New Cal Quarterback Undaunted By His Spot on the Depth Chart

Quarterback Jackson Brousseau knew the score when he transferred this offseason from Colorado State to Cal.

The Bears have a starting quarterback, and a good one, in sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. That’s not likely to change.

So why would Brousseau, a 6-foot-4 225-pound redshirt junior with two years of eligibility remaining, come to Berkeley?

“The people here were the most important thing for me,” he said. “This coaching staff was awesome to me. And getting here and getting to spend time with Jaron. He’s an incredible player, an incredible person, even more so.

“That’s really important to me, just being around people that are amazing. I think I can come in here and compete and give this program everything I’ve got. This is the No. 1 public institution in the country, so that was a big piece of it, too.

“People first for me and I really felt welcomed here. I’m so glad I came.”

Quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich feels good about it, too. Brousseau has been a good fit, Rolovich said. He’s smart, he’s picking up new offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville’s schemes and he’s getting comfortable.

“It’s almost like there was a spot in the nest for him,” Rolovich said.

Sagpolutele, who passed for at least 200 yards in every game as freshman starter last season, is regarded as one of the elite young quarterbacks in the country.

Jackson Brousseau delivers a pass against San Diego State | David Frerker-Imagn Images

Brousseau, who hails from Lehi, Utah, had an up-and-down season at Colorado State last fall. The Rams were 2-10, fired coach Jay Norvell at midseason, and lost their final six games.

Brousseau had some good moments, starting with Colorado State’s Week 3 game against UTSA, when he came off the bench to complete 10 of 12 passes, including a game-winning touchdown with 29 seconds left.

He threw three TDs a week later in a 49-21 win over Fresno State and he passed for 293 yards and two TDs against Air Force. On the year, Brousseau saw action in nine games, completing 63.7 percent of his passes for 1,354 yards with ine touchdowns and three interceptions.

CSU hired Jim Mora, the former UCLA and UConn coach, to run its program and Brousseau decided it was time to move on.

“I felt like it was best for me and my family if we made a move and ended up here,” said Brousseau, who was married last summer to the former Jordyn Dent, a graduate of Utah Tech, where she played soccer.

Sagapolutele’s large shadow was not a deterrent, Brousseau said.

“He’s one of the best teammates in the locker room. He’s a guy I want to call all the time and just talk to because he’s so funny and so loving,” Brousseau said. “As a player, he’s extremely talented but he works his butt off. He’s always in he film room with us, pushing us to be better. We’re pushing him to be better. He’s amazing.”

Pushing each other to be better is the whole idea, Rolovich said. The Bears have six quarterbacks on the roster, also including Dominic Ingrassia, a redshirt sophomore returnee who spent the 2024 season at College of San Mateo, returning redshirt sophomore EJ Caminong, incoming freshman Nainoa Lopes from Honolulu powerhouse St. Louis High School, and Alonzo Esparza, a returning redshirt freshman.

“The (quarterback) room is really good right now,” Rolovich said. “We know Jaron and the season he had and what we think he can do. We want the full room to be the best quarterback room top to bottom in the country.”

Brousseau has embraced that mission, which doesn’t preclude him competing with Sagapolutele.

“I know he just got here and he’s got a lot to learn, but we’re pulling him up because if he rises our whole room rises,” Rolovich said. “They’re going to try to beat each other. They’re going to try to out-throw each other. There’s a healthy competition. But the understanding that if we all play better, Cal football is better, is definitely there in the room right now.”

Brousseau is fully on board. “That’s what we’re striving to do every single day,” he said. “All six of us need to be playing at a high level. It can’t just be you. If you’re just taking care of yourself, you’re doing it wrong. You need to be helping everyone out.”

Quarterback is the one position on a football team where, unless things go sideways, the starter is likely to get most, if not all, of the snaps each game. Even so, Brousseau, who was in and out of the lineup last season at Fort Collins, understands the No. 2 quarterback role has great value to a team.

“It’s incredibly important. The quarterback room takes a lot. You spend hours a week just studying and trying to pick apart what the defense is doing and how you’re going to attack it,” he said.

"I played a season and I can give everything I have to this quarterback room, whoever ends up playing. Sharing my knowledge. We’re learning this offense together. We’ve got a new coach. Everyone’s putting everything they’ve got into this.”

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