Rams pick former Cal Bears QB Jared Goff in first round of NFL draft

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- University of California Berkeley quarterback Jared Goff is headed south.

As expected, he was the first round draft pick for the Los Angeles Rams Thursday.

On the Cal campus, Goff going number one did come as a complete surprise. They watched him play for three years and know him personally, but when the Rams announced their pick there was bedlam in the dining hall

Roughly every free member of the Cal football team was not only on their feet but up on tables and chairs screaming their lungs out at the success of a young man who led them for three years.

At 21-years-old, Goff is likely to sign a contract worth close to $30 million. But they weren't cheering the money, instead the accomplishment and what it means to this program.

"I'm happy to see Jared go number one overall. Jared you deserve it more than everybody. That's why you went first. It's amazing to see someone who I knew even before I even got to Cal go number one overall after everything we went through," Cal defensive end Cameron Walker.

"It's crazy to see because I've seen all the sacrifices he's made every day. It's something I've learned from but I've seen it all pay off," said Goff's college roommate for two years Ray Hudson.

It seems everyone has a Goff story, especially at Marin Catholic, where he went to high school.

His picture hangs on the school's wall, class of 2013. Goff led the school's football team to a record of 39-4.

Fellow students and staff remember him as being a good student and having level head, win or lose.

Lauren Freedman was the football team's photographer that year and saw Goff up close.

"He was very quiet, but he took care of his friends and he looked after them and the team," Freedman said.

Assistant athletic director Larry Gondola had Goff in two classes and says even when he was at Cal, he never forgot his roots.

"Last spring, he emailed me. I was expecting it to be about Cal football. Instead, he said I want you to know I am in in economics class at Cal with 35 other kids and I am the only one who knows Excel, thanks for your freshman class," Gondola said.