For the third consecutive year Cal has a player on the Lott IMPACT Trophy watchlist, as Evan Weaver joins Jordan Kunaszyk and Devante Downs in being on that list. The Cal inside linebacker was one of 42 named to the list Friday, one of eight Pac-12 players on the list as well.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy, named for former 49ers and Raiders safety Ronnie Lott, honors a defensive player who excels in the areas of the IMPACT acronym (Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community, and Tenacity). A Cal player has won the award before, as Dante (then known as Daymeion) Hughes won it in 2006.

Weaver comes into 2019 entrenched at one of the inside linebacker positions for the Bears, coming of a season where he posted a team high in tackles with 159, which tied him with David Ortega in the Cal record books for the second-most tackles in a season (trailing only Hardy Nickerson's 167). He also returned an interception for a touchdown against Washington, cementing a dominant defensive performance in the win over the Pac-12 champions.

Weaver, a senior, sits only 29 tackles behind Mychal Kendricks for 10th place on the all-time tackling leaderboard at Cal (Weaver currently has 230 tackles over his three year Cal career in 36 games played)

Weaver's Career Stats

2018: 159 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 9.5 TFLs, 2 INTs, 8 passes deflected

2017: 55 tackles, 2 TFLs, 2 passes deflected

2016: 16 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1.5 TFLs

Career: 230 tackles, 13 TFLs, 6 sacks, 2 INTs, 10 passes deflected