Cal GM Ron Rivera on Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele Injury vs. UNLV: It Was `Avoidable'

Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is among 10 Cal starters dealing with injuries — one of four in concussion protocol — coach Tosh Lupoi reported Tuesday.

Cal is not required to provide details about injuries, although we will get status updates when the ACC releases its initial player availability chart on Wednesday night.

The Bears (2-3, 1-1 ACC) return home Saturday to face Virginia Tech (3-2, 1-1) in a 12:30 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium.

Will JKS miss his first game in two seasons or could he return to face the Hokies? We don’t know.

We do know this much: Cal football athletic director and general manager Ron Rivera was not happy with the play that led to Sagapolutele leaving the game in the final minute of the half at UNLV.

Rivera called the injury “avoidable.”

Cal was trailing 24-7 when JKS rolled right and threw incomplete on first-and-10 from his own 25-yard line.

UNLV linebacker Elias Rudolph, a transfer from Miami, flung Sagapolute to the artificial turf and the sophomore QB’s head bounced off the artificial turf.

No flag was thrown, but Rivera clearly believed that should have happened.

“JKS’s concussion, in my opinion, was avoidable. And I agree with Tosh, something should have happened,” he said. “When the quarterback throws the ball and the defender sees him throw the ball, there’s no reason to allow him to violently grab a guy and swirl around him and throw him to the ground.

"Just go back and watch the tape. That’s all I’m going to say about that.”

Lupoi removed Sagapolutele from the game after watching him stagger back to the huddle. At halftime, he was told JKS was cleared to play, but Lupoi said he didn’t feel comfortable sending him back onto the field.

With backup Jackson Brousseau performing well at quarterback, Cal rallied to take a 25-24 lead in the second half before the Rebels answered to win 39-31.

Turns out Sagapolutele continued to show “some symptoms” during the second half and he now is among four Cal players undergoing multiple tests every day as part of the Bears’ concussion protocol program. Safety Kingston Lopa is also facing those protocols, Lupoi said.

The closest Lupoi came to providing a hint as to whether Sagapolutele might face Virginia Tech was when he offered, “He was cleared to go back in at one point. That tells you it was a minor whatever-you-want-to-call-it.”

Cal already has been playing without injured running backs Adam Mohammed and Carter Vargas. The Bears were desperate enough at the position that wide receivers Tyree Sams and Carson Perry-Smith were given snaps — and carries — at running back in Saturday.

“You may or may not see that this week,” Lupoi said.

Tight ends Dorian Thomas and Taimane Purcell have been affected by injuries, although Purcell is now healthy, as evidenced by his 91-yard touchdown catch last week.

Besides Lopa going out with the head injury, the Bears played portions of the UNLV game without defensive backs Cam Sidney and Daniel Harris, both ejected after targeting penalties.

Lupoi chuckled as he recalled a conversation through his headset with defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings, who was directing his unit from the press box.

Lupoi relayed which players had entered the game in the shorthanded secondary, and Hutchings had to tell him they were asking an experienced player to do something he hadn’t been exposed to in practice.

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