When Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele transferred from Oregon to Cal this past winter, the move barely made a ripple outside of Berkeley and Eugene. But after his electrifying debut on Saturday, it’s fair to ask whether the Ducks may have let a potential superstar quarterback slip through their fingers.
From Eugene to Berkeley
Sagapolutele originally enrolled at Oregon late in 2024 but entered the transfer portal before spring practices and ultimately landed at Cal. For the Bears, it was a major recruiting win — the kind of quarterback talent they haven’t had since Jared Goff.
Head coach Justin Wilcox wasted little time naming Sagapolutele the starter for week one against Oregon State. That decision put the freshman in rare company: he became just the second true freshman in Cal history to start a season opener, joining Goff in 2013.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele made this throw from far hash as an 18 year old true freshmen in the second drive of his collegiate careerThis is not normalpic.twitter.com/jQ1Ei8irQa
— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) August 31, 2025
Making History Against Oregon State
If there were any nerves in his first career start, Sagapolutele didn’t show them. He completed 20 of 30 passes for 234 yards and three touchdowns with no turnovers in a 34–15 win over Oregon State in Corvallis…