Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele injury update: Cal QB leaves game vs. North Carolina after huge hit

Cal QB Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele left Friday night’s game against North Carolina after a huge hit in the fourth quarter. Devin Brown entered the game after the play.

Sagapolutele scrambled for an 8-yard gain on third down when he was met by a group of UNC players. Amid the swarm, he took a monster hit toward his shoulder area, which he favored earlier in Friday’s game even though he stayed in the game.

This time, though, Sagapolutele headed to the sideline to meet with the training staff. Cal didn’t convert the third down and had to punt the ball back to North Carolina with 10:29 to go in the game.

After North Carolina fumbled just before the goal line – resulting in a touchback – Sagapolutele returned to the game. ESPN’s Paul Carcaterra reported he went into the tent with an apparent upper body injury, but wasn’t warming up on the sideline before re-entering with just over three minutes to go.

At the time of his departure, Sagapolutele had completed 19 of 37 passes for 187 yards and a touchdown as the Golden Bears took a 21-18 lead. He’s in the midst of an impressive freshman season at Cal, taking over for Fernando Mendoza at quarterback following his transfer to Indiana.

Sagapolutele entered Friday’s game completing 62.2% of his passes for 1,487 yards and nine touchdowns, along with an ACC-leading seven interceptions. He arrived on campus this year as a four-star prospect and the No. 47 overall player from the 2025 cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking.

Through the early part of the year, Cal is already receiving questions about retaining Sagapolutele amid his strong start. In fact, general manager Ron Rivera addressed just that earlier this month and said he thinks the program will be in strong position to keep the Hawaii native in Berkeley next year.

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

Cal entered Friday with a 4-2 overall record, including a 1-1 mark in ACC play. The Golden Bears won their conference opener against Boston College, but fell to Duke last time out.

In that win over Boston College, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele turned in a strong performance. He went 22 of 34 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, which earned him a spot on On3 | Rivals’ Clark Brooks’ True Freshman Standouts from Week 5.

“With roughly a minute-and-a-half left in the game, Sagapolutele extended towards his dominant side and cooly orchestrated a nice delivery down the seam to Mason Mini for what ultimately was the game winning score,” Brooks wrote. “Nothing small about that play. Good ole all verts.

“Though a few other young QBs are vying for All-America honors, Sagapolutele’s impact and aura are arguably top of the crop as his continues to turn heads.”