Cal Coach Tosh Lupoi Celebrates Fan Response at Spring Game

New Cal coach Tosh Lupoi saw things he liked but also room for improvement during the Bears’ spring game on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

As much as anything, he appreciated the support his team got from a crowd estimated by a Cal official at 6,000 — a bit less than general manager Ron Rivera had projected, but at least three times what the event has drawn in recent years.

“It’s an exciting time for Cal football,” Lupoi said. “Really cool to see everybody come out, the energy, the juice.

"We’re trying to improve in any which way possible. I think the fan base is feeding off of that. They’re a huge part of this, a huge part of our success.”

Lupoi, Rivera and two others on the staff “drafted” Blue and Gold teams for the spring game, avoiding any temptation to field squads of 1s and 2s, mostly because there is no depth chart at this point.

The Gold team led 21-0 in a full-contact, 60-minute game, holding on to win 21-15 after sophomore quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele got his unit into the end zone for the only time all day, throwing a 12-yard touchdown pass to Trevor Rogers with 4 seconds left.

“Felt great to finally put points on the board,” Sagapolutele said. “Going the whole game without doing it is tough.”

The budding star and face of the Cal team competed 16 of 30 passes for 185 yards, including throwing a 95-yard pick-six by Arizona transfer defensive back Marquis Groves-Killebrew on a tipped pass on the first series of the game.

Asked to rate his performance, Sagpolutele said, “Definietly not the best, for sure.”

Lupoi, who returned to his alma mater in December after nine-year coach Justin Wilcox was fired, said the game was another opportunity to do what the Bears have been working on for weeks.

“It’s what we’ve done all spring, these opportunities to improve,” Lupoi said. “It was really good to see the back and forth. Plenty of stuff to improve on and clean up, for sure.”

He was pleased his team was flagged for just four penalties and praised the defense for takeaways, also including interceptions by defensive lineman Nate Burrell and defensive back Daniel Harris.

“The offense did a great job of sustaining long drives — got to improve at the end to score points,” Lupoi said. “The defense did an elite job of attacking the ball, the pick-6 there and the takeaways was huge.”

Other highlights were provided by backup quarterback Dominic Ingrassia, who scored on a 37-yard play-fake keeper around right end, and running back Adam Mohammad, a transfer from Washington, who piled in from the 2-yard line one play after dashing 58 yards.

Ingrassia, one of six quarterbacks to see action, completed 15 of 21 passes for 158 yards. Colorado State transfer Jackson Brousseau was 11 for 15 for for 85 yards, including a 34-yard TD pass to wide receiver Cooper Perry, a transfer from Oregon.

The Bears will reconvene as a full team for fall camp in early August, leading to their season opener on Sept. 5 at home vs. UCLA.

“It was a great spring. I think we’re in a good spot, honestly,” Sagapolutele said. “The amount of information we had to take in as quickly as we could was great. I think these guys adapted to it. If we keep this going, we’ll be in even a better place this season.”

Offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville talks in the video above on his assessment of his unit's performance on Saturday.

Defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings explains the benefits of the spring game, beyond allowing the coacning staff evaluating personnel. The Bears had dozens of potential recruits at the game on unofficial vists, and they were able to soak in the atmosphere.

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