Three Cal Offensive Players to Watch Against Virginia Tech

Cal ruled out running back Carter Vargas on Thursday, and its quarterback, leading rusher and leader in catches are all still questionable. Here’s who the Hokies have to account for.

Sep 25, 2026; Berkeley, California, USA; California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) looks downfield for an open man during the second quarter against the Clemson Tigers at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cal’s Thursday availability report put running back Carter Vargas in the “out” column. He wasn’t on Wednesday’s report at all.

That matters because of who is still questionable: quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, leading rusher Adam Mohammed and Chase Hendricks, the Bears’ leader in catches.

Virginia Tech (4–1, 1–1 ACC) plays at Cal (2–3, 1–1) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ACC Network. Here are the three spots on Cal’s offense to watch, starting with the one that has two names.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Jackson Brousseau, Quarterbacks

Sagapolutele is in concussion protocol. Coach Tosh Lupoi called the sophomore “day-to-day” on Tuesday, and he’s been questionable on both reports this week.

If he plays, Tech gets the quarterback coach James Franklin described Monday as “as impressive of a prospect as there is.” Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards and 18 touchdowns as a true freshman. He went 24-of-39 for 286 yards in Blacksburg last October, even with Kemari Copeland sacking him three times.

This year’s line needs context. He has 1,180 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions on 65.2% passing. Against UCLA, Syracuse, and Clemson, he’s 61-of-104 for 572 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.

So Brousseau starting wouldn’t change much about how Tech plays this. The redshirt junior started eight games at Colorado State last season and threw for 1,354 yards and nine touchdowns. He came on at UNLV after Sagapolutele was hurt late in the first half, went 19-of-32 for 200 yards and two touchdowns, and led 18 straight points to turn a 24–7 deficit into a 25–24 lead. Cal lost 39–31. He hasn’t thrown an interception in 48 attempts this season.

Ian Strong, Wide Receiver

Strong is the proven piece of this passing game who isn’t on the report. The 6'4", 215-pound senior caught 52 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games at Rutgers last season. He leads Cal with 299 receiving yards on 23 catches, 13.0 per catch.

Hendricks has 32 catches for 8.3 yards apiece, and he needed eight catches to get 35 yards at UNLV. Cal’s passing game has lived underneath. Strength is where it goes for more. He caught Brousseau’s 10-yard touchdown with 28 seconds left in Las Vegas.

He’s been quiet lately, with 48, 44, and 49 yards in his past three games. But this is the part of Tech’s defense that has looked shaky at times this season. Maryland’s Malik Washington threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns against the Hokies on Sept. 19, and Tech has one interception in five games.

Adam Mohammed, Running Back

This is another crucial piece that is questionable for Saturday.

The 6'0", 220-pound Washington transfer has 336 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 73 carries, plus 17 catches for 168 yards and another score. All of it came in four games. In those four, he had 83% of Cal’s rushing yards and a third of its total offense.

Then he hurt his left knee against Clemson and didn’t play at UNLV. Without him, Cal ran 24 times for 69 yards and threw 59 passes. Redshirt sophomore Ashten Emory had 48 of those yards, and the next leading rusher was a freshman wide receiver, Tyree Sams.

Vargas, who hasn’t played since the opener against UCLA, was the other option. Now it’s Mohammed coming off a knee injury, or Emory and a committee.

The Hokies lead the FBS with 51 tackles for loss and rank fourth with 18 sacks, and they allow 87.4 rushing yards per game. Cal has given up 31 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.