Cal Injury Report: QB Sagapolutele Still Uncertain for Saturday

In this story:
The initial injury report for Cal's Saturday night home game against Wake Forest was released Wednesday night, and three key Cal players are still questionable and two standout Wake Forest player are also questionable.
Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, running back Adam Mohammed and safety Kingston Lopa all missed last week's Cal game against Virginia Tech, and all three are listed as questionable for the game against the 21st-ranked Demon Deacons (5-1, 3-1 ACC).
There is a significant name on Wake Forest's injury report. Deacons wide receiver Carlos Hernandez, who leads the nation in receptions with 49 and is third in the country in receiving yards with 720, is listed as questionable.
Also, Wake Forest defensive lineman Langston Hardy, who has 9.5 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries, is listed as questionable.
Sagapolutele suffered a concussion late in the first half against UNLV. He was listed as questionable all of last week while he was going through concussion protocol and it came down to a game-time decision as to whether he would play. He was kept out of the game, and replaced by Jackson Brouseaau, who had a solid game in his first game as a starter for Cal. He has not committed a turnover in his three halves of playing time since Sagapolutele's injury. Brousseau was 29-for-43 for 321 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in the Bears' 25-20 upset of Virginia Tech.
Brousseau would make his second Cal start if Sagapolutele is unable to play Saturday.
Mohammed is still Cal's leading rusher with 336 yards, but he is in danger of missing his third straight game. Carter Vargas, Cal's No. 2 running back, has already been declared out for Saturday night's game, which means Ashten Emory is likely to be Cal's top ball-carrier if Mohammed can't play.
Lopa still leads the nation in interceptions with five, but he is also in danger of missing his third straight game with a concussion. (He played just one defensive play against UNLV.)
One other key Cal player listed as questionable is wide receiver Cooper Perry, who has made eight catches for 111 yards this season
Cal defensive lineman Nate Burrell has already been declared out for the game against Wake Forest.
Cal is 3-3 with a 2-1 mark in ACC play.

Follow California Golden Bears on SI on X: https://x.com/jakecurtis53

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.