Twitter: @michaelbarton08 | @calfootball
Instagram: barton_ate | cal_football
Career Stats
Game Logs: 2015 | 2014 | 2013
Barton played in 32 games with 13 starts with all of his action coming in the last three campaigns of his four seasons with the program after redshirting as a true freshman in 2012. Barton announced in December of 2015 that he would finish his collegiate career as a graduate transfer elsewhere and then in January of 2016 announced he would play at Arizona in 2016. Barton, who graduated from Cal with a bachelor's degree in legal studies in May of 2016, finished his Cal career with 169 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss (-43 yards), 3.5 sacks (-19 yards), one interception, four passes defensed, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries. He led Cal with 80 tackles as a 2014 sophomore while also pacing the squad with 7.5 tackles for loss, both career highs.
Cal Career (2012-15)
• Played in 32 games with 13 starts with all of his action coming in the last three campaigns of his four seasons with the program after redshirting as a true freshman in 2012
• Registered career totals of 169 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss (-43 yards), 3.5 sacks (-19 yards), one interception, four passes defensed, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries
• Had both the lone interception and fumble recovery of his career as a 2015 junior vs. San Diego State and Washington State, respectively
• Posted his top season as a 2014 sophomore when he played in a career-high 12 games including a career-best 10 starts and had a career-high and team-leading 80 tackles while also pacing the squad with 7.5 tackles for loss (-16 yards) and 1.5 sacks that were just a half-tackle for loss and half-sack shy of his career-high 8.0 tackles for loss (career-high 26 yards) and 2.0 sacks (career-high 11 yards) as a 2013 redshirt freshman
• Had career-high-tying totals of 13 tackles and 1.0 sack (-3 yards) at Stanford in the finale of his 2013 redshirt freshman season
• Registered career-high totals of 2.0 tackles for loss and 10 tackle for loss yards, as well as a career-high-tying 1.0 sack, eight sack yards and one quarterback hurry as a 2013 freshman against USC
• Also had a career-high-tying one quarterback hurry and career-high-tying one pass breakup in his first collegiate game in the 2013 season opener vs. Northwestern
• Equaled career-high totals of 1.0 sack and eight sack yards during his sophomore campaign in the season finale vs. BYU
• Had a career-high-tying one pass breakup at Northwestern and at Oregon State both as a sophomore
• Led or co-led the team in tackles four times, including twice both as a sophomore (at Arizona, at Oregon State) and a redshirt freshman (vs. USC, at Stanford)
• Registered at least 0.5 tackles for loss in 17 career contests
Junior (2015)
• Played in nine games all off the bench in an injury-plagued campaign and contributed 25 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard) as well as his lone career fumble recovery and interception
• Had his biggest game against San Diego State when he registered a season-high seven tackles, his lone tackle for loss of the campaign and his first career interception
• Also had tackles in contests at Texas (4), vs. Grambling State (3), at Washington (3), at UCLA (3), vs. Washington State (2), at Utah (2) and at Oregon (1)
• Picked up his lone career fumble recovery vs. Washington State at the Cal 30-yardline to stop a Cougars' drive early in the fourth quarter and help preserve Cal's 34-28 win with the turnover one of three by Washington State in the fourth quarter
• Did not play in the team's last three games
• A second-team preseason All-Pac-12 selection according to Phil Steele while Athlon had him as a fourth-teamer
• Had one tackle in the spring game
Sophomore (2014)
• Honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection of the league’s coaches
• Played in 12 games with 10 starts and led the team with career-highs in tackles (80) and tackles for loss (7.5, -16 yards) while adding 1.5 sacks (-8 yards) and two pass breakup
• Started six of the first seven games of the season at the ‘MIKE’ linebacker position and four of the final five at the ‘WILL’ linebacker spot while coming off the bench twice vs. Washington and in the season finale against BYU
• Ranked No. 17 in the Pac-12 and No. 193 nationally with an average of 6.7 tackles per game
• Twice had double-digit tackles with a season-high 12 against Colorado and 10 at USC, adding 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard) in both contests and being credited for both a first-down assisted tackle and second-down solo tackle both at the Cal two-yardline in the second and final overtime of a 59-56 win over Colorado
• Registered 10 tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard) at USC
• Picked up nine tackles both vs. UCLA and at Oregon State with the total against the Beavers also leading the squad, adding a season-high 1.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards) against the Bruins, and 1.0 tackle for loss (-3 yards) and one pass breakup against the Beavers
• Totaled eight tackles at both Northwestern and Arizona with the latter total also leading the squad, adding 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard) and one pass breakup at Northwestern and 0.5 tackles for loss at Arizona
• Picked up other defensive stats in contests at Washington State (7 tackles; 0.5 TFL), vs. BYU (5 tackles; 1.0 TFL, career-high-tying -8 yards; 1.0 sack, -8 yards), vs. Stanford (5 tackles), vs. Washington (4 tackles) and vs. Oregon (3 tackles)
• Registered at least 0.5 tackles for loss in a team-high eight contests
• Did not play in the spring game due to injury
Freshman (2013)
• Played in 11 games with starts in each of the last three
• Co-led the team with two quarterback hurries, while ranking second with career highs in both tackles for loss (8.0) and tackle for loss yards (-26), tied for third in tackles (64), and tied for fourth in sacks (2.0) and sack yards (-11)
• Added one pass breakup and two quarterback hurries
• Recorded half of his 64 total tackles during his starts in the last three games, picking up a career, game-high and team season-high-tying 13 stops along with 1.5 tackles for loss (-4 yards) and 1.0 sack (-3 yards) at Stanford, 10 with 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) at Colorado and a game-high nine with a career high and team season-high-tying 2.0 tackles for loss (career-high -10 yards), and a career-high 1.0 sack (career-high -8 yards) along with a career-high-tying one quarterback hurry vs. USC
• Had nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards) along with his first career quarterback hurry and one pass breakup in the season-opener vs. Northwestern, with the latter two tying career highs
• Also recorded tackles vs. Portland (8), at UCLA (4), at Washington (3), at Oregon (2), vs. Washington State (2), vs. Oregon State (2) and vs. Arizona (2), with his other tackles for loss coming at UCLA (1.0, -4 yards), vs. Arizona (1.0, -3 yards), at Washington (1.0, -2 yards) and at Oregon (0.5, -0 yards)
• Registered at least 0.5 tackles for loss in a team-high-tying eight contests including each of the last five
• Had one tackle in the spring game
Freshman (2012)
• Redshirted
• Did not play
• One of six players to earn a team-high-tying two team awards, picking up the Scout Team Player of the Year on defense as well as the Freshman Lifter of the Year
• Cal’s No. 7 recruit according to Athlon prior to the season, while Phil Steele pegged him as the nation’s No. 24 freshman linebacker
De La Salle HS (Class of 2012)
• An All-American selection of MaxPreps, Prepstar and SuperPrep as a 2011 senior when he recorded 103 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, two passes defended, one fumble recovery and one punt block with a 34-yard return
• Played in the U.S. Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl following his senior season
• Named the MaxPreps California Division I Player of the Year as well as a first-team All-State choice of MaxPreps and ESPN as a senior when he was also the East Bay Player of the Year according to the San Francisco Chronicle and the East Bay’s Defensive MVP by the Bay Area News Group, as well as a finalist for ESPN High School California’s California Mr. Football
• Named a Super Soph by GoldenStatePreps in 2009 when he posted 72 tackles for the first of two consecutive seasons, ranking third in the East Bay Athletic League as a 2010 junior
• Played on successful prep teams that combined to go 40-3 during his three varsity campaigns from 2009-11
• Played on a 2010 junior squad that was unbeaten at 14-0 and the nation’s No. 1 ranked team, while his 13-1 senior team was ranked No. 1 in California, No. 3 nationally, and won both the California Open Bowl Division and the East Bay Athletic League
• Had nine tackles in the California Open Bowl Division win as a junior
• Played for a sophomore team in 2009 that finished 13-2 and was ranked No. 5 in California
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2011)
• Tabbed a four-star recruit by ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports
• Ranked as high as the No. 10 inside linebacker in the country in his final prep campaign according to MaxPreps, while Rivals listed him at No. 11, ESPN had him as its No. 19 linebacker while SuperPrep put him at No. 35 among linebackers
• Ranked as the No. 28 player overall in the state of California by ESPN and No. 39 according to Rivals, while SuperPrep had him at No. 31 in California/Hawaii/Nevada
Other
• Full name is Michael Anthony Barton
• Born August 27, 1994
• Parents are Mike Barton and Chakay McDonald
• Oldest of seven children in his family
• Graduated from Cal in May of 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in American studies
Barton's Career Game Highs
Tackles: 13 (at Stanford, 2013)
Tackles For Loss: 2.0 (vs. USC, 2013)
Tackle For Loss Yards: 10 (vs. USC, 2013)
Sacks: 1.0 (three times, last vs. BYU, 2014)
Sack Yards: 8 (twice, last vs. BYU, 2014)
Fumble Recoveries: 1 (vs. Washington State, 2015)
Interceptions: 1 (vs. San Diego State, 2015)
Quarterback Hurries: 1 (twice, last vs. USC, 2013)
Pass Breakups: 1 (three times, last at Oregon State, 2014)
Last Updated
August 2, 2016
