Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is No Longer a Freshman

Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is no longer a rookie. He expects more from himself this spring and so does the Bears’ new coaching staff. Sagapolutele is good with that.

So on Saturday, after throwing an interception in the team’s most serious spring scrimmage so far, Sagapolutele took responsibility but also gave defensive back Kingston Lopa a pat on the back.

“He kind of had a feeling of what we were going to run and just jumped on it,” Sagapolutele said. “That was a great play on him.”

A revelation as a true freshman starter last fall, Sagapolutele is now finding his way under Tosh Lupoi’s coaching staff and evolving as the face of the Bears’ program as they enter their final week of spring ball.

“I’m not that young freshman that I was coming in,” he said Saturday. “Definitely, I had to step up in a big leadership role. I’m still learning how to do that. Just continuing to keep these guys together and jelling is a great thing for us.

“A lot has changed. We have a great culture. Coach Tosh is doing great things here. As we keep going, preparing for the season, we should have a lot to be excited about, for sure.”

Lupoi credits new offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville, returning quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich and assistant QBs coach Jeff McDaniels for installing more of an NFL approach to the offense, where the Bears can more easily change protections, create advantageous matchups and dictate play with their tempo.

Sagapolutele, he said, “has done a nice job of commanding the offense in those categories. Still got some things to improve and he’ll be the first one to acknowledge that.

“That’s what you love about Jaron, attacking every day with a growth mindset. Seen some really great leadership skills rise out of him. It’s been impressive.”

Somerville said Sagapolutele typifies what everyone on the team is working hard to accomplish this spring.

“He’s been awesome. He is all smiles and takes in the coaching exactly what coach was talking about earlier, taking in the coaching and applying it,” Somerville said. “That’s the thing about it with all these guys right now, how much information they’re taking in and taking in the coaching and it showing up on tape. That’s the rewarding part from our side of things.”

Sagapolutele won the starting job in fall camp last year and became just the second true freshman at Cal to start the opener. He threw for at least 200 yards in every game, finishing the year as one of the nation’s most prolific freshman QBs with 3,454 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

He was better still over Cal’s final four outings, completing 69.7 percent of his attempts for an average of just under 315 yards with seven TDs and no picks.

With improved talent around him, Sagapolutele anticipates a jump in his performance as a sophomore.

“I definitely think I’ve progressed a lot,” he said. “There’s so much more I can work on. With this new offense it’s just getting comfortable in the system and just getting down these new connections that I have and continue build connections that I have with other guys.”

Sagapolutele praised Cal’s running backs, receivers and offensive line.

“I’m really excited for where we’re going,” he said.

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