Cal Quarterback Jared Goff Goes First in NFL Draft

By Cal Athletics; Image via Cal

BERKELEY, CA - Former Cal quarterback Jared Goff became the second player in school history to be selected No. 1 overall when he was chosen by the Los Angeles Rams with the first pick of the 2016 NFL Draft at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on Thursday.

Quarterback Steve Bartkowski (Atlanta Falcons, 1975) is the only other former Cal player to be the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft while Goff is the 27th former Cal player to be chosen in the first round with Cameron Jordan the most recent by the New Orleans Saints in 2011 and Aaron Rodgers the most recent quarterback by the Green Bay Packers in 2014, both at No. 24 overall

Goff will be the new face of a Rams’ franchise that is moving back to Los Angeles in 2016 after spending the past 21 seasons in St. Louis. The Rams are scheduled to play their home games at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for three seasons (2016-18) before moving into the new Los Angeles Entertainment Center in Inglewood in 2019. The Rams had previously spent 49 seasons in the Los Angeles area from 1946-1994 after nine campaigns (1936-42, 1944-45) as the Cleveland Rams.

Goff started all 37 games possible during his three seasons at Cal from 2013-15 and finished his career with 26 school records including all-time marks for passing yards (12,220), touchdown passes (96), total offense (12,086) and completions (977). He was also second on the school’s career list for passing efficiency (143.95) behind only Aaron Rodgers.

In addition, Goff is third in Pac-12 history in passing yards and fourth in passing touchdowns, while he is 26th all-time nationally in passing yards and 27th in passing touchdowns.

Goff broke a pair of Pac-12 single-season records in his final campaign at Cal as a 2015 junior when he passed for 4,719 yards and 43 touchdowns to lead an 8-5 Cal team to a winning record and bowl game for the first time since 2011. He was also the first Cal quarterback to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors since Rodgers in 2004, a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award and Cal’s Most Outstanding Player in a Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl victory over Air Force when he set the bowl’s single-game records by passing for 467 yards and six touchdowns in his final collegiate game. The bowl victory was Cal’s first since a 2008 win over Miami (Fla.) in the Emerald Bowl.

Goff led the Pac-12 and ranked third in the nation in both passing touchdowns and passing yards in 2015, while he was second both nationally and in the conference in passing yards per game (363.0 ypg). Goff was also among the top two in the league and top six nationally in total offense yards (4,711, No. 1 Pac-12, No. 5 NCAA), points responsible for (266, No. 1 Pac-12, No. 5 NCAA), total offense yards per game (362.4, No. 2 Pac-12, No. 5 NCAA), completions per game (26.23, No. 2 Pac-12, No. 5 NCAA) and points responsible for per game (No. 2 Pac-12, No. 6 NCAA).

In addition to being a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, Goff was on watch lists for nearly every quarterback and player of the year award in 2015 while reaching as high as No. 3 on the USA Today Heisman Hot List and tied for sixth on the ESPN Heisman Watch after a 5-0 start. The start was the Golden Bears’ best since also winning their first five games in 2007 and one victory away from their best since the 1950 team won its first nine contests. Cal ranked as high as No. 19 in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 20 in the AP Top 25 in the Week 8 national rankings for its highest spots in six seasons.

Goff finished his career on an incredible run, combining for 1,462 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes to a single interception for a 206.33 passer efficiency rating during the final three wins of his career against Oregon State, Arizona State and Air Forces. He passed for a school-record 542 yards in the victory over Oregon State.

Cal's offense set numerous records under Goff including single-season school marks in 2015 in passing yardage (4,892), passing yards per game (376.3 ypg), passing touchdowns (44), total offense (6,879), total yards per game (529.2 ypg), total touchdowns (63), scoring offense (37.9 ppg, modern-era record), first downs (341) and first downs passing (201), with all the marks previously set in 2013 or 2014.

Cal ranked third nationally in passing offense, eighth in total offense and 17th in scoring offense in 2015, with all of the numbers second in the Pac-12.

The successful 2015 season was the culmination of Cal’s seven-win turnaround from a 1-11 record in 2013 that is tied for the second best in school history behind only the eight-win improvement from a 2-10 mark in 1946 to a 10-1 record in 1948.

As a 2014 sophomore, Goff completed 316-of-509 passes (62.1%) for then single-season school records of 3,973 passing yards and 35 touchdowns to earn honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors for the second consecutive season. He passed for a career-high seven touchdowns in a 59-56 double overtime victory over Colorado and a then-single-game school record 527 yards in a 60-59 win at Washington State the following game. His 92-yard touchdown pass to Daniel Lasco against Colorado is the longest in school history.

Goff also earned honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors in his first collegiate season as a 2013 freshman when he set Cal then-single-season school records for passing yards (3,508), passes completed (320) and total offense (3,446) before later surpassing all of the single-season marks.

Goff was one of five former Cal players along with running back Daniel Lasco and wide receivers Stephen Anderson, Trevor Davis and Kenny Lawler that were among top draft prospects to attend the NFL Combine in February.

Other former draft-eligible Cal players who completed their collegiate eligibility in 2015 and attended the school’s Pro Day last month include wide receiver Maurice Harris, defensive tackle Mustafa Jalil, linebacker Jalen Jefferson, defensive tackle Trevor Kelly, defensive end Kyle Kragen, safety Stefan McClure, wide receiver Darius Powe, offensive lineman Jordan Rigsbee, wide receiver Bryce Treggs and cornerback Darius White.

In addition to NFL Draft selections, many players who are not drafted typically sign undrafted free agent contracts to join NFL rosters shortly after the draft.

“I’m excited to see not only what has happened with Jared but what happens with our other players,” Dykes said. “I’m excited about Daniel Lasco and our group of receivers that could get drafted, and I’m ready to see what happens with Darius White, Stefan McClure and some of the other guys that could get drafted or sign free agent contracts. Once guys like that are with NFL teams they are going to have opportunities to make rosters. It’s an exciting time for so many people. It’s going to start with Jared and continue with all of the other guys.”

The 2016 NFL Draft continues Friday with the second and third rounds starting at 6 pm CT/4 pm PT, while rounds four through seven are slated to begin Saturday at 11 am CT/9 am PT. ESPN, ESPN2 and the NFL Network are among the many media outlets covering the draft and will televise the event live with online streaming also available at nfl.com/live.

Extensive coverage of all former Cal football players selected in the 2016 NFL Draft will be provided by CalBears.com along with the Cal football Twitter (@CalFootball), Instagram (Cal_Football) and Snapchat (CalFootball) social media accounts. Fans can join in the conversation using the hashtags #GoBears, #CalFamily #CalInTheNFL and #NFLDraft.

Cal Football NFL Draft Notes

• Jared Goff is the second player in Cal history to be selected No. 1 overall in the NFL Draft following quarterback Steve Bartkowski, who was taken by the Atlanta Falcons with the first overall pick in 1975.
• Cal’s six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the draft is tied for the third-most by any college football program behind only Notre Dame (9) and USC (8) while equaling Stanford (6). Cal’s list includes Craig Morton (1965 – No. 6, Dallas Cowboys), Bartkowski (1975 – No. 1, Atlanta Falcons), Rich Campbell (1981 – No. 6, Green Bay Packers), Kyle Boller (2003 – No. 19, Baltimore Ravens), Aaron Rodgers (2005 – No. 24, Green Bay Packers) and Goff (2016 – No. 1, Los Angeles Rams).
• Cal has had 27 first-round picks and 228 selections overall since the draft began in 1936.
• Cameron Jordan was the most recent Cal player to be selected in the first round of the draft in 2011 when he was taken No. 24 overall by the New Orleans Saints.
• Cal had four first-round draft picks from 2009-11 with Jordan preceded by Alex Mack (2009 – No. 21, Cleveland Browns), Tyson Alualu (2010 – No. 10, Jacksonville Jaguars) and Jahvid Best (2010 – No. 30, Detroit Lions).
• Cal had strings of at least one player selected in the draft for 28 consecutive years (1987-2014), one in the top three rounds for eight years (2007-14) and two in the first four rounds for five years (2010-14) snapped when no Cal player was selected in 2015.
• The most Cal players selected in a single draft were the 10 chosen in 1952, while Cal's six players chosen in the 1977, 2008 and 2012 NFL Drafts tie for the second-most in school history.
• Cal has had more than one wide receiver selected in a single draft only once when DeSean Jackson and Lavelle Hawkins were taken in the second and fourth rounds in 2008 by the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans, respectively.