Jared Goff

Early life

Goff was born on October 14, 1994, in San Rafael, California, and raised in Novato, California, the son of Jerry Goff, a former Major League Baseball player. He has an older sister named Lauren. Goff grew up as a San Francisco 49ers fan and wore the number 16 as a tribute to Joe Montana, who played for the 49ers before Goff was born.

Goff attended Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, California, and graduated in 2013. He played for the football team, throwing for 7,687 yards and 93 touchdowns with 18 interceptions in three varsity seasons at Marin Catholic, completing 477-of-767 passes (62.2%), equal to a passer rating of 125.5, for teams that combined to post a 39–4 overall record and 21–0 Marin County Athletic League mark on their way to an appearance in the state title game, a North Coast Section crown, three NCS playoff appearances, and three MCAL championships. Goff also played basketball and baseball for Marin Catholic.

College career

Goff was recruited by a number of college programs and received scholarship offers from Boise State, Fresno State, and Washington State before choosing to attend the University of California, Berkeley. He was a mid-year enrollee at Cal in January 2013 and joined the Golden Bears for 2013 spring practices. In August, Goff was named starting quarterback for the 2013 season over redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Kline, becoming the first true freshman quarterback in Cal history to start a season opener.

Goff set numerous school records. This included passing yards (12,220), passing yards per game (329.7 ypg), touchdown passes (96), completions (977), passing attempts (1,569), total offense (12,086), and total plays (1,739). He is second only to Aaron Rodgers on Cal's all-time list for passing efficiency (143.95).

2013 season

Under new head coach Sonny Dykes, Goff started all 12 games in the 2013 season, and although the team finished 1–11, he set Cal single-season records for passing yards (3,508), yardage gained (3,508), total offense (3,446), passes completed (320), and passes attempted (530). Goff finished his true freshman season with a 60.3 completion percentage with 18 touchdown passes and 10 interceptions.

2014 season

In 2014, Goff was again the starting quarterback for the Golden Bears. In a September 27 matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes, Goff threw a career-high seven touchdown passes, completing 24 of 42 passes for 458 yards. On October 4, Goff threw for a new career-high and school-record 527 yards and five touchdowns in a 60–59 victory over Washington State. Goff helped lead the Golden Bears to a 5–7 season, a four-win improvement over the 2013 season. He finished the 2014 season with 3,973 yards, 35 touchdowns, and a 62% completion rate, once again setting new school records.

2015 season

In 2015, as a junior, Goff led the Bears to a 7–5 regular-season finish, clinching Cal's first winning season since 2011. Going into the season, Goff was projected as the top quarterback for the 2016 NFL draft by Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay. On November 14, 2015, Goff threw for 453 yards and six touchdowns in a 54–24 victory over Oregon State, earning Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time. Two weeks later, Goff set a new Cal single-game record with 542 passing yards in a 48–46 come-from-behind victory over Arizona State, earning Player of the Week honors for a second time. In the 2015 Armed Forces Bowl, Goff threw for six touchdown passes and 467 yards, leading the Bears to a 55–36 victory over Air Force.

In 2015, Goff set a new Pac-12 single-season passing-yardage record (4,714), and also set a new conference record for touchdown passes in a season (43). He earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors. He was the first Cal quarterback to earn first-team All-Pac-12 honors since Rodgers in 2004 while leading an 8–5 Cal team to a winning record and bowl game for the first time since 2011 as well as a post-season win for the first time since 2008.

During Goff's time as quarterback, the Golden Bears never beat an in-state rival, going 0–9 against Stanford, UCLA, and USC, and they also went 0–3 against division rival Oregon. Goff's father has been quoted as saying the lack of a marquee win bothered his son. Goff majored in sociology during his time at Cal.

After his junior season, Goff announced his decision to forgo his senior season and enter the 2016 NFL draft.

Personal life

Goff has an enzyme deficiency that does not allow his body to break down proteins. Among other difficulties, it creates an inability to process red meat.

During the summer of 2019, Goff launched his own line of clothing called "JG16". In March 2020, Goff donated $250,000 to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank during the coronavirus pandemic. Partnering with his clothing line "JG16" and Merit, Goff founded the Detroit Foundation, which donates profits to funding university scholarships.

Goff became engaged to longtime girlfriend Christen Harper on June 16, 2022. They met on the celebrity dating app Raya. Harper is the co-winner of the 2021 Sports Illustrated Swim Search for new models and was named co–rookie of the year following her 2022 appearance in the swimsuit issue. On June 22, 2024, Goff and Harper were married in a private ceremony in Ojai, California. Their daughter was born on July 15, 2025.

In 2024, Goff worked with the Give Merit’s FATE program at the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. He contributed four-year scholarships to five students.