Cal football marketing Jared Goff as a Heisman Trophy contender. Thoughts?

What are your thoughts on Cal Athletics already marketing Jared Goff as a Heisman contender (Ex 1, Ex 2, etc...)? Sensible, premature, what?

Nam Le: Let's begin any discussion of Jared Goff as a Heisman candidate by acknowledging the longer than long odds that he faces. Yes, #16 lacks the star power, the buzz, and the profile of Boykin, any Ohio State QB, and on and on it goes. Only a 10 win season and record breaking numbers would even get him an invite to New York, conditions which Avi has discussed in depth earlier this offseason.

So, see these articles as a celebration, a national awareness campaign of Goff for what he truly is -- the finest player to pass through these parts in close to half a decade, and the best signalcaller in longer than that -- rather than a serious pitch for Heismanhood.

atomsareenough: I think it makes sense to start planting the seed in people's minds. I think regardless of how good Jared's performance is, short of an undefeated season, it'll need a good marketing campaign as well for him to make it all the way to New York, even if he does deserve it. There's no harm is starting it, that I can see. Jared seems like the kind of unflappable guy who can deal with a bit of hype.

Berkelium97: The term "marketing" may be a bit of a stretch here, as these are just practice-related articles from CalBears.com.  Anyone hardcore enough to read these practice articles (we talking 'bout practice, man) already knows that Goff is an elite QB with plenty of Heisman potential.  Perhaps the school will begin making a bigger push to market his Heisman candidacy.  Perhaps not.  If Cal does make a stronger push (because let's admit it, referring to him as a Heisman candidate in a practice article is barely one step above no marketing at all), I will have no problem with it.  Like Nam said, no one outside the Pac-12 knows who Goff is and Goff doesn't play for a national powerhouse.  With one winning season in the past five years, Cal's national profile is non-existent.   Because Goff faces these obstacles beyond his control, he could use as much help as he can get from Cal Athletics and a potential marketing campaign.

Plus, a Cal-supported Heisman campaign helps generate excitement for the season and helps to put butts in the seats.  There's not much downside to this.  And if Cal does make a concerted effort to support Goff's Heisman candidacy, perhaps he'll get a slightly more flattering billboard.

TwistNHook: It is a perception battle, so you gotta start the perception early.  We do not need a repeat of 2004 where JJ Arrington put up like 45,000 yards and nobody in the Heisman arena gave a doodle.  Early and often!  With this system, Goff is going to put more ungodly numbers.  If the D is reasonably mediocre, we could start winning some G-D games and he'll catapult into the disco for sheeze.

LeonPowe: Pre-mature. Let's concentrate on winning some games - he's going to put up some big numbers, but it'll all go for naught if we're a 5-7 team.

Sam Fielder: I don't mind it as long as it doesn't affect anything going forward, which is to say that as long as Goff stays grounded and does what he does best, which is throw TDs, I'm fine with it.  It's such a long-shot for it to actually happen that I really don't think it means anything in the end anyway.

HydroTech: I agree with TwistNHook.  It is a perception battle, and you have to start early.  Cal fans know that Goff is a good QB and could put up Heisman worthy numbers over the next two years.  But how many college football fans outside of the Pac-12 know that too?  Probably few to none.  Cal has to get the word out, and it doesn't hurt to get the word out earlier rather than later.

Trace Travers: It is good to give Jared some build up for a Heisman campaign, as I expect him to have a season for the ages. This doesn't only elevate him though, it may draw a few more eyes to the football program as a whole, and may show potential recruits that the school can get behind you if you have the opportunity to win an award like that.

boomtho: I like it. I wouldn't support it for anyone, but Jared seems like a pretty even keeled guy that's not going to let publicity get to his head. Like Bk97 said, the examples I've seen are only on Calbears.com practice reports, so it's certainly not a national audience.

Leland Wong: The only drawback I see with having a preseason Heisman campaign would be if this gets to Goff’s head and starts to affect his play. I’ve never met Goff (Hi Jared! Nice to meet you!), so I have no idea if he’d start to buy into the hype or crack under the pressure, which could affect his performance or have a detrimental effect on the team chemistry. Based on what we’ve all seen publicly (his play on the field and any interviews), I see no reason to assume that would be the case. Thus, the worst-case scenario is that he reverts or the rest of the team performs so poorly that Goff isn’t going to be a contender. If this happens (pleasedon’thappenpleasedon’thappen), then Cal can just quietly sweep this under the rug and no one will remember--just like we did with past Heisman campaigns.