Jared Goff talks goals and expectations with KNBR

During a phone interview with KNBR radio, Cal quarterback Jared Goff touched on a variety of topics, ranging from his goals for the season to catching a ball at AT&T Park. Here's what the star Golden Bear had to say:

Jared Goff on whether he thinks about statistics and breaking records:

No, not at all. I don't think about any of that stuff. This offseason, I've really been working on just trying to get better every single day.

Goals for the season:

Our goal this year is to just win as many games as we can. We have a really talented team this year. We think this can be a special year for us; a breakthrough year where we can win a ton of games, surprise some people and compete for a national championship.

On last season's team:

I think last year's team was much more talented than five wins, we just ran into some bad luck. We were inexperienced, a little bit immature and that's what happens with teams like that; you just can't finish games off sometimes, but this year is a completely different team. We're ready to blow the roof off this thing and win a lot of games this year.

On whether he was a Cal fan growing up:

I was always a Cal fan growing up. Obviously, my parents went to Cal, so I was always a fan growing up. I went to a million games ... but when it came around to the recruiting process, I tried to be as unbiased as possible. Stanford was interested and they didn't end up offering, same with UCLA and other schools in the Pac 12. When it came down to it, it became an easy decision when I got the offer from Cal. The academics here are the best in the country; number one public school in the world ... the facilities are awesome, the weather is always great. It's close to home and I'm familiar with the campus. Everything kind of just came together perfectly for me.

On the Cal defensive struggles:

I think the best way we can help them is to play at a high level during practice ... and we've done a pretty good job of that so far. I think the people we've brought in defensively this offseason are going to give us a lot of help. They've gotten so much better. There's guys one-on-one with our talented wide receivers and they're making plays on the ball now. The linebackers are better. The pass rush is faster. It's all kind of coming together now, and it's good to see. I'm excited for them this year as well.

On being a Heisman Trophy candidate:

I try to keep my head out of that as much as possible. That kind of stuff takes care of itself at the end of the year, you can't control any of that. I just need to go out and get better; try to win games and let that extra stuff take care of itself.

On how he's dealing with NFL Draft speculation:

You have to try to get better every day. If I don't perform well on Saturday ... and we don't win games, and everything doesn't go well then none of that stuff matters. I know that, and that's the way I stay focused on trying to get better, trying to lead the team and be the best teammate I can be. I'm not concerned about any of that stuff really.

On catching a ground-rule double at AT&T Park:

Me and three of my best buddies were out there (outfield seats) in the first row of the bleachers and there were a bunch of balls being hit towards us all game. Brandon Belt hit a home run to our left about three batters prior to Brandon Crawford. So, I'm standing there and Crawford hits the ball. It's coming right at us ... and sure enough it bounces at an angle ... and hits me right in the stomach. It wasn't a tough catch. I just put my hands out and grabbed it, and we started partying. It was great. Then the media took it over and that thing went wild.

After listening to the interview, I came away impressed by how level-headed Goff is. On a couple of occasions the interviewers tried to get Goff to talk up his accolades and he kept focusing on team goals. Goff seems focused and driven to succeed this season, which is awesome news. He also seems optimistic about the defense based on spring camp, which is great news. As a Giants fan, it was also really cool to hear how excited he was about catching that ball at AT&T Park.

Goff also talks about our non-conference opponents, the tough conference road games and his relationship with Sonny Dykes. Click here to listen to the full interview.