Four Named To CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 Team
BERKELEY – Four Cal football student-athletes – Christopher Brown Jr., Braxten Croteau, Jake Curhan and Michael Saffell – have been selected to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-District® 8 Football Team, which recognizes the top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
With their All-District selection, all four will advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® ballot. First and second-team Academic All-America honorees will be announced in early July.
Below are notes on each of Cal's seven selections with an extended bio of each of available by clicking on their names.
Christopher Brown Jr., RB, 6-1, 235, Sr., 4th Season At Cal, Oceanside, CA (El Camino HS)
Major (Cumulative GPA) – Psychology (3.44)
– Second-team (Lindy's) and third-team (Athlon) Preseason All-Pac-12 selection prior to 2021 campaign
– Has played in 29 of 30 games possible including 14 starts since his arrival at Cal as a freshman in 2018 and is Cal's active career leader in rushes (266), yards rushing (1127), rushing touchdowns (10), total touchdowns (14), points (84) and all-purpose yards (1341), while adding 31 receptions and 214 yards receiving
– Played in all 13 games with 12 starts and set career highs in rushes (208), yards rushing (914), rushing touchdowns (8), receptions (22), yards receiving (166), touchdown receptions (4), total touchdowns (12), points (72), total offense (914) and all-purpose yards (1259) as a 2019 sophomore
Braxten Croteau, OLB, 6-5, 260, Jr., 3rd Season, Peoria, AZ (Liberty HS)
Major (Cumulative GPA) – Legal Studies (3.39)
– Has played in 15 games with two starts since the beginning of the 2019 season and posted career totals of 15 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss (-2 yards), one quarterback hurry, one pass breakup and one pass defended
– Recorded career highs of eight tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss as a 2020 sophomore, while his one pass breakup and one pass defended as a 2019 freshman are career bests while his loss of one yard on tackles for loss each season equals a career high
– Earned Cal's Stub Allison Award for his commitment to strength and conditioning and was one of the team's three true freshmen to play in all 13 games in 2019
Jake Curhan, OL, 6-6, 330, Cal 2016-20, Larkspur, CA (Redwood HS)
Undergraduate Degree In December 2020 (Cumulative GPA) – Business Administration (3.51)
– A two-time honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection in his final two collegiate campaigns as a 2019 junior and 2020 senior
– Started 40 of 42 possible games all at right tackle including a career-high-tying all 13 as both a 2018 sophomore and junior
– Had a string of 39 consecutive starts that spanned all 38 games of three consecutive seasons from 2017-19 and his 2020 season-opener as a senior at UCLA snapped when he did not start the next two back-to-back contests at Oregon State and vs. Stanford due to COVID-19 protocols but did return to the starting lineup for the final collegiate contest of his career in a home win against Oregon
Michael Saffell, OL, 6-2, 295, Sr., 5th Season At Cal, Huntington Beach, CA (Edison HS)
Undergraduate Degree In December 2020 (Cumulative GPA) – Business Administration (3.62)
Graduate Major (Cumulative GPA) – Data Science (4.00)
– First-team (Lindy's) and third-team (Athlon) Preseason All-Pac-12 selection prior to 2021 campaign
– Has played in 28 games with 23 starts since his 2017 arrival including 15 of 17 Cal games over the past two seasons as a 2019 junior and 2020 senior
– Pac-12 Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy, and second-team (Pro Football Focus), third-team (Sports Pac-12) and honorable mention (Pac-12 Coaches) All-Pac-12 as a 2020 senior when he started all four games and served as a team season captain