Cal picks up Hybrid Lake Travis Texas DT Tevin Paul

Written by Ryan Wright

An interesting recruiting shockwave went through the college football world on Sunday when Cal went into the University of Texas’ backyard on Sunday landing hybrid defensive lineman Tevin Paul.

Paul, listed at 6’4”, 265 pounds, seems to fit the mold head coach Sonny Dykes is going for with defensive lineman going forward. The Austin area talent is roughly the same size as another Golden Bears commitment, Chris Yaghi, who is listed at 6’4”, 269 pounds. Without talking to the staff one can guess that the idea is to get players that are quick, have a good frame, can play, but also has the frame to mold into the type of player desired to run Art Kaufman’s defense up the middle.

Cal was able to land the under the radar recruit over reported offers from Air Force, SMU, Tulsa, and Northwestern.

In 2014 Paul helped the Cavaliers to a 10-2 record coming up with 36 total tackles, 5 sacks, and 3 pass deflections in eight games played.

Cal’s 2015 recruiting class was heavy on defensive linemen taking six overall. That haul included one legitimate tackle in Luc Bequette (6’2”, 290) and five “tweeners” including two pass rush ends (Trevor Howard and DeVante Wilson) and three undersized tackles/ends (Cameron Saffle, Russell Ude, and Zeandae Johnson) that could also lineup at strong-side defensive end if needed.

Cal Golden Bears 2016 Verbal Commitment List
QB Max Gilliam, 6’3”, 190 lbs, Oaks Christian, Thousand Oaks, California
QB Armani Rogers, 6’6”, 200 lbs, Hamilton High School, Los Angeles, California
RB Derrick Clark, 5’11”, 195 lbs, Mission Bay HS, San Diego, California
RB Zion Echols, 5’9”, 175 lbs, Charter Oak HS, Covina, California
WR/TE Logan Gamble, 6’6”, 200 lbs, St. Anthony’s HS, Long Beach, California
WR Drew Kobayashi, 6’2”, 185 lbs, St. Louis HS, Honolulu, Hawaii
WR Matt Laris, 6’4”, 210 lbs, Eastside Catholic HS, Sammamish, Washington
OG Francisco Perez, 6’5”, 300 lbs, Baldwin Park HS, Baldwin Park, California
OT Daniel Juarez, 6’5”, 270 lbs, Centennial High School, Corona, California
OT Jake Curhan, 6’7”, 305 lbs, Redwood High School, Larkspur, California
CB Traveon Beck, 5’10”, 170 lbs, St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower, California
CB Camryn Bynum, 5’10”, 165 lbs, Centennial HS, Corona, California
CB Joshua Drayden, 5’9.5”, 168 lbs, Bishop Dunne HS, Dallas, Texas
LB Markus Wright, 6’2”, 215 lbs, Jordan HS, Columbus, Georgia
DE Russell Becker, 6’4”, 255 lbs, Fergus Falls C.C., Fergus Falls, Minnesota
DT Tevin Paul, 6’4”, 265 lbs, Lake Travis HS, Austin, Texas
DT Chris Yaghi, 6’4”, 269 lbs, Foothill HS, Santa Ana, California

Photo credit: scout.com; Tevin Paul.