There are many questions surrounding the 2025 Cal football team. Due to the transfer portal, the team underwent some significant changes in the offseason. The changes came after Fernando Mendoza transferred to Indiana, so true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele will start under center.

Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is a former five-star recruit from Hawaii's 2024 class. After starting his career at Oregon, he transferred to Cal. ESPN College Football Senior Writer Pete Thamel reported and confirmed that he won the starting job for the Golden Bears over Ohio State transfer Devin Brown.

Thamel posted on X: “Source: Cal has named true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele the starting quarterback. He beat out Ohio State transfer Devin Brown. He's a four-star recruit from Hawaii who was a 2024 Elite Eleven finalist. Cal opens at Oregon State in Week 1.”

Keawe Sagapolutele was a high-profile member of Oregon's 2024 recruiting class and enrolled early. However, after registering and signing early with the Ducks, he changed his mind and entered the transfer portal in January, ending up with the Cal football team.

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The competition between Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and Devin Brown was interesting because both were new players for 2025 after Brown transferred from Ohio State. Justin Wilcox said Keawe Sagapolutele did enough to edge out Brown in spring and fall camp.

“Jaron, he’s special as a freshman, he is,” Cal general manager Ron Rivera recently said. “He throws off the platform, and many people I’ve seen in the NFL. Has the ability to change his arm angles. He can drop his elbow and flick it out there, and at the same time, stand tall and bring it over the top. There’s a special ability in him.”

In high school, he was special, beating Dillon Gabriel out for the most passing yards in Hawaii state history with 10,653 career passing yards to Gabriel's 9,848. Brown was also a former five-star recruit from the 2022 recruiting cycle, but the high upside for Keawe Sagapolutele was the difference-maker.

This feels like a make-or-break season for Justin Wilcox and Cal. They lost Mendoza and 33 players to the transfer portal, while the Golden Bears finished with a 6-7 record. Wilcox has shown flashes with the Bears, but now he reports to Ron Rivera, a Cal alum and former NFL head coach. That leadership shift is a massive change for Wilcox and could signal that Cal football is running a tighter ship than previously.