Dec. 17, 1997
Cal Signs JC All-American Safety in Damian Marzett
Cal head football coach Tom Holmoe announced today that the school has received a national letter-of-intent from Damian Marzett (6-0, 195), a highly rated safety from Southwest City College in Los Angeles. Marzett is regarded as one of the top defensive backs in the nation from the junior college ranks and is expected to bid for immediate playing time at Cal next season. He will enroll in time for Cal's spring semester and practice with the team during spring drills in April. The rugged sophomore earned first team All-America honors as named by the California state junior college coaches association as well as honorable mention JC Gridwire All-America honors. He was also a unanimous first team Western State Conference selection. In addition to four interceptions, Marzett also recorded 17 pass deflections and 73 tackles during the 1997 season. He also blocked five kicks last season -- three punts and two field goals.
One of the field goals he blocked came against Harbor JC with 20 seconds left in the game to preserve a 33-32 victory for Southwest CC. He has played both safety and cornerback during his prep and junior college career, but is projected at a safety position for the Bears. "We're pleased to sign Damian and feel like he can have an impact on our secondary in his first season here at Cal," said Tom Holmoe. "He's the type of player who can cover wide receivers but also will be a force in run defense. The other thing is that he'll help upgrade our special teams. We feel he'll make a big contribution to our football team." Marzett originally attended Locke HS in Los Angeles and signed a national letter-of-intent with Texas A&M out of high school. He instead elected to attend Southwest CC to work on his academics. He chose Cal this week after considering Arizona State and Texas A&M.
