thoughts?

https://www.espn.com/contributor/pete-thamel/3431425fcff0c

Wow, if true, it would be a little surprising, but I'm ready for this wild ride.

Bearly Clad said:

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Probably the best case scenario. JKS was good enough to win and Devin Brown is a great vet to have behind him and as an extra QB coach in that room after learning from good coaching at Oh. St. I'm still waiting for confirmation since it seems like most of the reporting is based off of one guy with sources, we should know soon enough though, Wilcox is talking to reporters in a little bit. Here's an article I found from a different outlet

https://www.on3.com/news/cal-set-to-name-jaron-keawe-sagapolutele-starting-quarterback/

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The Cal Football twitter has confirmed it.

Kinda shocked. Hope Devin keeps it together and understands he is still vital to the season. JKS must really be showing something special.

blungld said:

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Kinda shocked. Hope Devin keeps it together and understands he is still vital to the season. JKS must really be showing something special.

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Jaron will have a baptism of fire at Reser. This is their Super Bowl, and it's going to be hostile. That said, I would think he won't be asked to do too much and if our o-line is much improved, so that we can run downhill all day, that could be the difference.

Given Wilcox' history with freshman QBs, I would not have bet this. It's exciting - we do not get recruits of this caliber, so good for the coaches to be willing to reward a true freshman. Best of luck to him! Go Bears!

adujan said:

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Given Wilcox' history with freshman QBs, I would not have bet this. It's exciting - we do not get recruits of this caliber, so good for the coaches to be willing to reward a true freshman. Best of luck to him! Go Bears!

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Actually he played McIlwain and Garbers as freshman, and he had Sam Jackson (not a freshman but really raw) as his opening day starter as well. So he's not against starting guys who are young with upside. Unfortunately he has not been the best in evaluating them or putting them in a position to succeed. I hope it's different this time with Harsin.

I'm a big fan of both QBs, but from the Spring game, it was clear who was ahead... and I posted about it. Like I actually didn't think it was close.

Wishing the best for Devin (hope he gets an opportunity, and maybe he can become a coach later), but JKS seems like he's the real deal.

A longer link of Wilcox's comments from today including some non-QB takeaways. Solidified starters and positional battles include:

• JKS at QB
• Cade and Ferrelli at ILB (although he mentioned Harrison Taggart and Buom Jock so they will probably see some time opposite Cade)
• Keanaaina at DT
• Mcullogh and TJ Bush on the edges
• Hezekiah "Zeke" Masses (all name team) and Brent "Paco" Austin are locked in at the outside CB positions
• At Safety Isaiah Crosby and Aiden Manutai are getting first billing but he specifically noted Dru Polidore, Jordan Sanford, and Tristan Dunn so we should see some snap shares there (with Isaiah being probably locked in and he noted how impressive Aidan has been as a true freshman to earn his first team reps)
• Kicker will see Abram Murray as the kickoff specialist (and possibly longer FGs) while Chase Meyer will be the place kicker
• at OL Leon Bell has taken one of the starting OT spots,Tyson Ruffins and Sioape Vatikani are the starting OGs, Lamar Robinson is the starting OC "for now" so I would assume that spot is penciled in but still up for grabs to an extent, Braden Miller will likely get first billing at the other OT spot. This is contingent on how things shake out though, he specifically noted that the 1s and 2s competition on the OL is very much to be decided and name dropped Nick Morrow & Frederick Williams III at OT and Bastian Swinney & Jordan Moko on the IOL (OGs but Swinney has been repping some at OC). I'd expect that the true top 5 at OL won't be settled until at least week 3 or 4 barring any injury/injuries (fingers-crossed that there are none). I expect that 4/5 starting spots for game 1 are pretty well decided but the play on the field in the early season will be paramount as I don't think any position is unassailable
• WRs DeJesus and Trond are clear starters but the other outside WR spot is very much wide open and won't be sorted until someone separates with game reps. Teams regularly play 5-6 WRs anyway but that starting spot and the extra snaps that come with it will be interesting to see shake out
• RB and TE are the real work in-progress/anyone's guess positions as both have 3 guys who will platoon it until/unless someone rises above the competition. Wilcox called the RBs 1a-c and noted they all did good things and I expect that to be a rotation through the year regardless as well as specific packages and play calls for each individually. TE sounds like it's the same way with the possibility for one to be a split out jumbo slot, one in-line, and one H-back with some overlap and interplay

Besides JKS, is Taggart not starting the biggest shocker ?

Start JKS, it makes sense if they are close or nearly equal skill set wise. If he doesn't play (much) this year, he like many other 4-5 stars, will leave. The inbred problem with the transfer portal, very little options for really good second-stringers or back ups. I wish him well. Excited for the team and he has great backup.

blungld said:

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JKS must really be showing something special.

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Or Brown isn't.

I mean . . . Ryan Day is a good offensive coach and look at his track record:

Will Howard (a fairly mediocre QB in terms of overall ability, you can see by his NFL evaluations):

Will Howard (2024)
-4,010 Yards
-73% Completion Rate
-35 TDs
-10 INTs
-9.5 Yards/Attempt
-175.3 Passer Rating

CJ Stroud (great rookie NFL season, regressed a bit his second year but promising talent) Was coached up by Ryan Day & staff culminating in:

CJ Stroud (2022)
-3,688 Yards
-66.3% Completion Rate
-41 TDs
-6 INTs
-9.5 Yards/Attempt
-177.7 Passer Rating

And that was after getting him ready for his first year starting when he had even better stats

CJ Stroud (2021)
-4435 Yards
-71.9% Completion Rate
-44 TDs
-6 INTs
-10.1 yards/attempt
-186.6 Passer Rating

And in his first year on the job he got the most out of Justin Fields:

Justin Fields (2019)
-3,273 Yards
-67.2% Completion Rate
-41 TDs
-3 INTs
-9.2 Yards/Attempt
-175.6 Passer Rating

I feel like that's more than doing your job in coaching up QBs at the college level. I mean look at Fields, he looks lost at reading the field in an NFL offense but Day & co. taught him the reads he needed to know and where to go with the ball so he looked elite. Maybe you could argue that he's not preparing better pros, outside of Stroud, with a very small sample size but he's a college coach who consistently develops productive QBs, that's all you can ask for

Regardless of who starts at qb, if the ol is not vastly improved it really doesnt matter

I have hope, last year showedwhat a poor judge of coaches jw can be with his promotion of Bloesch

If you own a business in the Bay, sign JKS up as your spokesman. Harder to move on...three years is enough!

This decision feels like a first tangible sign of regime shift from Wilcoxian blockhead think.

I am now excited about the season. Sagapolutele is a great talent, I hope the coaches put him in a good position to succeed with great playcalling.

calumnus said:

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I am now excited about the season. Sagapolutele is a great talent, I hope the coaches put him in a good position to succeed with great playcalling.

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No more 3rd and short with an empty backfield.

bear2034 said:

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calumnus said:

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I am now excited about the season. Sagapolutele is a great talent, I hope the coaches put him in a good position to succeed with great playcalling.

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No more 3rd and short with an empty backfield.

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So ridiculous, right? At least have a RB to fake to so you can keep them honest. If you are going to run your QB, bootleg off the fake….

okaydo said:

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Who was the last Cal QB to go to the Super Bowl?

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Jared Goff in 2018. Unless someone bought tickets since then but idk how I'd know that