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Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been named Cal’s starting quarterback ahead of the Bears‘ college football opener against Oregon State. Devin Brown will assume the QB2 role.
That announcement comes as a bit of a shock given Brown’s recent transfer to Berkeley. Despite signing a notable NIL deal in the portal, the former top recruit will begin the season on the bench.
Brown was a member of the 2022 high school recruiting class. The Draper, Utah prospect originally committed to USC before flipping his pledge to Ohio State.
The passer was unable to win the starting role with the Buckeyes, leading to a transfer in the offseason.
Brown is a “team” guy. He stayed on with Ohio State as its backup for the College Football Playoff despite having entered the transfer portal.
Ryan Day said Devin Brown is still the #Buckeyes backup quarterback despite entering the transfer portal:
“I give Devin credit. He wants to finish this thing out the right way.” pic.twitter.com/bKoNw9FJtD
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) December 19, 2024
After securing a national title, he headed off to the West Coast.
Devin Brown transferred to Cal.
He signed with the program in January. He inked a reported six-figure NIL deal in the process.
The overwhelming expectation was for Brown, a redshirt junior, to win the starting gig. After all, he is a former five-star talent that at one time was ranked as the nation’s No. 1 overall player, regardless of position.
That will not be the case, at least not at season’s start. True freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was named the starter on Monday less than two weeks before the season opener.
Sagapolutele, too, is a former five-star prospect. According to the coaching staff, he earned the role.
The passer was able to overcome a supposed obstacle in Brown’s experience and emerge victorious in the battle. Now, he’ll make his debut in Game 1.
“We also feel like Devin is a really good football player,” said head coach Justin Wilcox. “I think Devin has the ability to be a winning starter at this level, but Jaron earned it.”
Should Brown have stayed put at Ohio State?
Hindsight is 20/20. He certainly didn’t enter the transfer portal with the intent of continuing in a reserve role.
In past seasons, Devin Brown was beaten out by either a veteran teammate (Kyle McCord) or a proven transfer (Will Howard). Ohio State has neither in the 2025 quarterback room.
Brown would’ve been the oldest player in the QB battle. Alabama transfer Julian Sayin, who’s completed just five career passes, recently won the job ahead of his redshirt freshman year.
Sophomore Lincoln Kienholz and freshman Tavien St. Claire will play in a reserve role.
Would Brown have had an opportunity to win the starting role? We’ll never know.
Sayin has long been considered the “QB in waiting,” but the Ohio State coaching staff kept the competition rolling into August. There was said to be little separation between he and Kienholz.
Maybe both would’ve beaten out Devin Brown to bury him further down the depth chart. Age and experience clearly played no role in the outcome at Cal. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall.
Then again, he was ahead of Sayin in the 2024 lineup. Who’s to say he couldn’t have done it again in ’25?
For now, Brown will back up Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele at Cal. At the moment, there may be some regret for leaving Columbus.
He should be the first option off the bench should the freshman struggle. He’ll look to unseat his new teammate at some point during the season.