Who Is The Best Player on Every Team Cal Will Face This Season?

For Cal fans, the most interesting reveal from The Athletic’s list of the top 100 players in college football may not be that Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is ranked No. 67.

Instead, it may be their judgment that JKS is a better player than anyone the Bears will face this season.

Only three players whose teams appear on Cal’s schedule are included among the 100, and all of them check in below Sagapolutele, according to The Athletic.

Sagapolutele’s performance in his college debut last year has elevated him to a ranking of No. 14 among the 17 elite quarterbacks included on the top 100.

Here’s what The Athletic said about him:

No. 67: Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, QB, Cal

The lefty showed star potential as a true freshman with his elite anticipation and ball placement. He threw for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions and should be even better with an upgraded supporting cast in 2026.

The other three players the Bears will face who secured spots on the list include two more quarterbacks: No. 69 Kevin Jennings, QB, SMU; 79. Will Heldt, edge, Clemson; 80. CJ Bailey, QB, NC State.

So, who is the best player on each team Cal will play this season? Here are our picks, folded in with The Athletic’s choices of the three above:

Wayne Knight tries to elude Oregon tackler | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

UCLA on Sept. 5: Wayne Knight. It would be an easy call to peg quarterback Nico Iamaleava, expected to blossom in his second season with the Bruins after two years at Tennessee. But our choice is fifth-year running back Knight, who followed coach Bob Chesney from James Madison to Westwood. The 5-foot-7, 193-pounder was prolific last season, rushing for 1,373 yards while also catching 40 passes for 397 additional yards. He averaged 7.2 yards per touch and scored 10 touchdowns. Plus, his coach has familiarity with him, meaning he won’t hesitate to give him the ball.

Syracuse on Sept. 12: Chris Peal. After two seasons at Georgia, the 6-1, 200-pound cornerback emerged for the Orange last fall with 47 tackles and seven passes defended. He was a four-star high school prospect out of North Carolina who rushed for nearly 2,000 yards and scored 36 touchdowns while also excelling on defense.

Wagner on Sept. 19: Logan Barnes. It can be tough to evaluate FCS players, but Barnes, a 6-1, 280-pound senior defensive lineman, is our choice. Barnes is a two-time preseason All-Northeast Conference selection who last fall had 40 tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss for the small private school on Staten Island.

Clemson on Sept. 25: Will Heldt. The Athletic’s choice had 15.5 tackles for loss, including 7.5 sacks, and totaled 45 pressures last season. Impressive numbers. He gets a challenge here from teammate Sammy Brown, a 6-2, 235-pound junior linebacker, who was a first-team All-ACC selection last season after accumulating 105 tackles 13.5 TFLs, five sacks, five pass breakups and an interception.

UNLV on Oct. 3: Jai’Den Thomas. The 5-9, 195-pound running back is nicknamed “Jet” for a reason. He enters his senior season with 2,457 career rushing yards and 33 total touchdowns. Thomas ran for 1,036 yards at 7.0 yards per clip last season to earn first-team All-Mountain West honors after gaining 918 the year before. He is on he 50-player preseason watch list for the Walter Camp Player of the Year award.

Virginia Tech on Oct. 10: Kemari Copeland. A 6-2, 305-pound fifth-year defensive lineman, Copeland was Tech’s lone selection to the preseason All-ACC team. He had 48 tackles, including 7.5 TFLs and 7.5 sacks last year. The Bears are familiar with him: Copeland had three sacks vs. Cal last year, becoming the Hokies’ first defensive tackle to do so in 30 years.

Wake Forest on Oct. 17: Davaughn Patterson. A redshirt junior cornerback, Patterson was second on the team with 80 tackles last season and also had nine pass breakups to earn All-ACC honorable mention.

SMU on Oct. 24: Kevin Jennings. We’ll echo the selection of Jennings, the 6-foot, 195-pound junior quarterback. He passed for 3,641 yards and 26 touchdowns last season and will be eager to avenge a 38-35 loss at Cal last season. The Athletic quote a Power 4 offensive coordinator who said, “He has been really solid and probably overlooked because it doesn’t look the prettiest all the time.”

NC State on Oct. 31: CJ Bailey. Hard to argue with The Athletic on this one after the junior quarterback’s preseason selection to watch lists for the Manning, Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas, Maxwell Club and Walter Camp awards. But wide receiver Victor Snow is definitely worth watching. He transferred in from Buffalo, where the past two seasons he caught 118 passes for 1,478 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Virginia on Nov. 14: Daniels Sparks. Virginia, surprise winner of the ACC last season, returns a pair of highly regarded offensive linemen in guard Noah Josey and tackle McKale Boley, along with linebacker Kam Robinson, who had pick-sixes last season against Louisville and Cal. We’re going outside the box to recognize Sparks, a 6-foot-6, seventh-year punter who averaged 47.2 yards per kick last year and has punted for nearly six miles in his career.

Stanford on Nov. 21: Matt Rose. The 6-2, 232-pound fifth-year linebacker returns after totaling 106 tackles last season earn second-team All-ACC honors. Rose had a career-best 14 tackles in the Cardinal’s 31-10 win over Cal.

Pittsburgh on Nov. 28: Mason Heintschel. Heintschel was good enough as a freshman quarterback last season to beat out starter Eli Holstein, eventually prompting him to transfer to Virginia. Heintschel passed for 2,354 yards in 10 games, had four touchdown passes vs. Boston College in his first start and threw for 423 yards and three TDs in a win over NC State.

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