12 Bears Named All-Pac-10

WALNUT CREEK-Bryan Anger (Jr., P), Cameron Jordan (Sr., DE) and Chris Conte (Sr., DB) were selected to the All-Pac-10 first-team in a vote of conference coaches announced by the Pac-10 on Tuesday. The three first-team selections tied for the third-most in the conference along with USC, behind the seven players picked from both Oregon and Stanford.

The trio led 12 Cal players honored by the league that also included second-team choices Mychal Kendricks (Jr., LB), Mike Mohamed (Sr., LB), Mitchell Schwartz (Jr., OL) and Shane Vereen (Jr., RB).

Sean Cattouse (Jr., DB), Chris Guarnero (Sr., OL), Darian Hagan (Sr., DB), D.J. Holt (Jr., LB) and Marvin Jones (Jr., WR) picked up honorable mention recognition.

Anger earned first-team honors for the second straight year after a second-team selection in 2008, while Mohamed had been a first-team choice in 2009 and an honorable mention pick as a sophomore in 2008. Jordan had previously earned honorable mention honors in both 2008 and 2009, while Cattouse, Guarnero, Schwartz and Vereen were all 2009 honorable mention choices.

Anger broke a 23-year-old single-season Cal school record with a 45.6 yard punting average in 2010 to rank second in the Pac-10 and eighth nationally at the end of the regular season. A second-time Ray Guy Award semifinalist in 2010, Anger's season average was also 2.3 yards better than his career average of 43.3, a figure that ranks second all-time at Cal behind Scott Tabor's 44.0 (1986-87). Tabor had held Cal's previous single-season record with a 45.3 average in 1987. Anger had 24 punts of 50+ yards in 2010, including a season-long 71-yarder against Stanford that was his third career 70-yard-plus punt against the Cardinal. He also pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line on 21 occasions and forced the opposition into 21 fair catches. Anger had a season-high average of 54.3 yards per punt against Stanford and averaged at least 41.0 yards per punt in each of his 12 contests. He also averaged better than 50.0 yards per punt (50.4 ypp) against UCLA on Oct. 9 and was named the National Punter Performer of the Week by the CFPA as well as the Pac-10's Special Teams Player of the Week. He was named an honorable mention CFPA Punter Performer of the Week after his performances vs. Colorado, vs. Arizona State, at Washington State and vs. Stanford.

Conte had the biggest season of his collegiate career as a senior, ranking third on the team with 72 tackles and currently No. 23 in the Pac-10 through the end of the regular season with an average of 6.0 stops per game. He also added 2.0 tackles for loss, an interception, three pass breakups, a forced fumble and the team's only blocked kick of the season on an Arizona State punt attempt, which he returned six yards for his first career touchdown. Conte played in 50 of 51 possible games at Cal but spent most of his first three seasons as a reserve cornerback as 12 of his 17 career starts came as a safety in 2010. He finished his Cal career with 157 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, two interceptions, 11 pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one forced fumble and the blocked kick for a touchdown.

Jordan was on the final watch list for the Ted Hendricks Award during his best season at Cal in 2010, recording career highs of 62 tackles that ranked fifth on the club and first among defensive linemen, as well as 12.5 tackles for loss for a 1.04 per game average that was second on the squad and tied for sixth in the conference at the end of the regular season. Jordan's 5.5 sacks were a half sack shy of his career high and second on the team, with his 0.46 sacks per game average currently ninth in the Pac-10. He also had a career-high and team-high-tying three forced fumbles for an average of 0.25 per game that currently ranks tied for third in the Pac-10. Jordan finished his collegiate career with 175 tackles, 34.0 tackles for loss, 16.5 sacks, one interception, five pass breakups, four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries, two of which he returned for touchdowns.

Kendricks was one of the top big-play players in the Pac-10 in 2010, leading Cal and ranking among the conference and national leaders with 8.5 sacks (0.71 spg, No. 2 Pac-10, No. 25-T NCAA) and 15.0 tackles for loss (1.25 tflpg, No. 3 Pac-10, No. 31-T NCAA). He was also tied for first in the Pac-10 with three fumble recoveries (0.25 frpg), while his 66 tackles for an average of 5.5 stops per game ranks tied for No. 32 in the conference. He added an interception. Kendricks will head into his senior season at Cal in 2011 as the team's active career leader in tackles (152), tackles for loss (22.0), sacks (10.5), fumble recoveries (5) and blocked kicks (1), while tying for the lead in games played (38). His other career numbers include 18 starts, two interceptions, three pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Mohamed led Cal in tackles for the second straight year in 2010 despite missing the only collegiate game of his career and having his playing time limited due to injuries in two other contests. Mohamed finished the season with 95 tackles and an average of 8.6 stops per game that is currently second in the conference and the same per-game average that he totaled in 2009 when he led the Pac-10 and recorded 112 total tackles. Mohamed came on strong at the end of the 2010 campaign, totaling 42 tackles over the Golden Bears' final three games, including a career-high 16 vs. top-ranked Oregon that earned him Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career. He also had an interception that he returned 41 yards for his second career touchdown vs. Colorado, 5.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and a team-high-tying two quarterback hurries. He reached double digits in tackles five times in 2010 (16 vs. Oregon; 14 vs. Washington; 14 vs. Colorado; 12 vs. Stanford, 10 at USC) to give him 11 double-digit tackle games in his career. He finished his Cal career fourth on the school's all-time tackles list with 340, while adding 20.0 tackles for loss, 7.0 sacks, seven interceptions (with two returned for a touchdown), nine pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and four forced fumbles.

Schwartz started all 12 games in his first full season at left tackle and has now started all 38 contests possible over the first three seasons of his collegiate career.

Vereen finished the 2010 season ranked among the best in the Pac-10 and the nation in both rushing and scoring. He posted single-season career bests with 1,167 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground in 231 carries, with his for 5.1 yards per rush average just trailing the career-best 5.2 average he posted in 2009. At the end of the regular season, Vereen is fourth in the Pac-10 and 25th nationally with an average of 97.25 rushing yards per game. His 96 points on 16 total touchdowns rank him tied for ninth on the school's single-season scoring list, as well as tied for fifth in the Pac-10 and tied for 42nd nationally with an average of 8.00 points per game. He scored three touchdowns in a game twice, vs. UC Davis (two rushing, one receiving) and at Nevada (three rushing), as well as multiple touchdowns in six of 12 games in 2010 and 10 times in his career. He also finished third on the team with three touchdown catches, as well as fourth with 209 receiving yards. Vereen has at least one reception in 37 of his 38 career collegiate games, including his first 33 career collegiate contests. Vereen's combination of rushing and receiving makes him the Pac-10's fifth-leading all-purpose runner and 56th nationally with an average of 114.67 all-purpose yards per game (1,376 total all-purpose yards).

Vereen has also placed his name all over Cal's single-season and career record books. After his first three seasons, he ranks among the school's all-time leaders in rushing touchdowns (29, No. 3-T), all-purpose yards (4,069, No. 5), rushing yards (2,834, No. 7), 100-yard rushing games (11, No. 7) and scoring (210, No. 9-T). In the single-season record books, his 1,757 all-purpose yards in 2009 ranks sixth, the 13 rushing touchdowns he scored in 2010 are tied for sixth, the 12 rushing touchdowns he posted in 2008 are tied for eighth, and his 1,167 rushing yards in 2010 are ninth.

Cattouse came on strong at the end of the 2010 season, starting team's final six games at safety and finishing sixth on the club with 59 tackles while leading the Bears with a career-high seven pass breakups. Cattouse registered 41 of his 59 tackles as a starter in the second half of the season. He also added 1.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, an interception and a quarterback hurry. Cattouse will begin his 2011 senior campaign as Cal's active career leader in interceptions (5) and pass breakups (15), while adding 109 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks in his first three seasons with the Bears.

Guarnero started all 11 of the games he played in at center in his final season at Cal to finish his career with 28 games played and 27 starts.

Hagan recorded 38 tackles in his final collegiate season in 2010 as he started nine of the 11 games he played. He also had an interception that he returned 82 yards for his first collegiate touchdown, 2.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and five pass breakups, with the sacks the first of his career. Hagan finished his career tied for sixth on Cal's all-time list for pass breakups with 25, while posting 124 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble in 38 games played and 26 starts.

Holt led the team in tackles for most of the season before finally finishing second behind Mohamed. He posted a career-high 85 stops for a 7.1 per-game average that is currently tied for 13th in the Pac-10. Holt also tied for the club lead with three forced fumbles and is tied for third in the Pac-10 with 0.25 fumbles forced per game, while adding 5.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, three pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a fumble recovery. When Mohamed missed the game at Nevada with an injury, Holt delivered a career-high 16 tackles - equaling the most by a Cal player since 2007 - to go along with his first career forced fumble. He posted his second career double-digit tackle contest with 12 vs. Stanford, and had nine stops on three other occasions vs. Arizona State, at Oregon State and vs. Oregon. He will head into his 2011 senior year as Cal's active career leader in forced fumbles (3) and is second behind Kendricks with his 136 tackles and 10.0 tackles for loss. He also has 2.0 sacks, six pass breakups and two fumble recoveries in 37 games played and 17 starts over his first three collegiate campaigns.

Jones led Cal in both receptions and receiving yards for the second consecutive year in 2010 with career highs of 50 catches and 765 receiving yards, while his four touchdown catches ranked second on the club. Jones ranks sixth in the Pac-10 in receiving yards per game (63.75) and 11th in the conference in receptions per contest (4.17). He also had the four longest catches of his career in 2010 (all 50 or more yards), including the longest touchdown catch of his career on a 52-yard completion from Kevin Riley against Arizona State. Jones exploded for career highs of 12 catches and 161 receiving yards at Nevada. The 12 catches are tied for the most by a Pac-10 player in a game in 2010 and tied for the seventh-most catches by a Cal receiver in school history, as well as the most since Geoff McArthur hauled in a school-record 16 at Stanford on Nov. 22, 2003. His yardage total against the Wolf Pack was the most since Lavelle Hawkins had 192 receiving yards vs. Oregon State on Oct. 13, 2007. Jones had a total of three 100-yard receiving games (the third and fourth of his career), also hitting the mark when he made four catches for 110 yards and a touchdown vs. Arizona State and four catches for 101 yards at Washington State. He will begin his 2011 senior season as Cal's active career leader with 94 catches, 1,424 receiving yards and 10 touchdown catches over 30 games played and 25 starts.