Did Oregon Ducks Miss Out On Cal Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele?

Shortly after the Oregon Ducks secured a season-opening win at Autzen Stadium, California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele wowed college football fans less than an hour north against the Oregon State Beavers.

The true freshman quarterback’s path to his debut included a brief enrollment at Oregon. His standout performance in his first game brings up the question of whether or not the Ducks lost big with his transfer to California.

Sagapolutele’s Journey

oregon ducks jaron-keawe sagapolutele quarterback dante moore dillon gabriel recruiting austin novosad brock thomas lanning — Aug 30, 2025; Corvallis, Oregon, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) leaves the field after a win over the Oregon State Beavers at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The four-star recruit out of Hawaii committed to play for the Golden Bears back in July of 2024. After multiple teams proceeded to send him offers, Sagapolutele made a pair of additional visits, including an official visit to Oregon in October 2024.

He decommitted from Cal on Dec. 4, and Sagapolutele committed to Oregon that same day and enrolled on Dec. 27. Days later, he left Orergon and transferred to the Golden Bears.

Sagapolutele won the starting quarterback role heading into the season with the Bears. Against Oregon State, he recorded three touchdowns on 234 yards and completed 20 of his 30 passes. He also showed his ability to run the ball, picking up 30 rushing yards on 30 carries. California went on to take down the Beavers 34-15 on the road.

The true freshman had an exceptional high school career. He threw for 3,404 yards and 46 touchdowns as a senior for Campbell High School. Sagapolutele also set the Hawaii state record for career passing yards with 10,653 yards, surpassing a total held by former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel.

Ducks Play Four Quarterbacks In Opener

Sagapolutele’s will now be tasked with backing up that performance in future games. The Golden Bears are set to face a Big Ten team, the Minnesota Gophers, later in the season, as well as a top-25 team in the SMU Mustangs.

Even though Sagapolutele gave California fans a lot to be thrilled about in his debut, the future still seems bright at the quarterback position for the Ducks.

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Dante Moore started at quarterback in the Ducks' first game against the Montana State Bobcats. Only a redshirt sophomore, Moore threw three touchdowns for 213 yards in a 59-13 blowout win, completing 18 of his 23 passes.

“He was sharp. He knew where to go with the ball. He was decisive with his reads, and he was able to make some checks,” Dan Lanning said. “I thought we had a simple plan, and a plan that we could execute at a high level. He went out there and executed it really well.”

While college football fans have high expectations for Moore, the other quarterbacks in his room received snaps and showed plenty of promise. Fellow redshirt sophomore quarterback Austin Novosad didn’t see as much time on the field, but recorded 40 yards on one completion

Luke Moga and Brock Thomas also played at quarterback. Neither tallied any completions, but Moga rushed 25 yards on one carry and Thomas rushed five yards on one carry.

Sagapolutele would have likely needed to wait for a starting quarterback role if he were to play for Oregon. Instead of limited snaps at the end of a lopsided matchup with the Ducks, he turned heads in his performance with Cal.