It was only yesterday, when Pat McAfee was eyeing Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. “It’s like this guy is the one next season,” he said after Mountaineers’ Nicco Marchiol’s slow start and his injury drowned West Virginia’s hopes for a comeback. Given that in the 2025 season, college football is brooding over its QB woes, Sagapolutele might have an appeal in the transfer portal, although it is rather too early to deduce that. But, nonetheless, Ron Rivera and Cal are ready with a 6-word message to Pat McAfee and others who might try to steal their quarterback.

Sagapolutele is among the hottest freshmen currently in college football. A 34-15 start against the Oregon State and Cal fans have fallen in love with him. And rightly so, the quarterback has chipped in eight touchdowns so far. Although a 34-0 loss to San Diego stung, he made a comeback, a close 28-24 against Boston College. And that’s the kind of comeback McAfee is hoping for West Virginia.

So, can Cal retain him? Ron Rivera seems confident. “I am, I really am,” he told the press. Why? “This is the University of California,” he said resolutely. The Bears are determined to keep Sagapolutele at Berkeley. Last season, Fernando Mendoza left for Curt Cignetti’s Indiana Hoosiers and is racking up impressive stats, touted to be a first-round pick. Once bitten, twice shy; Rivera is resolute.

The backdrop of the saga stems from Sagapolutele’s game report. Three games into the season with three wins as a freshman, he grabbed eyeballs. “Obviously impressive first game, but it’s (early),” A power 4 NIL Program Director said per Athletic’s report. “Assuming he keeps it up and shows top-10 pick potential, there’s no reason he can’t demand a $4 million-plus payday. They will be getting lots of phone calls.” And speculations floated around, if the 6-2.5, 220-pound QB would be lured away with NIL and enter the transfer portal.

With McAfee aiding in the financial boost, the West Virginia threat seems real and looming over Cal. The ESPN analyst has been known to donate a handsome amount to his alma mater. Last August, he donated a whopping $1 million to Country Roads Trust, a member-driven NIL collective for WVU. And presently, he is absolutely impressed by Sagapolutele. “Because when you watch him (Sagapolutele) play, it’s like ‘this guy’s got to be just all ball. This guy’s got to be absolute.’ [He] can move, and he’s humble sh–… Yeah, he throws darts, and it’s fun, and he’s making guys open with his throws.” One thing is clear: if JKS enters the transfer portal, count Pat McAfee to chip in his support to bring him to West Virginia.

Meanwhile, the program is taking certain measures to retain its players.

Ron Rivera’s plan to retain players

“We have a marketing plan,” Rivera revealed. “We’ve met with some brands, some companies, we’re talking about things, and we’re putting this whole package together, and at the appropriate time we’ll get it ready to go.”

Going for a similar strategy, Ron Rivera wants to emulate a similar momentum established by two programs. “If you look at some of the people that we want to try and emulate, are schools like Virginia and Indiana schools that have built their situation circumstances up,” Rivera said to the press. “You go back couple years ago, and you look at what they’ve done and how they did it, and then what happened last year, and now what’s happening to them this year? You sit there and say, That’s kind of the model,” he added.

Top it off with the $20.5 million revenue-sharing element. WVU could receive assistance from Pat McAfee to chip in on the financials if needed to retain and bring players. WVU’s AD Wren Baker created Gold & Blue Enterprise to help raise the million-dollar amount. “It was a massive hurdle to get to 20.5 million, and it really took everybody,” Baker said. “We’ve been able to grow revenues in the athletic department by a substantial amount this year.” Indiana, on the other hand, has secured an agreement with the Merchants’ Bank, prepped to receive a whopping $50 million boost.

Ron Rivera added, “We’re trying to build on creating success this year, next year, you know, then going into next year, working on the retention.” And Cal has already received $14 million to pay its players.