I just want to point out that "UNC cares about academics" flies in the face of the actions of their hoop team. Honestly they put themselves on (hypothetical) thin ice with accreditation. I mean it would have been international news if it had gotten pulled and that never would have happened but here is the difference.DoubtfulBear said:Right, I'm sure Cal is the only FBS school that cares about academics. Clearly schools that maintain academic standards aren't able to field quality athletes. That's totally why programs like Michigan, Texas, or Stanford have never had success in football. And why schools like Duke, UNC, UVA, or UCLA have never had success in basketball.oski003 said:DoubtfulBear said:You're the biggest troll on this board, it's a pity that you haven't been banned yet. No one cares about GPAs of football players. I would rather have a team of 2.0 GPA students that can be 7-0 than a bunch of 4.0 GPA students that struggle to be bowl eligible.Shocky1 said:
any discussion/evaluation of a cal class in any sport that does not transparently include the gpas of recruits signed & not signed is pure trash & absolutely worthless
berkeley is NOT oregon state, got it??
All opinions you express are pure trash & absolutely worthless. Go back to creeping on underage girls in your megathread and stop polluting the rest of the board with your delusional drivel
This is trash. The university screens recruits to avoid having a team of 2.0 gpa students. You need to be a fan of a team that supports your goals, like Utah and Oregon State.
Everyone else can thread the needle between good students and good athletes. But when we struggle to attract talent, we find excuses like the only reason we aren't getting good recruits is because of our high standards. You guys are pathetic, you sound like the loser at a party standing in the corner pretending like the only reason girls don't want to talk to you is because they don't appreciate your superior intelligence.
We all know Tobias Merriweather is a game changer (same with Kyion Graves), even with our lousy management at the top, we would have had a very different season if both those guys were available the last 4 games, we can all concede that, but we're on the edge nowGoOskie said:This is almost as delusional as MAGA world.Shocky1 said:strykur, honestly don't think we're gonna "crash out this season," getting key offensive players back this week will be critical as will improved playcalling & a clutch kicking gameStrykur said:
Shocky I love you man but do you really think the current commits will still stick if Wilcox is around in 2025 and we continue to crash out this season?
Well how about winning the close games. Or building a "decent" OL. Of course if it is just about the money then Cal will often come up short. But QBs want to play as well. They want to play at a place that has shown they can win and develop players.Joegeo said:
In the NIL world, a lot of recruiting comes down to how big of a bag you offer a kid. I think absolutely if Oregon/UGA offers a similar or reduced bag compared to Cal, then it's a failure of the coaching staff/program not to make this an enticing place for a young QB to want to play in.
But if Oregon is offering 3x more, what can you expect a staff to do other than ask for more money
Speaking of Oregon it is being reported that JKS is headed there this weekend for an OV.oski003 said:
Oregon's coaching staff makes 16 million per year; how does that compare to us?
Absolutely all that stuff matters (coaching,offensive system etc) but at the end of the day, a coach like Dave Clawson at Wake who has a QB friendly system and has gotten QB to play in the league still will lose out more than he will win if another program is 3x what they offer QB recruits.6956bear said:Well how about winning the close games. Or building a "decent" OL. Of course if it is just about the money then Cal will often come up short. But QBs want to play as well. They want to play at a place that has shown they can win and develop players.Joegeo said:
In the NIL world, a lot of recruiting comes down to how big of a bag you offer a kid. I think absolutely if Oregon/UGA offers a similar or reduced bag compared to Cal, then it's a failure of the coaching staff/program not to make this an enticing place for a young QB to want to play in.
But if Oregon is offering 3x more, what can you expect a staff to do other than ask for more money
Cal under Wilcox has not had one single offensive player drafted. Ott seems likely to change that. Endries looks headed towards an NFL future as well. But is has not been a program filled with future NFL guys. Some have made it as UDFAs like Tonges, Laird and Curhan.
Players want a place where they feel confident they can play, develop and win. But sure enough having a big bag can be a major influencer.
Most programs will lose out if another program is offering 3x the money. There is no evidence that Oregon is offering that. They may. But they are also ranked #1 currently. Have a qb that will be out of eligibility who also happens to be Hawaiian and a player that JKS looks up to enormously. Had last years QB drafted in the 1st round and starting for the Denver Broncos. Have a top 10 recruiting class headed there highlighted by two 5 star Wrs.Joegeo said:Absolutely all that stuff matters (coaching,offensive system etc) but at the end of the day, a coach like Dave Clawson at Wake who has a QB friendly system and has gotten QB to play in the league still will lose out more than he will win if another program is 3x what they offer QB recruits.6956bear said:Well how about winning the close games. Or building a "decent" OL. Of course if it is just about the money then Cal will often come up short. But QBs want to play as well. They want to play at a place that has shown they can win and develop players.Joegeo said:
In the NIL world, a lot of recruiting comes down to how big of a bag you offer a kid. I think absolutely if Oregon/UGA offers a similar or reduced bag compared to Cal, then it's a failure of the coaching staff/program not to make this an enticing place for a young QB to want to play in.
But if Oregon is offering 3x more, what can you expect a staff to do other than ask for more money
Cal under Wilcox has not had one single offensive player drafted. Ott seems likely to change that. Endries looks headed towards an NFL future as well. But is has not been a program filled with future NFL guys. Some have made it as UDFAs like Tonges, Laird and Curhan.
Players want a place where they feel confident they can play, develop and win. But sure enough having a big bag can be a major influencer.
6956bear said:Most programs will lose out if another program is offering 3x the money. There is no evidence that Oregon is offering that. They may. But they are also ranked #1 currently. Have a qb that will be out of eligibility who also happens to be Hawaiian and a player that JKS looks up to enormously. Had last years QB drafted in the 1st round and starting for the Denver Broncos. Have a top 10 recruiting class headed there highlighted by two 5 star Wrs.Joegeo said:Absolutely all that stuff matters (coaching,offensive system etc) but at the end of the day, a coach like Dave Clawson at Wake who has a QB friendly system and has gotten QB to play in the league still will lose out more than he will win if another program is 3x what they offer QB recruits.6956bear said:Well how about winning the close games. Or building a "decent" OL. Of course if it is just about the money then Cal will often come up short. But QBs want to play as well. They want to play at a place that has shown they can win and develop players.Joegeo said:
In the NIL world, a lot of recruiting comes down to how big of a bag you offer a kid. I think absolutely if Oregon/UGA offers a similar or reduced bag compared to Cal, then it's a failure of the coaching staff/program not to make this an enticing place for a young QB to want to play in.
But if Oregon is offering 3x more, what can you expect a staff to do other than ask for more money
Cal under Wilcox has not had one single offensive player drafted. Ott seems likely to change that. Endries looks headed towards an NFL future as well. But is has not been a program filled with future NFL guys. Some have made it as UDFAs like Tonges, Laird and Curhan.
Players want a place where they feel confident they can play, develop and win. But sure enough having a big bag can be a major influencer.
They of course can outbid most any program if NIL is the deciding factor. But they have a lot of factors in their favor outside of NIL. Former Oregon QB Marcus Mariota is another Hawaiian QB that happened to also happened to win the Heisman. Dillon Gabriel is in the conversation to win that award.
JKS will be at Oregon this weekend. It will be very tough to fight off Oregon in this recruiting battle. They may not even need to exceed whatever Cal may or may not be offering in NIL. But yes if they need to they will be able to.
Their results indicate they are earning their salaries. Our coaching staff can't say that.oski003 said:
Oregon's coaching staff makes 16 million per year; how does that compare to us?
I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
Thank you. We must not forget the ugly case of fraud that occurred at North Carolina.socaltownie said:I just want to point out that "UNC cares about academics" flies in the face of the actions of their hoop team. Honestly they put themselves on (hypothetical) thin ice with accreditation. I mean it would have been international news if it had gotten pulled and that never would have happened but here is the difference.DoubtfulBear said:Right, I'm sure Cal is the only FBS school that cares about academics. Clearly schools that maintain academic standards aren't able to field quality athletes. That's totally why programs like Michigan, Texas, or Stanford have never had success in football. And why schools like Duke, UNC, UVA, or UCLA have never had success in basketball.oski003 said:DoubtfulBear said:You're the biggest troll on this board, it's a pity that you haven't been banned yet. No one cares about GPAs of football players. I would rather have a team of 2.0 GPA students that can be 7-0 than a bunch of 4.0 GPA students that struggle to be bowl eligible.Shocky1 said:
any discussion/evaluation of a cal class in any sport that does not transparently include the gpas of recruits signed & not signed is pure trash & absolutely worthless
berkeley is NOT oregon state, got it??
All opinions you express are pure trash & absolutely worthless. Go back to creeping on underage girls in your megathread and stop polluting the rest of the board with your delusional drivel
This is trash. The university screens recruits to avoid having a team of 2.0 gpa students. You need to be a fan of a team that supports your goals, like Utah and Oregon State.
Everyone else can thread the needle between good students and good athletes. But when we struggle to attract talent, we find excuses like the only reason we aren't getting good recruits is because of our high standards. You guys are pathetic, you sound like the loser at a party standing in the corner pretending like the only reason girls don't want to talk to you is because they don't appreciate your superior intelligence.
UNC fought to the mat over it
Cal would (and in the analogous situation did) fire EVERYONE involved.
Talent. Same reason Oregon and Georgia and everyone else have had a bunch of busts too. The far better question for him to be asking himself is why haven't Oregon or Georgia ever produced a quarterback anywhere near as good as Goff or Rodgers despite being constantly loaded with high star recruits and transfers?DoubtfulBear said:
If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did?
Yes.Quote:
We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFL
Cal doesn't prepare quarterbacks for the pros. Cal coaches do. Most QB's play for coaches that produce top QB's, not schools. I think you are kidding yourself if you think that recruit is going to look at a staff that hasn't produced a top QB in 8 years and decide he wants to play for them because the last coaching staff 10 years ago produced a top QB.WalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
01Bear said:StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
The latter probably explains why Aaron Rodgers dropped so much in the draft. The scouts and front office staff at 20+ teams passed on him. They saw a non-blueblood team and noticed the strong surrounding cast and figured AR's success was due to that (and also Tedford's reputation as a college QB guru). They wound up letting a future hall of famer slip down to the back end of the first round of the draft because of their preconceived notions.
CNHTH said:01Bear said:StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
The latter probably explains why Aaron Rodgers dropped so much in the draft. The scouts and front office staff at 20+ teams passed on him. They saw a non-blueblood team and noticed the strong surrounding cast and figured AR's success was due to that (and also Tedford's reputation as a college QB guru). They wound up letting a future hall of famer slip down to the back end of the first round of the draft because of their preconceived notions.
Whereas if they would've just turned on 10 seconds of tape they would've seen a guy who had the best footwork of any qb prospect to that point in nfl history and had hands a full 2 inches bigger than Alex smith's.
01Bear said:StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
The latter probably explains why Aaron Rodgers dropped so much in the draft. The scouts and front office staff at 20+ teams passed on him. They saw a non-blueblood team and noticed the strong surrounding cast and figured AR's success was due to that (and also Tedford's reputation as a college QB guru). They wound up letting a future hall of famer slip down to the back end of the first round of the draft because of their preconceived notions.
it appears the NFL will never learn that QBs with big arms, playing on good college teams with lines that give them time and receivers that get open May not be able to stand in a collapsing pocket, take hits and throw consistently into tight coverage. Eg. Brock Purdy. I haven't been following but how has the SC QB done with the Chicago Bears? I thought he was a huge gamble and not just because of his demands.calumnus said:01Bear said:StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
The latter probably explains why Aaron Rodgers dropped so much in the draft. The scouts and front office staff at 20+ teams passed on him. They saw a non-blueblood team and noticed the strong surrounding cast and figured AR's success was due to that (and also Tedford's reputation as a college QB guru). They wound up letting a future hall of famer slip down to the back end of the first round of the draft because of their preconceived notions.
The Niners instead took Alex Smith from then G5 Utah playing in Urban Meyer's QB friendly spread as the #1 pick instead of the local kid with the better arm and the better draft ratings playing for the local school. It was a repeat of the Niners passing over Cal All American Ron Rivera to draft BYU's Todd Shell at linebacker. Moreover, Smith had to learn to take a snap from under center to play in the Niners offense.
82gradDLSdad said:it appears the NFL will never learn that QBs with big arms, playing on good college teams with lines that give them time and receivers that get open May not be able to stand in a collapsing pocket, take hits and throw consistently into tight coverage. Eg. Brock Purdy. I haven't been following but how has the SC QB done with the Chicago Bears? I thought he was a huge gamble and not just because of his demands.calumnus said:01Bear said:StillNoStanfurdium said:Goff absolutely got the opportunity to show out under the Dykes/Franklin offense and style of play. Similarly, Davis Webb got a shot in the NFL no doubt partially due to what he was able to do as a passer in his one year at Cal.DoubtfulBear said:I would argue that Goff succeeded in spite of being at Cal, not because of it. If what you say is true, then why have none of the other QBs we've had between Rodgers and Goff as well as after Goff had anywhere near the success that they did? We helped Goff prepare as much as Texas Tech helped Mahomes succeed in the NFLWalterSobchak said:
He's gonna have to decide if he wants more success in college or to bet on himself and his talent for a better NFL career. Basically does he want to be like Mariota or Goff. There's no doubt picking Oregon or Georgia is a higher percentage play to winning college games and making a decent amount of money. But there's also something to be said about the way Cal prepares those who truly have the talent to be great. Big time schools make things too easy on quarterbacks and they don't get forged in the crucible of adversity the way they do at Cal. Mendoza is currently going through this process, just like Goff did before him, and his improvement is exponential. That's INVALUABLE experience when you get to the NFL. Look at Goff just this past Sunday. Down 10 early in a hostile environment against an undefeated team. Takes the lead, but team gives it back twice. He never blinked. Never panicked. Drove down for the win. If Goff keeps playing like he is now he very well may win MVP. Mariota is a journeyman backup. Who does he want to be?
I guess if you want to pedantic it wasn't the fact that it was Cal inherently, but it was who was coaching at the time but that's still a product of the school as a whole in that moment.
I also think that it's a factor that if a QB puts up good numbers and performances at a non-blueblood that scouts do also factor in the supporting cast of talent and appropriately scale a QB's performance. Bit of a double-edged sword, but it's not nothing.
The latter probably explains why Aaron Rodgers dropped so much in the draft. The scouts and front office staff at 20+ teams passed on him. They saw a non-blueblood team and noticed the strong surrounding cast and figured AR's success was due to that (and also Tedford's reputation as a college QB guru). They wound up letting a future hall of famer slip down to the back end of the first round of the draft because of their preconceived notions.
The Niners instead took Alex Smith from then G5 Utah playing in Urban Meyer's QB friendly spread as the #1 pick instead of the local kid with the better arm and the better draft ratings playing for the local school. It was a repeat of the Niners passing over Cal All American Ron Rivera to draft BYU's Todd Shell at linebacker. Moreover, Smith had to learn to take a snap from under center to play in the Niners offense.
