The No.1 NFL Draft Pick Is On His Way to Stardom
Jared Goff, the number one pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, is taking his talents as a quarterback from California State University to the Los Angeles Rams. He is on his way to football stardom and the Rams are excited to have such a great player become the face of the franchise. His fast releases, pre-snap reads, and quick feet make him a hard quarterback to compete against. He has qualities that the football world won’t see in most quarterbacks and can create a legacy like Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Tom Brady.
Jared Goff dealt with a lot of adversity coming into Cal State; he finished his first season with only one win and 11 losses, but he managed to keep his head up. Goff showed his resilience when he built his team from the ground up and finished the next season with a 5-7 record. He spent the off season working with his offensive coordinators to turn the team around and left Cal State with a winning record of 8-5 his junior year.
He gets rid of the ball on average in 2.28 seconds and 79.8 percent of his passes were completed. Having few if none of the offensive linemen blocking him, he is under more pressure than most quarterbacks, yet is still as accurate as any of them. With the little blocking that he had, he only got sacked 12 times in his junior year season. He may be small for a quarterback but his deep ball throws are some of the best in football which is one of the reasons that he was a candidate for Heisman trophy. 80.8 percent of Goff’s deep passes (20+ yards) in his junior year were completed, leaving him with the best percentage in college football this past year.
He was given a lot of freedom in making decisions for the offensive plays at Cal State, making him great at pre-snap reads. “He probably had more responsibility on his shoulders before the snaps than any quarterback in the NFL,” his coaches told NFL scouts. His junior year, he made the right decision 90 percent of the time by reading the defense, a skill that all quarterbacks need to succeed in the NFL. Now he needs to learn the new offensive style and transition into reading the defenses in the NFL. ESPN analyst and former NFL player Jon Gruden doesn’t think the changes will be hard for Goff. After working with Jared Goff for his show “Gruden’s Quarterback Camp”, Jon Gruden liked that Goff is a quick learner and applies new skills on the field well.
Jared Goff has an inherited work ethic that he received from his father, a former professional baseball player. His father, Jerry Goff thought he was a decent baseball player in his glory days, but knew that his hard work was the reason he was good enough for the big leagues. His father instilled a blue-collar work ethic in his son at a young age that will take him far in the NFL. “I know how hard it is to get to the level [in] whatever sport you are playing or whatever job you are doing; you need to work hard. Be a kid, go ride your bike, go fishing, just do it in moderation, and understand that there’s a time you need to work if you want to go to the level you want to get to.” Jerry Goff told LA Times Magazine. Although Jared Goff is the son of a former professional athlete, nothing was given to the number one NFL draft pick. He received scholarship offers to only three schools, Cal State, Fresno State and Washington State. His work ethic is what got him to where he is today. During every extended break from football, Goff chose to pick a few aspects of his game that could use improvement. Instead of taking time off during his breaks he spent time improving his weaknesses. His determination to get better is what led Cal State from a disappointing win record of 1-11 during his freshman year to a 5-8 his junior year. He has proven that hard work pays off and is the biggest quality that will take Jared Goff to becoming one of the best.
Out of his three years at Cal State, Jared Goff broke 26 records, transformed Cal State to a championship team. He is the first top pick from the Pac-12 conference since Andrew Luck in 2012. Underestimated at first, Jared Goff has left a huge mark in Cal State’s program and college football. Jared Goff will be an exciting player to watch as can evolve into one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL.
