Cal Football: Justin Wilcox Gives Pre-Draft Scouting Reports on 3 Golden Bears

Cal coach expects Ashtyn Davis, Evan Weaver and Jaylinn Hawkins all to play in the NFL

Photo by Stan Szeto, USA Today

Cal coach Justin Wilcox says he long ago stopped trying to figure out the NFL draft, but he is confident that three former Golden Bears waiting to hear their names called this weekend will ultimately play on Sundays.

Linebacker Evan Weaver, who was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, and safeties Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins are the three Cal players most likely to be selected in the three-day, seven-round draft that begins Thursday evening.

Davis is projected as possibly a second- or third-round pick, Weaver is likely to be taken sometime after that on Saturday, and Hawkins might wind up signing as a free agent.

“Three excellent football players and great guys,” Wilcox said in a taped interview with Chris Alvarez of ABC-7 TV. “They’re all a little bit different — different styles of play, different demeanors but all excellent football players and had a lot to do with our success on the field and off the field.”

Click here for our preview on how Cal will fare in the draft.

Wilcox said he does not typically watch the NFL draft, except to see how his players fare.

“I think it’s great for football and the fans. People put a lot of time into this and there’s a lot of pageantry,” he said.

Wilcox offered these final pre-draft scouting reports on Cal’s three most serious NFL prospects:

On Jaylinn Hawkins: “Extremely physical guy. He’s tough. When I talk to the NFL guys about Jaylinn, he is one of those guys who just plays with a ton of heart. He’s a warrior in every sense of the word. Great instincts. I think he’ll be real valuable. He can play all four special teams and will be a great teammate. I’m really excited about Jaylinn. He’ll stick somewhere because of the ball skills, the physical nature, the special teams, the intangible things that he brings.”

On Ashtyn Davis: “Ashtyn Davis is really scratching the surface. He’s a young player in terms of his experience with football. He didn’t grow up playing seven-on-seven and being in all these combines and camps and (with) personal trainers. He had a different path. Ashtyn’s a very gifted athlete and he is a driven person, so I expect him to be a really quality player for somebody. I think people are excited about his tangible skills because he’s got great physical tools, but also his thirst for knowledge. He’s always trying to improve and learn the game.”

On Evan Weaver: “Weave, there is just no argument about his production. Weave is a born-to-play middle linebacker. He’s got the demeanor. He’s definitely got a chip on his shoulder — he’s had it for a long time and he’ll always have it. I think that’s kind of got him to where he’s at now.. And he’s a guy that made more tackles than anybody in the country the last two years. You can’t argue with that. As long as he fits into whatever the system that they’re looking for, I think Weave’s going to be a heck of a player for somebody.”

Listen to the audio-only file of Wilcox's entire ABC interview below. He talks about Cal's NFL prospects five minutes into the audio file, and he touches on the odd 2005 draft when Aaron Rodgers dropped to the No. 24 pick 10 minutes in. About 15 minutes into the audio, Wilcox discusses the Michael Jordan documentary and his neophyte experience with Zoom.

*** How the Los Angeles Rams are adapting to coronavirus for the NFL draft: