California quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has been named to the preseason watch list for Davey O'Brien Award.

The 30-player Davey O'Brien Quarterback Class of 2026 will be announced on November 10, with semifinalists named on November 17. The Foundation will announce the three finalists on November 24. The 2026 Davey O'Brien Award winner will be unveiled live on ESPN on December 11 during The Home Depot College Football Awards.

As a true freshman in 2025, Sagapolutele completed 316-of-492 passes for 3,454 yards with 18 touchdowns while starting all 13 games. He had the second-highest totals for completions, attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns by a Golden Bear freshman quarterback to only Jared Goff in 2013. In 2025, Sagapolutele became the only Power 4 and second FBS player to start his collegiate career with 13 consecutive games of 200 passing yards or more.

For the sixth straight year, fan voting on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) will earn players bonus selection committee votes during the semifinalist, finalist and winner voting rounds. First-round fan voting will begin Nov. 10 following the QB Class announcement.

The Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award is presented annually to the nation's best college quarterback and is the oldest and most prestigious national quarterback award. The 50th Annual Davey O'Brien Awards Dinner honoring the winner will be held Monday, March 8, 2027, at The Fort Worth Club in Fort Worth, Texas.