Top 10 Cal Quarterbacks

With Garrett Gilbert getting the start at quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys I couldn't help but think about the Cal quarterbacking days of his father. Some might remember Gale Gilbert for his interesting NFL career that included being on five consecutive Super Bowl teams. Buffalo Bills 1990-93. San Diego Chargers 1994. I remember him for his college quarterbacking career at the University of California. His final college season was my first as a Cal student. There weren't a lot of Golden Bear wins but there was a lot of fun. Joe Kapp coaching. Gale Gilbert throwing. Thinking about Gale Gilbert got me thinking about the best Cal quarterbacks of my lifetime. My Golden Bear football interest, as well as my desire to attend that magnificent university, began the day I witnessed Joe Roth throwing beauties to Wesley Walker. From my earliest Cal football memories to the present, these are my Top 10 Cal quarterbacks.

1.   Aaron Rodgers (2003-04)

2.   Joe Roth (1975-76)

3.   Steve Bartkowski (1972-74)

4.   Rich Campbell (1977-80)

5.   Mike Pawlawski (1988-91)

6.   Jared Goff (2013-15)

7.   Gale Gilbert (1980-84)

8.   Nate Longshore (2005-08)

9.   Dave Barr (1991-94)

10. Chase Garbers (2018-present)

When I think of Aaron Rodgers' Cal days I can't help but think about some scouting idiocy. The San Francisco 49ers had the first pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. Mike McCarthy was the 49ers' offensive coordinator. So, he had role in scouting Rodgers. When McCarthy was hired as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 2006, Rodgers asked him why the 49ers passed on him with that first pick. McCarthy said that a reason that they passed on him for Alex Smith was that they decided that Rodgers wasn't mobile enough. When I heard that I couldn't help but wonder if the 49ers' scouts had even watched the Cal quarterback. His mobility was easy to see and it was just across the bay from the 49ers to see. Everything that he's shown for the Packers could be seen in the college quarterback that he was. For being part of that scouting idiocy, McCarthy didn't deserve the quarterback that he inherited. 

Aaron Rodgers is the best college quarterback that I've ever witnessed from stadium seats. Better than Drew Bledsoe, Ryan Leaf, Carson Palmer, and Andrew Luck. Rodgers' performance against USC in 2004 was beautiful football art.

Joe Roth might've been the second best college quarterback that I witnessed from stadium seats. If cancer hadn't taken him way too soon, he would've been an NFL great. 

Cal had a terrific quarterback run during the 1970s. Steve Bartkowski, Joe Roth, Rich Campbell. Vince Ferragamo was at Cal in the early 1970s. He couldn't get past Bartkowski so he bolted for Nebraska. 

Mike Pawlawski wasn't gifted with natural NFL talent but he was an excellent college quarterback. It was so much fun watching him lead the Golden Bears. The 1991 Cal football team was the best of my lifetime. Rodgers' 2004 team is a very close second. Both teams ranked in the final Top 10 nationally. 

It might be a stretch to include Chase Garbers on this list. I have high hopes for him. The current Golden Bears are the most talented since the best of the Jeff Tedford teams. If they can ever get on the field this year, I think that they'll show that. And I think that Garbers will earn his spot on this list.