Cal Football Countdown: 53 Days, Spotlight on Mike Saffell
The Cal Football Countdown continues with 53 days to go. As such, we're putting a spotlight on Cal's number 53, the likely starter at center, Mike Saffell.
Saffell, who was out during the spring, is one of the most loquacious characters on this Cal teams. Head coach Justin Wilcox has referred to him as 'a ham,' as Saffell got a reaction during his time on the Pac-12 Network for the spring game. Saffell has also notably taken over the reigns of the Patrick Laird Reading Challenge, and has gone around to schools around the area.
Saffell will be an important piece for the Bears for his on-field contribution as well. He's played mainly at guard, but his high school position at center is open for him to take in fall camp.
As A Recruit
3-star offensive guard (5.5)
99th best player in the state of California in 2017
Committed to Cal on October 5th, 2016
11 Offers (Multiple Ivy League, Cal was the sole Power 5 offer)
Saffell committed to Cal after an unofficial visit to Berkeley for the 28-23 win over Utah in 2016. He stayed on despite the coaching change, due to his familiarity with Steve Greatwood. He and PJ Poutasi were the two offensive linemen in that class.
Past Performance
Saffell is one of the rare offensive linemen in Cal history to start multiple games as a true freshman. Will Craig joined him there in 2018. The most recent to do that before those two was Brian Schwenke (Patrick Mekari did play as a true freshman in 2015, but in a backup role).
True freshmen don't often play right away, and that speaks to the level of technique and preparedness Saffell came in with (along with the attitude of wanting to bury people, something apparent in his high school film).
PFF Grades and Numbers
2017: 60.3 grade (53.8 pass blocking, 62.3 run blocking), 267 reps taken (157 pass blocking, 110 run blocking), 8 pressures allowed (3 hurries, 3 QB hits, 2 sacks allowed)
2018: 70.6 grade (86.4 pass blocking, 65.0 run blocking), 450 reps taken (266 pass blocking, 184 run blocking), 4 pressures allowed (2 hurries, 2 QB hits, no sacks allowed)
While Saffell's 2018 was cut short due to a 'lower body' issue, he impressed over the first six games of the year. With almost 200 more reps, he cut the amount of pressures allowed in half and didn't allow a sack. He was Cal's second highest graded pass blocker, behind Pat Mekari.
Role in 2019
Saffell should have multiple roles in 2019. Starting center, steward of the Pat Laird reading challenge, understudy to Evan Weaver on the Cal comedy tour, and a member of the campus's Sports Business Group (where he'd previously worked with the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS) are just a few of them. Cal's going to need him to help the offensive line turn a corner in cutting down their sack totals from a year ago (36 allowed in 2018). With Saffell and Valentino Daltoso back for fall camp, the offensive line returns some of the experience it lacked during the spring.