Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele could have gone anywhere in the country after a stellar freshman season with the Cal Golden Bears.
Schools were reaching out to get him to transfer, and he could have made a ton of money via NIL deals in the process. Not only that, but he had just watched the quarterback he replaced at Cal, Fernando Mendoza, transfer to Indiana and win the national championship and Heisman Trophy.
It would have made a ton of sense for Sagapolutele to hit the road, especially with a coaching change happening in Berkeley.
Except he didn’t, and a big reason behind his decision to stay was new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi, who sold him on the vision for the Golden Bears moving forward.
Lupoi got the job at Cal less than a month before the transfer portal opened. One of his first orders of business was flying to Hawaii to spend time with the quarterback he was hoping would stick with the program.
They talked, and Lupoi pitched him on the future.
