Cal’s Martin, Mitchell named PSAC West players of year
California quarterback Noah Mitchell was named to the PSAC West’s top offensive player after passing for 2,937 yards and 25 touchdowns.
California University cornerback Jermal Martin Jr. was named a Division II First Team All-American after a season in which he had four sacks and four interceptions, two of which he returned for scores.
California University football junior defensive back Jermal Martin Jr. was selected the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year and Vulcans junior quarterback Noah Mitchell was chosen the PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Year on Wednesday.
The Vulcans featured 10 All-PSAC West honorees.
Martin becomes the second Cal defensive back in the last three seasons to be chosen the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Year, and becomes the first cornerback in the Western Division to receive the award in two decades. He also received All-PSAC West first-team honors for the first time after establishing personal bests in tackles, tackles for losses and sacks, in addition to matching his career high in interceptions. Martin tied for second in the PSAC with a team-leading four interceptions and was the lone player in the league to return multiple interceptions for touchdowns.
The South Philadelphia native ranked third on the team with 51 tackles (27 solo), finished second on the team with 8.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with four sacks. Additionally, Martin returned a punt for a touchdown and scored a defensive PAT on blocked kick.
Mitchell joins former quarterback Sam Mannery and former defensive back Rontez Miles as the only players in program history to be named both Freshman of the Year and Athlete of the Year in their careers.
A native of Ohio, Mitchell earned All-PSAC West first-team status for the first time in his career after ranking second in the league with a career-high 2,937 passing yards and a 64.4 completion percentage (251-of-390). Mitchell also tied for second in the league and matched his personal best with 25 passing touchdowns, plus ran for his third career score. The 6-4 quarterback is tied for the school’s all-time record with 69 passing touchdowns and is less than 550 yards shy of breaking the career record for passing yards.
In addition to Martin and Mitchell, sophomore linebacker Noah Dillow, junior defensive lineman Derick Korboi and junior center Bryce Perkins were voted to the All-PSAC West first team.