Cal DL Trevor Guyton will face hometown Huskies
Nov 25, 2010, 10:48 AM | Updated: Apr 4, 2011, 7:54 pm
MyNorthwest.com staff
For most college football players, playing against your hometown team typically provides some extra motivation.
Not that Cal’s Trevor Guyton needs it.
Plenty will already be on the line when Cal and Guyton, a 6-foot-3-inch, 285-pound defensive tackle from Redmond High School, plays Washington on Saturday.
Like the Huskies, Cal (5-6) is trying to become bowl-eligible, needing only a win against Washington to make a post-season game for the eighth consecutive year.
“Everybody on the team, we really feel like we need to go to a bowl,” Guyton said Tuesday on the Kevin Calabro show. “It’s another game. You get to play in another game. You don’t have too many games guaranteed. So every game you get to play in is an extra bonus. So to miss out on an (extra) game would just be devastating for our team. It’s another chance to get better.
“I’d be pretty upset if we didn’t go to one.”
Guyton moved to Woodinville from Philadelphia in 2004. After a senior season at Redmond in which he earned All-State, All-Area and All-KingCo Conference honors, he chose to attend Cal, never really considering Washington.
“It really wasn’t too much of a decision for me,” he said. “I really didnt want to stay in Washington. Im not originally from there. I’m not too fond of the weather out there. At the time, the program was kind of still in the toilet, so I really just didnt even think about it.
“But Cal is a great fit for me. It’s a great education. Great football team, great weather and great coaches, especially. The coaches are definitely what kind of had me.”
After playing reserve roles in his first two seasons at Cal, Guyton made his first career start in the Golden Bears’ Nov. 6 win over Washington State, racking up seven tackles and 2.5 sacks.
“That was a real fun game, especially because I’ve got a lot of friends who go (to WSU) and play there,” he said. “It was good to see them before the game and everything. Really that was my first start… So it makes it extra special when you get to play in front of people you kind of know and you care about.”
That win put Cal at 5-4, but the Golden Bears lost their next two games against Oregon and Stanford, scoring just 27 points total.
Guyton says Cal’s defense will go a long way in determining the outcome of Saturday’s do-or-die game with the Huskies.
“We’re on the line right now and so is UW,” he said. “We need to shut them out, especially because our offense hasn’t been doing too great.”
