Ron Rivera gives blunt response on Cal retaining QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele

The Cal Golden Bears have themselves a quarterback. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has taken the college football world by storm as a true freshman. Now, the trick for Cal in the modern era is to find a way to keep him.

One person who isn’t worried about finding a way to retain Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele beyond this season is the Cal general manager, Ron Rivera. In fact, he was pretty blunt when recently asked about it.

“At the appropriate moment,” Ron Rivera said. “We’ll get it ready to go… I am [confident]. I really am.”

Of course, many schools still lose players whom they’re focused on trying to retain. However, Rivera isn’t worried about that as it relates to Sagapolutele. After all, as Rivera added, “This is the University of California.”

NIL and the Transfer Portal have allowed for free movement around the sport for athletes, as well as a way to incentivize movement. Within that, there are schools that have had records of success and others who have struggled more. Now, those financial challenges are growing for schools, as the House Settlement is allowing for revenue sharing with teams.

At Cal, this is less than a 12 months since the running back room was decimated by the Transfer Portal. Jaydn Ott was the headline back, leaving that room. However, he wasn’t alone. Ott was joined by Kadarius Calloway, Byron Cardwell Jr, and Justin Williams-Thomas. It’s obvious that the losses there have created some concerns moving forward about Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and what his future could look like.

Sagapolutele was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2025. He had been the 47th-ranked player nationally and the sixth-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. A Hawaii native, he initially went to Oregon before transferring to Cal.

Through five games this season, Sagapolutele is completing 61.8% of his passes for 1,242 yards and eight touchdowns to four interceptions. He also has 21 rushing yards and another touchdown on the ground. Along the way, he’s led Cal to a 4-1 record overall and a 1-0 record in ACC play.

Longtime NFL head coach Ron Rivera had been out of football since 2023, when his tenure with the Washington Commanders came to an end. Then, in 2025, his alma mater, Cal, brought him in to be the football program’s general manager. Within that role, he has oversight over the football program’s budget, staff, and roster. So, if anyone has some insight into what players the Golden Bears can retain, it would presumably be him.