Three California Players To Watch On Saturday vs Virginia

Sagapolutele started his collegiate career on fire and made a number of plays that led California to a 3-0 start. With any freshman quarterback, there are ups and downs that he has experienced, but the future is bright. On the season, he has thrown for 1,982 passing yards and 11 touchdowns. He had his best game of the season against Minnesota, throwing for 279 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-14 victory. In his past two contests, Sagapolutele has thrown for 495 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions. When he is on, he is tough to stop and has shown that he can light up defenses and lead his team to victories. As Virginia head coach Tony Elliot said in his press conference, he will be one to watch for years to come.

"Yeah. One, they got a very, very good quarterback that's going to be special for many years to come, and that's where it starts,” said Elliot.

2. WR Jacob de Jesus

The senior wide receiver has been electric for the Golden Bears and has benefited from good quarterback play. De Jesus leads the team in catches (55) and yards (492). He also has four receiving touchdowns. He is on track to have a career season and is closing in on setting career-highs in catches, yards, and touchdowns. He had one of his best games recently against North Carolina in a 21-18 win. De Jesus finished with 13 catches for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Cavaliers will have to pay attention to him at all times and not let him break loose if they want to pull out a victory.

“Number 21 (Jacob de Jesus) is electric. I mean, he's a do-everything kind of guy. They got great size at receiver and run well,” said Elliot.

3. RB Kendrick Raphael

The least talked about running back in the ACC has to be Kendrick Raphael. The junior running back has been steady in his production this season. He has scored a touchdown in all but three games this season for the Golden Bears. He was tough to stop in a recent outing against Virginia Tech, where he finished with three touchdowns (season-high). On the season, he had rushed for 566 yards and eight touchdowns and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry. Raphael has been playing his ball as of late and punishing defenses with his physicality. He will be one that Virginia has to pay attention to.

“They got an ACC, a former, I guess I could say, East Coast ACC running back (Kendrick Raphael). That' a really good back there. They're long up front. They're big. They can run the ball, they can throw the ball. So they present tremendous challenges offensively and then defensively. They're very, and offensively they're very well coached and very well coordinated,” said Elliot.