Cal Sports Report

Once Ignored, Cal's Jacob De Jesus Will Be a Busy Man Tonight

The receiver/return specialist received no scholarship offers out of high school but says he's landed at his `dream school' to close his college career
Jeff Faraudo|
Jacob De Jesus
Jacob De Jesus | Photo by Jeff Faraudo

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California Golden Bears

Cal’s Jacob De Jesus will be one of the smallest but busiest players on the field at Oregon State’s Reser Stadium on Saturday night.

That’s quite a leap from his high school days in Manteca, Calif., when De Jesus had a total of zero scholarship offers. “Not even a look,” he said.

Of course, he was just 5-foot-6, 150 pounds at the time, which he understands was the reason no one paid attention. “It contributed immensely to me having to go to junior college,” De Jesus conceded.

Things changed dramatically after De Jesus earned All-America honors during his two seasons as a receiver and return specialist at Modesto Junior College.

Yep, he received one scholarship offer — from UNLV.

Having sprouted to 5-7, 170 pounds, De Jesus continued to produce for the Rebels. He totaled 2,239 all-purpose yards in two seasons at Vegas, leading the Mountain West Conference in both punt returns and kickoff returns in 2023.

In his final game with the Rebels, the LA Bowl last December, he caught a 9-yard touchdown pass, returned three punts for 75 yards, a kickoff for 27 yards and was voted Offensive MVP in UNLV’s 24-13 victory . . . over Cal.

In the video above, De Jesus dashes 38 yards on a punt return to set up a fourth-quarter field goal that helped seal the Rebels’ triumph. And in the video below we see his TD catch vs. the Bears and how he celebrated the moment. 

The bowl game matchup was merely a coincidence, and De Jesus had no idea at the time he would wind up using his final season of eligibility to play at Cal, which he refers to as his “dream school.”

De Jesus acknowledges he occasionally needles his new teammates about beating them nine months ago. “Sometimes I wear my LA Bowl shirt,” he said. “I know they weren’t at their best.”

The Bears played the bowl game without several injured players and quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who already had entered the transfer portal.

Among De Jesus’s fans at the LA Bowl were his fiancee, Kirsten Lopez, and their daughter, Amelia. who turned 5 earlier this month and has begun kindergarten in Walnut Creek, where the family of three resides.

Amelia became an internet sensation after this charming in-game interview at SoFi Stadium.

De Jesus will start for the Bears at the slot receiver position, where last season he caught 60 passes at UNLV. He also figures to be a significant upgrade for Cal as a return specialist.

“The more I can be on the field, the more I like that,” he said.

His success is a measure of his quickness and elusiveness but also his heart, De Jesus said.

“If you turn on the tape, you see that if you can play, you can play,” he said.  “My heart, how hard I go .. . I always try to be that person who outworks everybody. I always had to be like that because of my size. Had to make sure my effort is never questioned. I always had that chip on my shoulder.”

Cal freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has become a big fan of his fellow first-year Golden Bear.

“He’s a baller. You put it up and even though he’s not the biggest guy he’ll grab it,” Sagapolutele said. “He’s the hardest worker on and off the field. He’s competitive — even when we’re playing ping pong he gets mad for not winning one game.”

That work ethic allowed De Jesus to complete courses from afar at UNLV to earn his undergrad business degree while taking classes at Cal to be eligible for spring football.

De Jesus believes these Bears are ready to begin showing their best this season. 

“I feel like this team is really good. I’m really excited by the coaching staff and their plan for us,” he said. “It seems like the last few days it’s really been jelling for us. Everybody’s making plays. I feel like our offense is going to be really good.”

De Jesus is particular encouraged by what he’s seen so far from Sagapolutele. 

“He has a lot of talent. His arm . . . it’s something spectacular,” De Jesus said. “When we’re watching film, our receivers coach will say, `Man, just take a moment and look at this throw.’

“He is young, but I think that could be a good thing. He doesn’t get flustered and he knows what he can do. I think they made the right decision — he’s going to be really good.”

The quarterback and receiver found a rhythm almost from the start during spring ball. 

“My first pass I ever threw here was to him,” Sagapolutele said. “It was a deep ball. I just put it up and he went up and got it. We’ve just felt such a connection ever since and it’s just been getting stronger.”

 “That was my first catch in spring ball as well,” De Jesus recalled. “It was kind of a quiet day at first . . . Then out of nowhere, this guy threw me the ball and it was a straight connection from there.”

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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics. 

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