Cal's Daniel Scott, Jackson Sirmon Named Preseason All-Pac-12 by Athlon
Two Cal players -- safety Daniel Scott and inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon -- were named to Athlon Sports' football preseason All-Pac-12 first team.
Neither players was on the first- or second-team all-Pac-12 squads at the end of last year, as Sirmon received honorable mention last season while at Washington while Scott did not even receive honorable mention despite some impressive statistics. He earned first-team all-conference status on Pro Football Focus' 2021 all-Pac-12 team.
Scott has played in 37 career games with 16 starts at Cal over the last four seasons after redshirting as a true freshman in 2017. Last season he had 82 tackles, three interceptions, 4.5 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble, three interceptions.
He is also a member of the preseason watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy given annually to a defensive player who has the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field.
Sirmon was fifth in the Pac-12 in tackles last season while playing for the Washington Huskies. Besides his 92 tackles, he had 0.5 tackles for loss, one interceptions and one forced fumble.
He transferred to Cal in January 2022, and is the son of Cal's defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Peter Sirmon.
Here is a video of Jackson Sirmon and Peter Sirmon:
No Cal players were named to Athlon's preseason all-conference second team, but four Golden Bears were named to the third team and two more were selected for the fourth team.
Cal players selected to Athlon's preseason third-team All-Pac-12 squad were running back Damien Moore, center Matthew Cindric, offensive lineman Ben Coleman and defensive lineman Brett Johnson.
Golden Bears on the fourth team included wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter and cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III.
Here is Athlon's entire preseason first-team all-conference squad:
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Cover photo of Daniel Scott by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports
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