True Freshman QB Beats Caleb Williams & Tua Tagovailoa To FBS Record

California opened 2025 with a 34-15 win at Oregon State, and the start was as clean as it gets: a true freshman quarterback on the road and two scoring drives out of the gate to seize a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Those opening possessions ended with a 19-yard touchdown to Mason Mini and a 32-yard strike to Trond Grizzell, the kind of sequencing that calms a young quarterback and quiets a crowd in a hurry. 

For a first start, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele carried himself like an upperclassman, layering throws to every level and cashing in the scripted portion of the plan with precision before settling into a steady rhythm after the break. The box tells the story: 20 completions, 234 yards, and three touchdown passes, including the second-half opener to tight end Landon Morris from four yards out, all in his collegiate debut away from home.

Jaron-Keawe became the first Cal true freshman to start a season opener since Jared Goff, then met the moment with poise that came through even in his own words: “It was so surreal, unlike anything I’ve been in before, especially coming from high school… being in enemy territory against a good team, I enjoyed that as my first game.” 

The larger story is what the performance means nationally, because the grade from PFF put him on a tier no true freshman has touched in a single FBS game since PFF began charting in 2014. As analyst Max Chadwick posted, “Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has the highest passing grade @PFF_College has ever seen by a true freshman quarterback in a game,” and in a gameday tweet, he added, “95.5 passing grade with 5 big-time throws on the road in first career game. Stupid stuff from Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.” 

That is the kind of company that normally belongs to veterans, and it frames this debut alongside names fans already know, making the claim that he tops a list that features Caleb Williams, Brock Purdy, and Tua Tagovailoa both eye-catching and measurable, not merely a vibe from one strong night. The buzz followed quickly across the sport’s media lanes, and it came with receipts rather than hyperbole.

ESPN’s true freshman QB1 tracker logged his Week 1 start and outlined how Cal turned a question at quarterback into an immediate answer. On3 went a step further, naming him True Freshman of the Week and noting he started 6-for-6 with two touchdowns on those first two drives while finishing with the highest PFF grade among starting quarterbacks in Week 1, a tidy summary of why the debut resonated beyond the ACC footprint.

Projecting forward, there is plenty of growing still to do, and head coach Justin Wilcox said it plainly: “Jaron is going to have a lot to learn… But he threw the ball very, very well,” a grounded assessment that fits a staff intent on steady development over splash alone. The path is there: a reset at quarterback after Fernando Mendoza’s departure, an ACC slate that will test processing speed week after week, and a locker room that just felt what a composed start can do for a road game’s script. If this is the baseline and not the peak, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is on track to become a household name sooner rather than later

What the schedule demands

After the poised opener in Corvallis, the next stretch eases in before climbing, which is exactly what a true freshman quarterback needs to grow his command week by week. California’s September goes Texas Southern at home, Minnesota under the lights, and a road trip to San Diego State, a sequence that shifts from an FCS tune-up to a Big Ten test to a tricky Group of Five venue without dropping the throttle all at once. ACC play then starts with a flight to Boston College before a run of Duke and North Carolina in Berkeley, a rhythm that alternates travel and home comfort as the playbook widens.

From mid-October on, the degree of difficulty rises, and that’s where a first-year starter’s pocket composure and week-to-week processing really get tested. The road asks include Virginia Tech’s Lane Stadium and Louisville, two places that can get loud and fast, with home dates against Virginia in between to reset timing and protection calls. The closing act is all identity: The Big Game at Stanford, then a visit from ranked SMU, a pair that folds rivalry emotion and top-25 execution into back-to-back Saturdays that demand clean situational football from everyone, especially the quarterback.

The goal line for fans is to improve on last season’s 6–7 while giving a young QB a real foundation, and the slate offers both the on-ramp and the measuring sticks to do it. Preseason FPI puts Cal around 6.5 projected wins with long-shot league odds, which paints a realistic ceiling of bowl eligibility plus a step beyond 2024 if the early rhythm carries into ACC play.