Cal Football Video: Evan Weaver Talks at Combine About Running Fast for Scouts
Former Cal linebacker Evan Weaver met with reporters on Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and gave them a sample of the personality he’s shown the Bay Area the past four years.
He talks in the video about running fast during his workout on Saturday and getting The Axe back with Cal’s victory in the Big Game. He offered praise for former Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, also part of the 2020 NFL draft class, and gave a brief insight into his relationship with Cal defensive coordinator Ti DeRuyter.
Weaver even told a story about pulling off an unassisted quadruple-play as a youth baseball player, while acknowledging it’s not actually possible.
Asked what the future holds for him, Weaver said, “I think greatness. I think a lot of winning. I think a lot of playing. And I think a lot of hitting people hard. That’s what I do and that’s what I love to do.”
Weaver led the nation in tackles last fall and earned consensus All-America honors as well as Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. But he is not regarded as a high draft pick. At least not yet.
“I feel like I'm one of the top linebackers here,” said Weaver, who believes he is underrated because he played on the West Coast where few folks nationwide are awake to watch late-night games. “It’s not up to me at the end of the day we’ll see in about 10 years.”
Weaver knows what he has to do Saturday during his workout session.
“Just that I’m a hell of a lot faster than people think, be able to make top-5 in agility, just do my thing,” he said. “At the end of the day, the chips fall where the chips fall. I'm not the one who makes the decisions, so I’m just going to control what I can control.”
Weaver talked about the influences that shaped his career at Cal, including coach Justin Wilcox, linebackers coach Peter Sirmon and DeRuyter.
“I think just hard work and preparation. Coach Wilcox, coach, coach Sirmon, coach DeRuyter, they just instilled in us how to prepare for games, how to get everything right. Just to be able to bring that into the NFL I think will suit me really well,” he said.
Later in the video, Weaver hints that he sometimes butted heads with DeRuyter.
“I think the journey has been just wild. It’s been a whirlwind, to be honest. Coming into Cal, playing for four years . . . I feel like just yesterday I was playing pee-wee football, trying to figure out how to play the game. Now I'm here and it’s just really a blessing to be able to be in front of everybody.”
Weaver is among three former Cal defensive players at the combine. He’s joined by safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins, who will work out with defensive backs on Sunday.
