Biography
Pronunciation
SUH-fell
Cal Career (2017-20)
• Played in 28 career games with 23 starts including all 17 Cal games at center over his 2019 junior and 2020 senior campaigns following his first eight starts at right guard including the first six as a 2018 sophomore before suffering a season-ending lower-body injury and two as a 2017 freshman
• Did not record any statistics other than participation
• Honored with the Pac-12's annual academic recognition each of the last two seasons as a first-team Pac-12 All-Academic selection as a sophomore and a member of the league's inaugural Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll that replaced its Pac-12 All-Academic teams as a junior
• Part of an experienced offensive line unit that includes 14 players that have played in a total 183 collegiate games at Cal and made 139 starts, including a group of four 2020 seniors that along with Jake Curhan (40/40), Valentino Daltoso (35/34) and Gentle Williams (11/3) have combined for 114 games of experience with 100 starts
Senior (2021)
• Announced his medical retirement from football on July 23, 2021
• Allstate AFCA Good Works Team Nominee®
• Players To Watch (Athlon)
• Preseason All-California Region First Team (SportsPac-12)
• Preseason All-Pac-12 First Team (Lindy's, Pac-12 Media, Pro Football Focus), Third Team (Athlon), Fourth Team (Phil Steele)
• Rimington Award Watch List
• Wuerffel Trophy Watch List
Senior (2020)
• Started all four games and served as a team season captain, recording no stats other than participation
• Named the Pac-12's Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year
• A semifinalist for the prestigious Campbell Trophy and Wuerffel Trophy honors that are considered the Academic Heisman and college football's premier award for community service given annually to the FBS player that best combines exemplary community service with academic and athletic achievement, respectively
• On the watch list for the Rimington Trophy honoring the nation's top center
• Named Second-Team (Pick Six Previews), Third-Team (Athlon, Lindy's) and Fourth-Team (Phil Steele) Preseason All-Pac-12
Junior (2019)
• Named second-team All-Pac-12 by Pro Football Focus
• Earned a spot on the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll
• Started 11 of the team's 13 games at center
• Made starts in each of the first six games but suffered a lower body injury in the sixth game of the campaign at Oregon that forced him to miss the next two contests vs. Oregon State and at Utah before returning to his starting center spot for each of the season's final five contests
• Served as a game captain at Oregon
• Earned Cal's Offensive Player of the Week honors against North Texas
• On the watch list for the Rimington Trophy and a nominee for the Wuerffel Trophy
• A nominee for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors
• Did not participate in any contact in spring ball or play in the spring game due to a lower body injury
• Did have an entertaining stint as a guest broadcaster in the television booth for the spring game along with Pac-12 Network broadcasters Guy Haberman and Nigel Burton
Sophomore (2018)
• Named first-team Pac-12 All-Academic
• Played in and started each of his first six games at right guard before suffering a season-ending lower body injury prior to the seventh contest of the campaign
• Helped the offense improve by an average of 32.3 yards per contest from its final 2017 number including a season-best 305 yards rushing at Oregon State that was its most since a 2016 contest against Oregon
• Did not record any statistics other than participation
• A nominee for CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors
• Played in the spring game but did not record any statistics other than participation
Freshman (2017)
• One of only four true freshman to see action along with Jeremiah Hawkins, Elijah Hicks and Gavin Reinwald
• Earned Cal's Clint Evans Award as the most intense freshman competitor
• Made his Cal debut by playing in seven games with two starts at right guard in back-to-back contests against Oregon State and at Stanford
• Played in his first contest off the bench against USC
• Did not record any statistics other than participation
• Helped protect quarterback Ross Bowers, who became the seventh quarterback in Cal history to throw for over 3000 yards and recorded the sixth-highest total in school history with 3039 passing yards while ranking among Pac-12 and national leaders in completions per game (22.67 cpg, 3rd Pac-12, 15th NCAA), passing yards per game (253.3 ypg, 4th Pac-12, 28th NCAA), passing yards (5th Pac-12, 33rd NCAA) and passing TDs (18, T6th Pac-12, T44th NCAA)
• Helped open holes for running back Patrick Laird, who registered the 19th 1000-yard rushing season in Cal history while becoming the 16th Cal player to rush for 1000 yards and the first since Daniel Lasco in 2014 as he ranked among Pac-12 and national leaders in rush yards per carry (5.9 ypc, 6th Pac-12, 31st NCAA), rushing yards per game (102.5 ypg, 7th Pac-12, 27th NCAA) and rushing yards (1127, 8th Pac-12, 39th NCAA)
Edison HS (Class Of 2017)
• A four-year member of the varsity program for squads that compiled a 36-13 overall record while winning one Southern Section Division 3 crown and three Sunset League titles
• Named the Sunset League Offensive Lineman of the Year for the second consecutive season while adding first-team All-State (Cal-Hi Sports, MaxPreps), All-County, All-Region, All-Area, All-Southern Section and All-Sunset League honors as a 2016 senior for a squad that finished ranked No. 10 in California by MaxPreps after posting a 13-2 overall record including four playoff wins while capturing both the Southern Section Division 3 and Sunset League titles before eventually falling to eventual state champion San Clemente in the Division I-A Regional finals with a berth to the state championship game on the line
• Senior team averaged the highest totals of his prep career with 404.9 yards of total offense and 36.9 points per game while totaling 6073 yards of total offense (4002 passing, 2071 rushing) and 553 points
• Earned Co-Sunset League Offensive Lineman of the Year, first-team All-Sunset League, Cal-Hi Sports All-State Academic and Sunset League All-Academic honors as a 2015 junior while also being selected second-team All-State and All-County while playing for a squad that was 7-4 overall and 5-0 in conference play to win the Sunset League title before falling in the first round of the Southern Section West Valley Division playoffs
• Started as a 2014 sophomore for a team that finished 7-3 overall and reached the first round of the Southern Section West Valley Division playoffs
• A member of the varsity team as a 2013 freshman for a squad that was 9-4 overall, won the Sunset League with a 4-1 conference mark and reached the semifinals of the Southern Section Southwest Division playoffs
• Wore No. 54
Other
• Born May 4, 1999
• Son of Mike and Cristie Saffell
• Took over from Patrick Laird as the lead ambassador for the Cal Athletics Summer Reading Challenge in 2019 and along with fellow offensive lineman Henry Bazakas visited approximately 25 organizations and spoke to over 5000 kids in the summer of 2019 to promote reading and combat summer learning loss with kids who completed the challenge receiving four free tickets to Cal's 2019 season opener against UC Davis and a talk from Saffell after the game
• Returned as the lead ambassador for the Cal Athletics Summer Reading Challenge in 2020, taking the event online due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Earned several honors at 2016 camps including the Overall Camp MVP at the NUC 5 Star Event, as well as the Outstanding Offensive Lineman at the 2016 B2G Battle Field, Elite Football Exposure Camp and Nike Opening Regionals in Los Angeles
• Has been privately coached by former San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Jesse Sapolu
• Also played rugby for the 16 U 2014 California State champion Back Bay Youth Rugby team
• Graduated from Cal with a bachelor's degree in business administration from the prestigious Haas School of Business in only three-and-a-half years in December of 2020
Last Updated
September 4, 2021
