The 2025 college football season is nearly one month in the rearview mirror. Many of the stars of the 2025 season are off to the 2026 NFL draft, but those who remain in college have an opportunity to add to the body of work they have created.
2026 also presents an opportunity for new stars to rise across the college football landscape. One player hoping to emerge as a star next season is quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who is entering his sophomore season at California.
The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder was a top 10 quarterback in the class of 2025 when he committed to Oregon. However, Sagapolutele transferred to California one week after enrolling at Oregon to find a better opportunity to see the field in his freshman season.
California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) looks to throw a pass against the Virginia Tech Hokies | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images
Sagapolutele started all 13 games for the Golden Bears in 2025. He passed for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions while guiding California to a 7-6 overall record and an appearance in the Hawaii Bowl.
With the popularity of the NCAA transfer portal, opportunities like Sagapolutele’s with California in 2025 are becoming rarer for true freshmen across college football. Antonio Morales of The Athletic assessed the performances of the true freshman quarterbacks across college football in 2025 on Friday. Morales stated that Sagapolutele’s season was among the very best among the true freshmen.
“Cal’s Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was arguably the best freshman quarterback in the country in 2025. He threw for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions,” Morale wrote.
“There were growing pains — with multi-interception games against San Diego State, Duke and Virginia — but Sagapolutele displayed some exciting highs in victories against Minnesota, Louisville and SMU. Like Underwood, Sagapolutele will be playing for a new head coach, Tosh Lupoi, in 2026. Lupoi hired Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant coach Jordan Somerville as his offensive coordinator.”
As Morales alluded to, Sagapolutele stayed at Cal despite the coaching change from Justin Wilcox to Tosh Lupoi. Since the NCAA transfer portal has grown in its popularity, players are prone to leaving programs following coaching changes.
California’s Power Four non-conference opponent in 2026 is former Pac-12 rival UCLA, its only road non-conference game is at UNLV on Oct. 3. The Golden Bears only play three ACC teams that did not participate in the 2025 postseason: Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Stanford. Virginia is the only ACC foe the Golden Bears will face that won 10 or more games in 2025.
California Golden Bears quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (3) gestures during the first quarter against the SMU Mustangs | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images