Twitter: tmekari97 | @calfootball
Instagram: tmekari | cal_football
Pronunciation
muh-CARE-ee
Mekari played in 48 of 49 possible games with 30 starts over the last four seasons of his five campaigns with the program from 2014-17 after redshirting as a 2013 true freshman. Mekari contributed career totals of 86 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-28 yards), 2.0 sacks (-13 yards), one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and six quarterback hurries. Mekari had a career-high 33 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss over a career-high-tying 12 games and a career-high 10 starts as a 2016 junior, while his 12 games played in each of his other three campaigns he played also equaling career bests, and his one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries as a sophomore were career highs. The legal studies major was Cal's lone first-team selection on the Pac-12 All-Academic Team earning the honor for the first time in his career as a junior and is a candidate for the recognition as a senior (announced Nov. 30).
Mekari's Career Game Highs
Tackles: 9 (vs. Stanford, 2016)
Tackles For Loss: 1.0 (eight times, last vs. Weber State, 2017)
Tackle For Loss Yards: 7 (vs. UCLA, 2016)
Sacks: 1.0 (twice, last vs. UCLA, 2016)
Sack Yards: 7 (vs. UCLA, 2016)
Fumble Recoveries: 1 (at North Carolina, 2017)
Quarterback Hurries: 2 (vs. Grambling State, 2015)
Pass Breakup: 1 (at UCLA, 2015)
Cal Career (2013 – Present)
• Played in 48 of 49 possible games with 30 starts over the last four seasons of his five campaigns with the program from 2014-17 after redshirting as a 2013 true freshman
• Contributed 86 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss (-28 yards), 2.0 sacks (-13 yards), one pass breakup, one fumble recovery and six quarterback hurries
• Had career highs of 33 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss (career-high -16 yards) over a career-high-tying 12 games and a career-high 10 starts as a 2016 junior while his 12 games played in each of his other three campaigns that he played also equaling career bests, and his one pass breakup and three quarterback hurries as a 2015 sophomore were career highs
• His 1.0 sack as both a junior (career-high -7 yards) and sophomore (-6 yards) equaled career bests
• Had a career-high nine tackles against Stanford as a junior, a career-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss on eight occasions and his lone career fumble recovery against North Carolina as a senior
• His seven tackle for loss and sack yards vs. UCLA as a junior were career bests
• Had a career-high two pass quarterback hurries in the season-opener vs. Grambling State as a sophomore while his lone career pass breakup came the same season at UCLA
Senior (2017)
• Played in all 12 games with nine starts and contributed 20 tackles as well as 2.0 tackles for loss (-4 yards), one quarterback hurry and his lone career fumble recovery at North Carolina
• Had a season-high six tackles and a career-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss (-2 yards) against Weber State
• Recorded two tackles five times – at Oregon, vs. Washington State, Arizona and Ole Miss; at North Carolina – adding a career-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss (-2 yards) and the fumble recovery in the season-opener against the Tar Heels
• Had a single stop four times at Washington, vs. Oregon State, at Stanford and at UCLA, adding his lone quarterback hurry of the campaign against the Beavers
• Served as a captain and started vs. USC but did not record any statistics other than participation against the Trojans and also at Colorado
• Registered one tackle and 1.0 tackle for loss (-1 yard) in the spring game
Junior (2016)
• Played in all 12 regular-season games to equal a career high with a career-best 10 starts
• Posted career highs of 33 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss (career-high -16 yards) while his 1.0 sack (career-high -7 yards) equaled a career best
• Registered all 4.5 of his tackles for loss over the final eight games with his career-long seven-yard tackle for loss yards coming on a career-long seven-yard sack in the regular-season finale against UCLA that was his lone sack of the campaign and one of 2.0 sacks in his career
• Had a career-high nine tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss (-1 yard) against Stanford
• Also picked up tackles in other games vs. Utah (5), at San Diego State (4), vs. Texas (3), vs. Oregon (3), vs. Hawaii (2), at Oregon State (2), at Washington State (2), at Arizona State (1) vs. Washington (1) and vs. UCLA (1)
• Had a career-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss four times all among the final eight contests in home games against UCLA (-7 yards), Oregon (-4 yards), Utah (-3 yards) and vs. Washington (-1 yard)
• Took 45 special teams snaps
• Cal's lone first-team selection on the Pac-12 All-Academic squad as a legal studies major earning the honor for the first time in his career with a 3.22 cumulative GPA
• Earned Cal's prestigious Jonathan and Judy Hoff Football School-Athlete of the Year Award and was also a Jonathan and Judy Hoff Scholar-Athlete of the Week
• Had two tackles in the spring game for the losing Gold squad
Sophomore (2015)
• Played in a career-high-tying 12 games with six starts and contributed 16 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss (-6 yards), a career-high-tying 1.0 sack (season-high -6 yards), a career-high three quarterback hurries and his lone career pass breakup
• Recorded a season-high-tying three tackles at Texas along with a six-yard sack that was the first of his career and also gave him 1.0 tackle for loss (-6 yards)
• Equaled a season-high with three stops at Utah
• Had two tackles and also a single-game career-high two pass breakups in the season-opener vs. Grambling State, as well as two stops both vs. Washington State and Oregon State
• Had one tackle each at Washington, UCLA, Oregon and Stanford, adding his lone career pass breakup against the Bruins and one quarterback hurry vs. the Ducks
• Contributed one tackle in the spring game
Freshman (2014)
• Played in all 12 games to equal a career best with five starts and contributed 17 tackles along with 1.0 tackle for loss (-2 yards) and two quarterback hurries
• Made a significant contribution to a defensive line that helped the Cal defense move up 48 spots from the previous season to No. 38 in rushing defense (144.6 ypg), cutting 44 yards off its per-game average allowed from the 2013 campaign
• Earned his first collegiate start in the sixth game of the season vs. Washington and was in the starting lineup each of the final four contests
• Had a big game at USC with a season-high-tying three tackles as well as a career-high-tying 1.0 tackle for loss (-2 yards) that was his lone stop of the season in the backfield
• Equaled a season-high with three tackles vs. Colorado
• Had two tackles each vs. Sacramento State, Washington, UCLA and BYU, adding one quarterback hurry against both the Bruins and Cougars
• Recorded single stops at Arizona, at Oregon State and vs. Stanford
• Named a Jonathan and Judy Hoff Scholar-Athlete of the Week
• Had a big spring game, recording 2.0 sacks (-5 yards) and 2.0 tackles for loss (-5 yards) with the same tackles total
Freshman (2013)
• Redshirted
• Did not play
Westlake HS (Class of 2013)
• A first-team All-Southern Section (MaxPreps) choice as well as the Ventura County and Marmonte League Lineman of the Year as a 2012 senior when he played on both sides of the line, recording 17 tackles and 3.0 sacks on defense while helping his offense to 377.7 yards of total offense and 26.4 points per game to earn a spot in the Southern Section Pac-5 playoffs
• Played offensive line on powerhouse teams during his 2009 freshman, 2010 sophomore and 2011 junior campaigns that won two Southern Section North Division titles and three Marmonte League crowns while compiling a 40-3 overall record, 24-1 Marmonte League mark, a pair of No. 4 state rankings during his freshman and junior seasons, and No. 17 and No. 19 national rankings in his junior and freshman campaigns, respectively, according to MaxPreps
• Offense had per-game averages of 44.5 points and 415.0 yards of total offense during his junior campaign, 42.4 points and 439.7 yards of total offense in his sophomore season, and 41.4 points and 409.2 yards of total offense as a freshman
• Played on both the offensive and defensive lines as a junior for a team that won the Southern Section North Division, finished 14-1 overall and 9-0 in the Marmonte League, and suffered its only loss in the California State Open Bowl in its final game of the season
• Recorded 27 tackles, 4.0 sacks and three quarterback hurries on defense during his junior campaign
• Named the Marmonte League Most Improved Player as a sophomore
• Had career totals of 44 tackles, 7.0 sacks and three quarterback hurries on defense
• A four-time Academic Honor Roll and Ventura County All-Academic selection, and a National Football Foundation Academic nominee
• Represented his school at a leadership conference hosted by Pepperdine
• Also played basketball and lacrosse
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2013)
• A three-star recruit according to 247Sports Composite, 247Sports, ESPN, Rivals and Scout
• Ranked as high as the nation’s No. 63 defensive tackle according to 247Sports, with additional rankings at the position by Scout (No. 67), ESPN (No. 73) and 247Sports Composite (No. 82)
• ESPN listed him at No. 177 among the top players overall in his region
• 247Sports gave him his top ranking among all players in California at No. 113, while he checked in at No. 121 according to ESPN and No. 153 by 247Sports Composite
• Scout listed him at No. 10 among the top defensive tackles in the West heading into 2013 National Signing Day
Other
• Full name is Tony Sayed Mekari
• Born September 23, 1995
• Son of Tony and Carol Mekari
• Brother, Patrick Mekari, is a junior offensive lineman on the 2017 Cal football team
• Major is legal studies
Last Updated
November 29, 2017
