The Cal Football Countdown continues, and with 75 days left, we're taking a look at Cal's top five returning defenders, per PFF College.

(One caveat: Cameron Goode technically had the highest grade of anyone on defense, but he played in only one game, so he's not on this list.)

Key term to know:

Defensive stop: a tackle made by the defender that puts the offense in a worse-off position on the next play. Not necessarily a tackle for loss, but say a stop for no gain on 2nd and 9 to make it 3rd and 9.

ILB Evan Weaver

PFF Grade: 91.5 (Run Defense: 91.2, Tackling: 86.2, Pass Rush: 83.5, Coverage: 84.7)

Reps taken: 881

Weaver earned the highest defensive grade among the Pac-12's linebackers in 2018. He also graded out third overall among Pac-12 defenders and is the top graded returning defender in the Pac-12.

Weaver graded well by PFF standards thanks to his pass rushing efficiency (18 pressures in 86 pass rush attempts) and his defensive stops (74, most in the conference)

S Ashtyn Davis

PFF Grade: 88.6 (Run Defense: 78.4, Tackling: 77.6, Pass Rush: 58.0, Coverage: 89.3)

Reps Taken: 810

Davis's grade ranked him second among Pac-12 safeties in 2018 (trailing only Taylor Rapp), and was graded the eighth highest, tied with Stanford DB Paulson Adebo. Davis is the highest graded Pac-12 safety returning, and is tied for third among the highest graded returners.

Davis graded highly in coverage, thanks to totaling four interceptions in 22 targets, while allowing 13 receptions

CB Cam Bynum

PFF Grade: 84.4 (Run Defense: 85.1, Tackling, 76.0, Pass Rush: 54.3, Coverage: 83.1)

Reps Taken: 821

Bynum ranked 15th in the conference among defenders, 3rd among Pac-12 corners and 8th among returning players.

Bynum graded well in all areas aside from pass rush, though that's due to a limited sample size. Bynum allowed just over half of his targets to be completed (33 of 62) and had two interceptions and 7 passes broken up to go with it.

CB Traveon Beck

PFF Grade: 79.0 (Run Defense: 70.7, Tackling: 50.2, Pass Rush: 53.9, Coverage: 80.1)

Reps taken: 507

Beck graded out 34th among Pac-12 defenders, 9th among cornerbacks, 21st among returning defenders.

Beck's strength came in his slot coverage, with 3 interceptions in the slot and 6.2 yards per reception allowed (lowest in the conference among players with 40+ targets).

DL Luc Bequette

PFF Grade: 78.3 (Run Defense: 80.0, Tackling: 74.6, Pass Rush: 62.3, Coverage 73.5)

Reps Taken: 670

Bequette graded out as the 37th best defender in the Pac-12, the 9th best interior defensive lineman and the 24th best returner in the conference.

Bequette graded out highly thanks to his run defense, as his 32 defensive stops tied him for second in the conference among interior defensive lineman (with Colorado's Mustafa Johnson).