Grades for Cal’s Kingston Lopa, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele Stand Out

Cal’s Kingston Lopa ranks among the nation’s top safeties after two games, and Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele had a better performance in the 21-18 win over Syracuse than we were led to believe.

At least that is the assessment of Pro Football Focus, whose grades for each player are based on metrics that evaluate every play.

Some interesting numbers for Cal cornerback Daniel Harris, offensive tackle Michael Klisiewicz, cornerback Ricky Fletcher, safety Isaiah Crosby and tight end Dorian Thomas also made an impression.

Cal (1-1) hosts FCS-level Wagner on Saturday.

The Kingston Lopa Saga

We start with Lopa, whose three interceptions against Syracuse helped the Bears beat the Orange 21-18, and whose four interceptions for the season lead the nation. He also leads Cal in tackles with 11.

Lopa’s PFF overall grade of 86.2 for two games ranks fifth in the country among safeties, and his 90.1 grade on coverage is tied for the best in the country. Both marks lead all ACC safeties who have enough snaps to qualify.

However, Lopa’s overall grade of 86.4 for his performance against Syracuse was only the second best among Cal defensive backs for that game. Isaiah Crosby quietly had a slightly better game overall, according to PFF, with an overall grade of 86.5, although Lopa had a slightly better coverage grade.

What is more significant is that four of the seven highest Cal grades from the Syracuse game went to defensive backs, and the secondary has been the position of strength for Cal over the past decade.

Sagapolutele’s Surprising Grade

However, the highest Cal grade of the week belonged to Sagapolutele. Although his 182 passing yards against Syracuse were the fewest in his Cal career, he received an overall grade 91.1 and a passing grade of 90.7 from PFF.

Those marks were fourth-best among ACC quarterbacks for the weekend, and the three who had better grades – Miami’s Darian Mensah, North Carolina State’s CJ Bailey and SMU’s Kevin Jennings – all played home games against FCS opponents while Cal played on the road against a Power Four conference foe.

The next highest Cal grades from Saturday belonged to Crosby and Lopa.

Daniel Harris Tops ACC

Adding to Cal’s strong secondary performances is the fact that Bears cornerback Daniel Harris has been impressive through two games.

His overall grade of 76.6 for the season is the best of any cornerback in the ACC, and his 74.0 coverage grade is the third-best among ACC corners.

Harris is second on the team in tackles with 10, and he has been effective in coming off the corner on blitzes. He leads the team in sacks with two, and also has two pass breakups in coverage while playing 108 defensive snaps.

Offensive Line

Cal starting offensive tackle Jimothy Lewis played only 18 plays on Saturday, so it was assumed he was injured. But he received a poor grade of 23.8 in pass blocking, which may have contributed to why he was replaced.

His replacement, redshirt freshman Michael Klisiewicz, who did not play at all last season, was on the field for 46 offensive plays and had an excellent pass-blocking grade of 85.9. His run-blocking grade was not as good at that of Lewis, whose run-blocking has been much better than his pass-blocking so far for Cal.

It will be interesting see who Cal’s starting tackle will be for the Wagner game. (Cal has not revealed a depth chart for the first two games and will not issue an injury report for the upcoming nonconference game.)

Limited Playing Time

It will also be interesting to see how much playing time tight end Dorian Thomas and cornerback Ricky Fletcher get against Wagner.

Thomas, who was a first-team all-Mountain West selection last year at New Mexico, did not play at all against UCLA because of a preseason injury, and he played only two offensive snaps against Syracuse. Mason Mini and freshman Taimane Purcell got the playing time at tight end.

Fletcher, considered Cal’s best cornerback when the season began, was on the field for only 15 defensive plays against Syracuse. Injury might have been the reason for Fletcher’s limited playing time, although he had a poor grade of 48.7 for the time he was in Saturday’s game.

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