Cal QB Goff aims to 'put on a show' vs. Texas in his national closeup

Published Sep. 18, 2015 10:47 a.m. ET

Stewart Mandel

BERKELEY, Calif. -- In advance of Cal's visit to Texas on Saturday, Longhorns defensive coordinator Vance Bedford paid a lofty and eye-opening compliment to Bears quarterback Jared Goff.

"This is Aaron Rodgers," said Bedford, invoking the name of the former Cal-star-turned-Green-Bay-Packers icon. "This guy is the real deal now."

Told of that comment Wednesday, Goff called it "a huge honor to be put in the same sentence as him and to be even compared to him." The mild-mannered 20-year-old may have said the same of any standout NFL quarterback. But for a Bay Area native and lifelong Cal fan who grew up watching Rodgers from the Memorial Stadium stands, the Green Bay Packers star's name carries particularly special meaning.

"I grew up a fan of his and you had the Aaron Rodgers jersey and all that stuff," said Goff, whose father, Jerry, played baseball for Cal before going on to a Major League career. " . . . I've been following his career really closely, and in my opinion he's the best quarterback in the NFL, and he just works so hard and is very detailed with his craft and he's a fun guy to watch. And definitely a guy I try to emulate a little bit."

Two games into his junior season, Goff, a starter since Week 1 of his freshman season, has long since passed Rodgers on Cal's career passing lists. In fact, with 8,111 career passing yards already, he needs just 16 more on Saturday night in Austin to become the school's all-time leader, passing Troy Taylor.

Many, including Goff himself, downplay that accomplishment due to the fact the career 26-game starter plays in coach Sonny Dykes' pass-heavy "Bear Raid" offense. But NFL talent evaluators clearly don't see a so-called "system quarterback." ESPN's Todd McShay lists the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Goff as the No. 1 quarterback prospect for 2016. Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com listed him No. 4 overall in his most recent 2016 mock draft.

Dykes, who coached St. Louis Rams quarterback Nick Foles at Arizona, calls Goff "the best [quarterback] I've ever been around" and "think[s] he can be a starting quarterback in that league and be one of the elite guys."

Dykes and offensive coordinator Tony Franklin served on Hal Mumme's late-'90s Kentucky staff that produced No. 1 overall pick Tim Couch. "The biggest thing that's the difference between those two is that Jared has a much more live arm than what Tim had," said Franklin. "And so as far as that talent and NFL skills are translatable, he has a chance to be an incredibly productive professional quarterback because he has a skill set that fits the NFL game."

And yet for all that NFL buzz, most college fans outside of the Pac-12 have likely not seen Goff play. He threw for 371 yards against Ohio State in his third college game, but that 2013 Cal team -- Dykes' first -- struggled though a 1-11 season. Both Goff and the Bears improved last season but still finished 5-7.

Few would have guessed then that Cal, 2-0 to start this season, would be a near-touchdown favorite in a road game against rebuilding Texas, one that could garner his most exposure to date.

"I'm very confident in my abilities," Goff said this week. "I know who I am. I know what I can do and try not to do too much on Saturdays, but this weekend we'll be on a national stage and have a lot of people watching. Hopefully I can play well and put on a show for some people."

Goff's natural arm strength is the first thing that jumps off the screen, a trait he likely inherited from his father the pitcher. "[In high school] he could throw a comeback from across one hash to the other sideline, the ball traveling 30 yards in the air," Franklin said. "That's something you don't coach."

With his experience, though, he's also steadily improved his accuracy, from 60.3 percent completions as a freshman to 62.1 as a sophomore to 73.2 in his first two games this season.

"He can throw into tight windows," said Texas' Bedford. "He can go through his entire progression -- first, second and come to his third guy. Most college quarterbacks can't do this."

Observers also marvel at his ability to keep plays alive when his protection breaks down, despite the fact he'd hardly be considered a runner.

"We teach all of our quarterbacks to have what we call 'Peyton Manning feet,' " said Franklin. ". . . [Manning] probably runs a 7-flat 40 now in the NFL, but he can extend plays by simply moving from the front-side A gap all the way outside the tackle with what we call typewriter feet. Jared had that ability to do that and got better at it every week and worked at it incredibly hard."

The one knock against Goff is that he's too . . . well, skinny. Much like Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater, he looks without pads like a guy who has not yet grown into his 6-4 frame. And that's despite the fact he's put on about 25 pounds in the two-and-a-half years since arriving in Berkeley.

And while hardly his own fault (Cal's defense failed to crack the Top 100 nationally in his first two seasons), Goff has yet to lead his team to any signature victories. His career record stands at 8-18. Though beating Texas does not mean what it once did, it would still represent a significant moment for the program.

But Goff knows better than most that Cal should, at a very minimum, be annually playing in bowl games.

"I remember the days of DeSean Jackson and Marshawn Lynch, Aaron Rodgers and guys like Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley," he said. "I remember being one of those kids that used to stand in the tunnel and ask for gear after the games. I still have a DeSean Jackson-signed glove and Jahvid Best-signed hat."

What he won't yet admit to, and may seem hard to comprehend, is that he'll soon be joining many of those names at the next level. First, though, he gets to cement his name in the Cal record book -- likely sometime in the first quarter Saturday.

"It's happened a little bit faster than probably people expected because of the way we throw the ball, but it's a huge honor," Goff said. "To kind of etch my name in Cal history like that is very exciting, and it's kind of surreal. I mean, it still hasn't sunk in at all. I still haven't done it. I've still got a few yards to go. But it's surreal, and it's going to be a huge honor."