Report: Ex-Cal LB Michael Barton Added to Bears' Football Staff
Former Cal linebacker Michael Barton will return to the Berkeley campus to be a quality control coach for the Bears special teams, according to Cal rivals.
On his Twitter page, Barton identifies himself as "special teams quality control - Cal football."
Barton, 26, was a quality control coach for the Fresno State defense in 2018, and was a defensive graduate assistant in 2019 for the Bulldogs. Jeff Tedford, who was Cal's head coach when Barton was recruited to play for the Golden Bears, was Fresno State's head coach those two seasons.
Barton, a graduate of De La Salle High School in Concord, Calif., played linebacker at Cal from 2012 through 2015. He redshirted as a freshman when Tedford was Cal's head coach, then played his next three seasons at Cal under Sonny Dykes. Barton played in 32 games, including 32 starts, all in his final three seasons at Cal. Following the 2015 season, Barton transferred to Arizona as a grad transfer to play his final season of college ball.
Barton, who graduated from Cal with a bachelor's degree in legal studies in May of 2016, finished his Cal career with 169 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, one interception, four passes defensed, three pass breakups, one fumble recovery and two quarterback hurries.
He led Cal with 80 tackles in 2014 as a sophomore and also led the team in tackles for loss with 7.5 tackles for loss. In his one season at Arizona, Barton was the team's third-leading tackler with 65 stops, which included 8.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks.
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