury but returned late in the campaign to help his varsity squad win a 4A state championship and cap an undefeated 14-0 season in which his team finished the campaign ranked second in the state of Washington and No. 17 nationally
• Wore No. 52 as a junior and senior after being No. 81 during his sophomore campaign
• Competed against Bothell High School graduate and 2015 Cal mid-year enrollee Ross Bowers as a prep
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2015)
Stars: Tom Lemming (3 Plus), 247Sports (3), 247Sports Composite (3), Scout (3), ESPN (3), Rivals (2)
National Overall Player Ratings: 247Sports Composite (1626)
National Weak-Side Defensive End Ratings: 247Sports Composite (71), 247Sports (83), ESPN (147)
National Defensive End Ratings: ESPN (152)
Regional Overall Player Ratings: ESPN (280)
Washington Overall Player Ratings: ESPN (17), 247Sports Composite (18), 247Sports (19)
Ratings/Scout Grades: 247Sports Composite (0.8174), 247Sports (80), ESPN (70), Rivals (5.4)
Other
• Full name is Cameron McCall Saffle
• Born July 13, 1996 in Bellevue, WA
• Parents are Thomas and Shauna Saffle
• Father attended ArtCenter College Of Design in Pasadena
• Mother is an executive at Microsoft
• Girlfriend, Amaryllis Tsiknia, is a neuroscientist at UC San Diego with multiple scientific publications
• Comes from an athletic family with brothers Dillon and Maxwell Saffle playing soccer and lacrosse at Saint Louis University and the United States Air Force Academy Prep School, respectively, while grandfather Stephan Foley played basketball and tennis at Rice
• Has produced several video projects including a
Cal football student-athlete video for The Running Man Challenge in April of 2016 that went viral with around 20,000 views on YouTube as well as about 3,500 combined likes and retweets from the
@CalFootball account with KTVU Channel 2 picking up on the story and
producing a feature
• Voice used throughout California Memorial Stadium on public address system for Cal football gamedays
• Earned a bachelor's degree from Cal in media studies
Last Updated
July 16, 2022
