Where Does Cal Quarterback JKS Rank Among Nation's Elite?

A year ago, when The Athletic revealed its initial tiered rankings of every projected starting quarterback in FBS, Cal freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was barely an afterthought.

And that was understandable, given we didn’t even know the freshman left-hander from Hawaii would become the Bears’ starter.

Ohio State transfer Devin Brown was projected by the website as the Bears’ No. 1 and he earned a Tier 6 ranking. “We’ll see . . . whether Brown can hold off true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele,” The Athletic speculated.

JKS was named the starter before the first game and flourished. Brown threw seven passes all season.

*** Cal QBs coach Nick Rolovich talks in the video at the top of this story about Sagapolutele's growing comfort level with new offenive coordinator Jordan Somerville.

Fast-forward a year and Sagapolutele is a solid Tier 2 QB on The Athletic’s 2026 list, ranked 14th nationally among 138 players placed in seven tiers by the site’s panel of three dozen college coaches, general managers, personnel directors, scouts and front-office staffers, representing from every college conference in the country.

JKS is the second-highest ACC quarterback on the list, trailing only Miami’s Darian Mensah, the Duke transfer who checks in as a Tier 1 choice at No. 4, and one spot ahead of SMU’s Kevin Jennings. Those three are the only ACC quarterbacks who landed in the top two tiers.

The budding Cal star is also the highest-rated sophomore in their rankings.

Here’s what The Athletic had to say about the Bears’ QB:

Sagapolutele burst onto the scene last season and was the best true freshman quarterback in the country. He makes several “wow” throws per game, plays with great anticipation and is extremely accurate. JKS has turned the Golden Bears into appointment television for college football diehards or anyone who appreciates good QB play. Now he’ll be surrounded by better weapons after Cal's busy winter in the transfer portal.

“He might be the best one (in the league),” an ACC personnel staffer said. “His ball placement is terrific, but it’s his poise. It’s his understanding of where to go when the initial read ain’t open. He was on his ass so much, yet he always got rid of the ball because he knew where to go with it. It was remarkable to me. He’s limited mobility-wise, but it doesn’t matter. Unless you’re asking him to run, he can play in any offense and excel.”

Here are the eight Tier 1 picks:

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

1. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
2. Dante Moore, Oregon
3. CJ Carr, Notre Dame
4. Darian Mensah, Miami
5. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
6. Drew Mestermaker, Oklahoma State
7. Arch Manning, Texas
8. Sam Leavitt, LSU

And here are the rankings of all 17 projected ACC starters:

Former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah, now with Miami | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Tier 1
4. Darian Mensah, Miami

Tier 2
14. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, Cal
15. Kevin Jennings, SMC

Tier 3
17. CJ Bailey, NC State
23. Mason Heintschel, Pitt

Tier 4
44. Steve Angeli, Syracuse
45. Ethan Grunkemeuer, Virginia Tech
46. Beau Pribula, Virginia
48. Gio Lopez, Wake Forest
53. Christopher Vizzina, Clemson
54. Lincoln Keinholz, Louisville
56. Walter Eget, Duke

Tier 5
60. Ashton Daniels, Florida State
62. Alberto Mendoza, Georgia Tech

Tier 6
68. Billy Edwards Jr., North Carolina

Tier 7
103. Mason McKenzie, Boston College
119. Davis Warren, Stanford

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