Sept. 14, 2010

NEWPORT BEACH - Senior preseason All-America linebacker Mike Mohamed was named the Lott IMPACT Player of the Week on Tuesday for his performance in Cal's 52-7 victory over Colorado at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. Mohamed is on the national watch list for the 2010 Lott IMPACT Trophy.

Mohamed had a huge game against the Buffaloes with a career-high-tying 14 tackles and his seventh career interception (Cal's active leader) that he returned 41 yards for his second career touchdown with 0:11 seconds remaining in the first half to give Cal a 31-0 lead at the break. He added a quarterback hurry and 0.5 tackles for loss. On the season, he is fifth in the Pac-10 and No. 29 nationally with an average of 10.5 tackles per game. He has moved into eighth on Cal's all-time tackles list with 266 during the contest. Last year, Mohamed led the Pac-10 with 112 stops.

"He's one of the most versatile linebackers I've seen in a long time," said former Cal head coach Mike White, now on the LOTT Impact Foundation Board of Directors. "He's a very physical presence against the run and has tremendous reaction to the pass. More importantly, he's a great young man and a great leader on the team."

Mohamed also excels in the classroom, having been named to the Pac-10 All-Academic team each of the last three years, including a first-team member in both 2008 and 2009.

"Sports were not an option growing up unless you were working hard in the classroom," said Mohamed.

Cal will receive $1,000 for its general scholarship fund in recognition of Mohamed's achievement.

Named after Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, the Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to college football's Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. Now in its sixth year, the honor is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player.

Sponsored by The Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation in Newport Beach, the award is given to the player who exhibits the same characteristics Lott embodies during his distinguished career: Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Cal has jumped off to a 2-0 start in 2010 with blowout 52-3 and 52-7 home victories over UC Davis and Colorado, respectively. Mohamed leads the team with 21 tackles, ranking fifth in the Pac-10 and 29th nationally. He also had a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown in the win over Colorado. Mohamed is Cal's active career leader with seven interceptions and twice has returned a pick for a touchdown. He is tied for third in the Pac-10 and No. 26 nationally in 2010 with his 0.50 per-game interception average.

The Bears will be on the road for five of their next seven games including a nationally televised ESPN2 contest next up at Nevada this Friday, Sept. 17 (7:00 p.m. PT).

Season tickets are still on sale with all five of the team's exciting Pac-10 home games still on the docket against UCLA (Oct. 9), Arizona State (Oct. 23), Oregon (Nov. 13), Stanford (Nov. 20) and Washington (Nov. 27) for Cal's final year in the current configuration of Memorial Stadium.

Season tickets in the Gold Zone and Blue Zone begin at $115 for youth and seniors, while season tickets also remain in the donor section comprising the best seats in the house.\

Call the Cal Athletic Ticket Office at (800) GO BEARS or visit CalBears.com to purchase your 2010 Cal football tickets now.

2010 REMAINING CAL FOOTBALL HOME SCHEDULE

Day, Date - Opponent - Time (TV)
*Sat., Oct. 9 - UCLA (Homecoming) - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Oct. 23 - Arizona State - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 13 - Oregon - TBA (TBA)
*Sat., Nov. 20 - Stanford - 12:30 p.m. (Fox Sports Net; locally on CSN Bay Area)
*Sat., Nov. 27 - Washington - TBA (TBA)
*Pac-10 Game