Recent Campbell graduate and Ewa Beach native Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele left home the day after Christmas, set to enroll early at the University of Oregon.
Sagapolutele, a star left-handed quarterback, returned home to Oahu for the Polynesian Bowl, a high school football All-Star game set for Friday, still intending to begin college a semester early. Just not at Oregon.
On Jan. 3, Sagapolutele entered the NCAA transfer portal and signed with California on Jan. 5, the school he originally committed to in July.
After a senior season with the Sabers in which he became the Hawaii high school career passing yardage leader with 10,653, Sagapolutele’s college recruitment picked up steam over the fall. Despite his Cal commitment, he added offers from Utah, Georgia and Oregon during the season.
A late push by Oregon’s coaching staff convinced Sagapolutele to sign with the Ducks on Dec. 4, a signature that lasted less than a month.
Sagapolutele joined Oregon in preparation for its Rose Bowl game against Ohio State on New Year’s Day before having a change of heart. With incumbent starter Dante Moore facing three more years of eligibility as a redshirt sophomore entering 2025, Sagapolutele decided he didn’t want to wait to see the field.
“Nothing but love for the coaches over there. Great coaches and great players,” Sagapolutele told Aloha State Daily on Monday. “They're great people. There's a lot of talent in that QB room. There's just a lot of opportunities elsewhere for me I'd seen and me and my family just talked it over. We just made a decision for us. It's been great so far, but nothing but love to those guys for sure.”
The NCAA transfer portal has proven to be a double-edged sword for schools since its inception in 2018. Teams have seen players leave for other opportunities but also have the ability to restock their rosters promptly.
Fernando Mendoza, Cal’s starting quarterback in 2024, entered the transfer portal after the season and is now at the University of Indiana. His departure left the door open for Sagapolutele to immediately compete for the starting position with the Bears.
“Nothing but love for Fernando. He's a great guy. He's a great QB. I just think it opens a lot of doors for me, and also I'm going to have to compete come spring ball,” Sagapolutele said. “I just think it's a great opportunity for me to showcase early what I can do. Now that we have that new coaching staff there, I'm excited to just learn under them and just develop.”
California overhauled its offensive coaching staff after the 2024 season, bringing on former Boise State and Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin as the offensive coordinator. Also joining the staff is offensive analyst Nick Rolovich, who was the University of Hawaii’s head coach from 2016 to 2019.
“It's been great so far, especially with coach [Nick Rolovich] there and coach [Bryan Harsin],” Sagapolutele said. “There's a really great coaching staff over there. Just to be with a guy that played at Hawaii, coached at Hawaii, he knows what Hawaii people are like, I think it's really gonna be helpful over there for sure.”
Of all 134 FBS football programs in 2024, only two true freshman started their respective season openers at quarterback: Nebraska’s Dylan Raiola and San Diego State’s Danny O’Neil. With more veteran quarterbacks moving from school to school in search of a starting job, it has become rarer for players like Sagapolutele to get the keys handed to him as a freshman.
However, he’ll be under the tutelage of a pair of coaches who have pulled the trigger on starting freshmen in the past. Rolovich’s first starting quarterback at Washington State was Jayden de Laura, a true freshman in 2020. Meanwhile, Bryan Harsin rolled with Hank Bachmeier at Boise State to open 2019, another true frosh.
“I'm so excited that I can possibly get that chance,” Sagapolutele said. “Being under coach Rolo, coach Harsin, man, it's going to be a great feeling, a great experience. Just to play early and just to get that experience for the next years to come, I really think that's a big part in my college career. We're going to have our ups and downs for sure, but just continue to persevere through them. I think we'll get to it.”
In an era where players like Sagapolutele are empowered to pursue opportunities in their best interests, social media has also made fans and followers alike able to chirp at players and coaches. From his commitment to Oregon to his departure, as well as his enrollment at California-Berkeley, Sagapolutele has become a polarizing figure.
“Social media, it's part of the game. Just tuning it out, I didn't really focus on it,” Sagapolutele said. “Just focusing on what I can control. That's what I can control. It’s really the main thing. And just keeping God in the in the center of all of it, he really helps me out.”
As Sagapolutele’s national profile continued to bloom last fall, California’s fans never stopped believing, particularly “The Calgorithm,” a community of humorous Cal fans.
“The Calgorithm, Caloha. Man, it's such a great family. Even when I was at Oregon, they still tweeted out that they still want me back. Now that I came back, they still welcome me with open arms,” Sagapolutele said. “Just nothing but love and support from that. I'm just so grateful that we have a fanbase that'll back me up, but also that shows that I have a lot on my shoulders. It's a lot to carry, but if we win games, I believe they'll be happy, and that's what I'm here for.”
Before he begins classes at Cal-Berkeley on Jan. 21, Sagapolutele will have one last high school football game: The 2025 Polynesian Bowl, which kicks off at 4 p.m. on Friday at Kamehameha’s Kunuiakea Stadium. The game will also be televised nationally on NFL Network.
“A great feeling. I'm just so thankful, first and foremost, to my lord and savior, Jesus Christ, for just blessing me with these opportunities," Sagapolutele said. "To be able to just come back home and play my last high school game here, it's a really great feeling. I'm just so truly excited to show what I can do in front of my family for one last time.”
Christian Shimabuku can be reached at christian@alohastatedaily.com.
