Are you ready for the 2026 season?
Bear Insider is breaking down each of Cal’s 12 position groups — QB, RB, WR, TE, OL, DT, ILB, OLB, DE, DB, S and ST — before the nation’s No. 1 public university hosts UCLA in a primetime Week 1 matchup on Sep. 5 in Berkeley.
First, we’ll look at the signal-callers. And, well, this should be pretty clear-cut.
JKS (Just Keep Slinging)
He needs no introduction.
You know the name. You know where he’s from. You know what he’s done. You know what he still aims to do. And you know he holds the keys to Cal’s offense — and the program’s future.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele threw for 3,454 yards, 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions as a freshman with limited options and several dropped passes.
Really, what the nation saw last season was just a 19-year-old kid figuring out life on the mainland for the first time, who was throwing receivers open from contested pockets.
Now, without having to compete for the starting job during fall camp, Sagapolutele enters his sophomore year comfortable and with a variety of elite pass-catching options and ideally a better offensive line, in a system led by pro-style offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville.
Simply put, the Golden Bears have Sagapolutele while no one else does. And all things are possible when you have the potential No. 1 pick in the 2028 NFL Draft on your side.
“I'm just excited to put it all together,” Sagapolutele told Bear Insider. “I'm excited for UCLA. I'm excited for every game we're going to play.”
Decent Depth
There are three realistic candidates for QB2: Jackson Brousseau, EJ Caminong and Dominic Ingrassia.
Caminong is a redshirt freshman entering his third year in Berkeley. He appeared in one game in 2025 and, in his biggest opportunity thus far, struggled in Cal’s LA Bowl loss to UNLV in 2024. Caminong, though, frequently looks sharp in practice, giving the defense good looks with his quick decision-making and accuracy.
Brousseau played three seasons at Colorado State and collected serious reps in 2025. As a redshirt sophomore, he threw for 1,354 yards and nine touchdowns with three interceptions. Brousseau appears to be the front-runner in the QB2 race off his experience alone, and has been touted by the staff for his immeasurable leadership and maturity.
Ingrassia, a Bay Area JUCO product out of San Marin High, has made strides this offseason and brings an intriguing combination of athleticism, size and arm strength. In 2024, he threw for 1,590 yards and 13 touchdowns over a title run at College of San Mateo. Ingrassia is yet to be under center in a game for Cal, though.
Regardless, it’s all love in the quarterbacks department.
“It’s a huge blessing to be around guys who care a lot,” Brousseau said. “There’s a huge urgency in our room to be great. We want to be the best quarterback room in the country; that’s what we strive for every single day.
And the trio is getting plenty of reps.
“The way Coach Tosh has set up practice has made this very effective, when you’re talking about a battle like that,” quarterback coach Nick Rolovich said. “The amount of reps a guy gets – including Dom and Jackson and EJ – you get a huge (body) of work to be able to make decisions off of.
“Everyone feels like they’re a part of it. Everyone feels like they have a chance.”
The Supporting Cast
After Sagapolutele, Brousseau, Caminong and Ingrassia are Nainoa Lopes and Alonzo Esparza.
The last two names likely won’t see the field during Cal’s upcoming season. But they’re part of what has been a tight-knit room representing the team with class.
Esparza helped emcee the Golden Buddies Camp for children with and without disabilities this past spring, dedicating plenty of late nights to curating the perfect, inclusive experience.
“It was totally rewarding to get to see this happen,” Esparza said. “Made a lot of kids' days and just really, really fun.”
And Lopes — who throws as pretty a spiral as you’ll ever see — keeps Cal’s Hawaiian pipeline going strong as he watches and learns from Sagapolutele.
Overall
Cal’s quarterback room is very simple: Sagapolutele is the guy, and then everyone else follows.
But it’s a credit to the staff for building a supportive culture where guys rally around each other and genuinely enjoy the grind as one unit.
