Cal Football: Evan Weaver Named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week
After Cal football’s major upset win on Saturday, linebacker Evan Weaver has been named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
On Saturday, the Cal football team pulled off a bug upset win, knocking off the (at the time) 15th-ranked Washington Huskies by a score of 12-10. They beat the Huskies for the first time in four years. Linebacker Evan Weaver played a large part in the excellent defensive effort, and for his efforts, was named the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Week.
Weaver led the team with 11 tackles, eight of which were solo tackles, and added a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. The big play was an interception late in the third quarter, picking off a Jake Haener pass over the middle in the final minute of the third.
That was Weaver’s first career interception, but he wasn’t satisfied with just that. He tucked and ran, picking up a block and he headed toward the sideline. He outran an attempted shoestring tackle by Haener, but was pulled nearly out of bounds by another tackler. Weaver kept his balance long enough to extend his left arm toward the pylon, just making contact before falling out of bounds to give Cal their first lead of the day, 12-7.
In a postgame interview on the field, he told Fox Sports 1 that he “just didn’t want to fall down”. Because he didn’t fall down, he scored the game-winning touchdown for Cal, who to that point, had only been able to kick a pair of field goals for six points.
More from Golden Gate Sports
- Raiders: Rookie stock report following Week 3 performance
- 49ers sign new long snapper amidst a flurry of roster moves
- Oakland Athletics win Game 2 of Wild Card round with late-inning drama
- 49ers: George Kittle and Deebo Samuel cleared to return to practice
- 49ers expected to place DE Dee Ford on injured reserve
With Weaver leading the way, the Cal defense put on one of its best performances in recent memory. They held the Huskies to a season-low 10 points and 250 yards, picked off Washington quarterbacks twice, and put together eight tackles for loss.
Weaver has been a nice surprise for the Bears this season. He was recruited as a defensive end as part of the 2016 class, and played 11 games at the position that year as a true freshman. He was even given the team’s Clint Evans Award as the most intense freshman competitor. The next year, he began a transition to linebacker, first as an outside backer before moving inside, where he currently plays.
He wasn’t supposed to be a starter this season, but when Gerran Brown was forced into a medical retirement in August, Weaver took over Brown’s duties as a starter. In eight games this year, Weaver ranks second on the team with 86 tackles and 52 solo tackles. He is tied for fourth on team with 4.5 tackles for loss (a career-high) and 1.5 sacks (tied for a career-high). His five pass breakups are second on the team.
Weaver has emerged as a defensive leader, along with fellow linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (who won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week the last time Cal beat a ranked team, last season against Washington State).
Cal's Dominant Defense Leads to Upset. dark. Next
Those two have been stalwarts in the middle of the defense, helping the defense be one of Cal’s best in years. Through eight games, Cal’s defense is allowing 312 total yards per game. If they continue that pace, it will be their lowest since they allowed 319.1 yards in 2010.