Sonny Dykes Heaps Praise on Quarterback Jared Goff
Jared Goff is a special player, and Cal Golden Bears‘ head coach Sonny Dykes realizes what he has in his junior quarterback. Dykes has been singing Goff’s praise, and over the past couple weeks, his volume has risen a couple notches.
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After an impressive win in the second week of the season against the San Diego State Aztecs, Dykes commented on Goff’s legacy at Cal, which is being cemented further with every passing game. Dykes stated that Goff is “certainly going to be one of the great ones to ever play here, if he’s not right now”. He would continue by saying “I wouldn’t trade him for any other quarterback in college football. I wouldn’t even consider it.” Honestly, how can you blame him?
Against Texas in week three, Goff solidified his place as “one of the great ones” in Cal history. He broke three school records against the Longhorns, as he surpassed Troy Taylor’s career marks for passing yards, completions, and total offense.
This week, Dykes spoke more compliments for his quarterback, this time regarding his character. In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Campus Rush, Dykes had this to say:
"He’s humble, he’s hard-working and loves football. There’s not one single skeleton in his closet. He’s all the stuff that you want. He’s never stolen crab legs, any kind of that stuff. You don’t have to worry about all that with him.”"
In that praise, Dykes threw a not-so-subtle jab at this year’s number-one overall pick and former Florida State quarterback, Jameis Winston, with his remark on stolen crab legs. Indeed, Goff and Winston are polar opposites. While Goff has kept himself squeaky clean and out of trouble, trouble followed Winston around like a lost puppy at Florida State.
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Aside from the crab leg incident, which involved Winston stealing crab legs from a local grocery store, Winston was accused of sexual assault, although charges were never brought about. He was also suspended for a game for standing on a table and yelling a vulgar phrase inside the student union.
Despite those differences, Goff and Winston could share some common ground in the future. Over the next couple of year, whenever Goff decides the NFL draft, he could be the first player taken off the board, like Winston was this year.
The praise for Goff hasn’t been limited to only his head coach. Before the season, NFL.com’s draft analyst Lance Zierlein ranked Goff on his top-10 quarterbacks to watch for this season, saying that “with more poise and experience, Goff will open many NFL eyes”.
Goff’s opponents have taken notice as well. In week four, the Bears will match up with the Washington Huskies, and the Huskies’ head coach, Chris Petersen, was not shy when talking about Goff earlier in the week.
When asked about a comparison between Goff and his own quarterback, freshman Jake Browning, Petersen claimed it was hard to compare the two because of the experience gap. He would say Goff is “good. I mean really, really good” before calling him “one of the best [quarterbacks] in the country, without question”.
Goff also continues to get national attention. In ESPN’s most recent update of the Heisman Trophy watch, Goff sits seventh in mock voting. In USA Today’s Paul Myerberg’s most recent Heisman candidate list, Goff rose from ninth, all the way to fourth on the docket.
The attention Goff is getting is undeniable, and he’s earned every bit of it. His coach believes in him, other coaches recognize the incredible ability, and even Heisman people are taking notice. The sky is the limit for Goff, and he just keeps reaching higher.