Cal Freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele: `He Plays Like an Adult'

Cal was pretty confident it was welcoming a top, young quarterback to campus last January when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele began spring semester classes.

But a sure thing?

That guy doesn’t exist, says coach Justin Wilcox.

“You never really know until they’re here,” he said. “People will probably tell you they have this test, they have this way that they can find out if a guy’s going to translate or not.

“I don’t buy that. Until they’re on the team, until they’re experiencing a new offense, playing against a different speed, (attending) college, you never really know.”

Now, five months after spring practice ended and heading into the third week of the 2025 schedule, Wilcox and his staff have at least a modest body of work from JKS to render judgments.

Kyle Cefalo, Cal’s first-year receivers coach and passing game coordinator, has never been part of a game or practice at Berkeley without Sagapolutele.

“It’s funny because he’s still a freshman because it feels like he’s been here for a while,” Cefalo said. “I don’t really look at him as a freshman. He’s incredibly talented and he has a great feel for the position. He plays the position like an adult.”

Sagapolutele, who turned 19 during fall camp, has impressed his coaches and teammates with his calm on the field. He doesn’t get distracted, he doesn’t get rattled, they say.

He has continued to improve and does not appear to have let early success go to his head.

The Bears face their biggest non-conference test Saturday night at Memorial Stadium against Minnesota. Both the Bears and the visitors from the Big Ten Conference are 2-0, but neither has faced opponent as good as they’ll see this week.

Sagapolutele will be challenged by a Golden Gophers’ defense that at least a couple NFL prospects, a unit that has allowed a total of just 130 passing yards and 10 points in two games.

Cefalo is not concerned for the Bears’ young signal caller.

Embracing the big moment

“He’s not scared of the big moment. He embraces it, he enjoys it. He can rally the troops,” Cefalo said. “It’s hard to show leadership as a freshman because you’re just trying to make sure you know what to do.

“You can’t lead if you don’t have your own self in order. He’s starting to make strides in that area (of leadership). You can just see his confidence building.”

It seemingly began to blossom midway through the second quarter last week against Texas Southern after the Bears scored just three points on their first six possessions.

Sagapolutele then directed three touchdown drives that pushed the lead to 25-0 by the midpoint of the third period. He was 12 for 12 passing for 142 over that stretch.

Asked about the slow start, wide receiver Jacob De Jesus said,

“It wasn’t just him. It was on all of us, the whole offense. Seeing him keep composure and keep that confidence in him, he came out there slinging the rock (in the second half) and we put some points on the board.

“I’m not surprised. I knew he was going to be like that since he came in the spring. He has that kind of swagger, that kind of confidence about himself. That’s who he is.”

It probably doesn’t hurt that first-year offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin has a successful history with freshmen quarterbacks. At Boise State, as offensive coordinator and then head coach, Harsin tutored freshmen Kellen Moore, Brett Rypien and Hank Bachmeier, who played significant roles or started a combined 32 games for teams that were 12-1, 9-4 and 12-2.

Harsin declined multiple interview requests for this story.

Cefalo, who was offensive coordinator at Utah State last season, said it’s on the entire offense to give Sagapolutele the support he needs. That means receivers being perfect on alignment, timing, the depth of their routes and then making plays when they present themselves.

Sagapolutele is doing his part.

“He’s going to give us a chance,” Cefalo said. “That’s incredible for a young guy to see the field the way he does, to see space the way he does and to be willing to pull the trigger and be fearless.

“It’s nothing but excitement and fun, having Jaron as our quarterback.”

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