NorCal’s New #1: Marin Catholic Jared Goff Joins Elite Company

   It really wasn’t that long ago when Jared Goff was preparing for his junior season as a somewhat unknown quarterback at Marin Catholic High in Kentfield.

   In that junior season in 2011, however, Goff broke out in a big way for the Wildcats and passed for more than 3,000 yards. Establishing himself as a major college recruit.

   Fast forward to April of 2016. Goff has had a stellar three seasons at Cal and his name is being bandied about as a possible first round NFL draft choice. 

   Then the Los Angeles Rams make a trade. In need of a quarterback and looking to make a splash in their first season back in L.A. after moving from St. Louis, they obtain the first pick in the draft and Goff is the one they want. On draft night in Chicago, all the speculation became official when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell followed the phrase of “the Los Angeles Rams select,” with the name “Jared Goff.” 

   Goff became the 12th former California high school football player to be selected with the first pick in the NFL Draft and just the fourth from Northern California. 

   Goff, who set passing records at Cal despite the team struggling to get wins (mostly due to porous defenses), was chosen by the Rams in what was probably a tough decision involving himself and the No. 2 pick of the draft, QB Carson Wentz of North Dakota State who was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles.

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   The last NorCal player to be picked first in the draft was Steve Bartkowski of Buchser-Santa Clara in 1975. Also from Cal, Bartkowski is from a high school that closed in 1981. He was selected by the Atlanta Falcons and had several solid seasons for that team later in the 1970s.

   The only other two from Northern California to go at No. 1 are Jim Plunkett of James Lick-San Jose in 1971 and O.J. Simpson of Galileo-San Francisco in 1969. 

   A Heisman Trophy winner from Stanford, Plunkett also was known as an outstanding wrestler when he competed for the Comets. He later was a Super Bowl MVP winner for the Oakland Raiders. He was chosen coming out of college, however, by the New England Patriots.

   Not much needs to be said about O.J. The Heisman Trophy career at USC was followed by a great career for the Buffalo Bills. Who also picked him No. 1 in the draft. After that, Simpson’s career wasn’t so great. Let’s just say that O.J. Simpson Field at Galileo hasn’t been known by the name since the early 1990s.

   Alex Smith of La Mesa-Helix was the last California player to go at No. 1 in 2005 by the 49ers. He’s become a top-flight NFL QB currently with the Kansas City Chiefs. But, that draft of course has become legendary for how low Aaron Rodgers (Chico-Pleasant Valley) fell in the first round, eventually landing with Green Bay.

   David Carr, the older brother of current Oakland Raiders’ QB Derek Carr, was the No. 1 pick in 2002. He went to Stockdale-Bakersfield, but Derek went to Bakersfield Christian a few years later. David Carr, who went to college at Fresno State, started for several years for the expansion Texans, but eventually settled into a backup role.

   No one knows, of course, if there’s another Jared Goff out there getting ready for his junior season this spring. All coaches and parents, however, do know that a lot can happen in five years and that those five years will seem to fly by like it was yesterday.