It's Goff

New Cal head coach Sonny Dykes has selected true freshman Jared Goff to quarterback his offense. Having never played college football wasn't really a hindrance for Goff. None of the other quarterbacks competing for the position had played in a college game. Zach Kline is a redshirt fresman. Junior Austin Hinder may have the most experience at Cal but he has as much college playing experience as Goff and Kline. None. Dykes' fast-paced, timing-based, spread-like Bear Raid offense is new to all three quarterbacks. Goff graduated early from Marin Catholic and jumped to Cal in January. All three quarterbacks have been learning this new offense together. In many ways, Goff had an edge on his position competition. He played in a similar offense in high school. It's interesting that all three committed to Cal and Jeff Tedford's pro-style offense. They weren't expecting a Sonny Dykes offense but that's what they got. All maintained their commitment to Cal. The new coach knew that in coming to Cal he'd be going with a quarterback with zero experience in college. Usually, starting a true freshman at quarterback is a gamble. In this case, everyone involved was basically starting from scratch. New coach, new offense, all three quarterbacks never having thrown a pass in a college football game. The only edge came from Goff's experience in high school. There was no gamble. There was just the fact that everything about the football program at Cal was going to be brand new this year. Well, they do have Brendan Bigelow and a talented group of young receivers.

The worst thing about young, talented quarterbacks competing for the #1 spot on a college team is that only one can win. Unlike all of the other positions on a football team, there is only one quarterback that plays. This competition really came down to a battle between Jared Goff and Zach Kline. Both are tremendously talented quarterbacks. Despite being brought in only a year apart, they were recruited to stop the decline of the quarterback performance at Cal . Both have the potential to play at the next level. Only one can play at this level at Cal. Despite all of the clowns in the media and on message boards speculating that he might transfer, Kline has maintained his commitment to Cal. He loves being in Berkeley. I love hearing that. Most importantly, he's not giving up. He's still fighting for that job. That's good. Even though only one quarterback can play at a time, coaches often change their mind. Dykes has even done so. The quarterback that starts the season isn't necessarily the quarterback that finishes it. Even if there is no quarterback change, the backup still has a shot at the NFL. Matt Cassel sat behind Matt Leinart at USC. Cassel has been far more productive in the NFL. Jay Schroeder and Brad Johnson spent most of their college careers on benches at UCLA and Florida St. Each won Super Bowls. Zach Kline should keep fighting at Cal. Nothing is over.

I really like the potential of Jared Goff and Zach Kline. I just wish that they were recruited 3-4 years apart as I think that both can do extremely well. I can't wait to see Goff direct Sonny Dykes' offense. I hope that he succeeds as the better that he plays, the better that Cal plays. I like that Kline is there to step up if Goff falters. Cal has lacked talent at quarterback since Aaron Rodgers. It's nice to have nice potential again. I don't even care that neither has any experience in the college game. This is going to be an exciting season of Cal football mostly because so much is new about it.