Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Rams QB Goff joins Raiders Zoom meeting
4/15/2020 5:00:00 PM | Football
Pro Bowler gives advice on football, life
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Using Zoom and other video conferencing software to perform team meetings has become commonplace at Middle Tennessee and in athletic departments across the country.
A recent Zoom chat between Blue Raider football players and their position coach was going along just like any other when a surprise visitor dropped in.
As Middle Tennessee's quarterbacks were in the midst of a conversation with offensive coordinator and QBs coach Tony Franklin, a video box appeared on the screen. In the box was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.
"I didn't tell them he was doing it," Franklin said. "We were having a conversation, and five minutes into it, another picture pops up, and it's Jared. … It was pretty cool.
"It was a really good experience for all of them because of the wisdom that he gave them, not just about football but about life. He told them some of the things he had taken away from the three years he and I spent together and since then."
Franklin finished what he was saying, then introduced Goff.
The two have a long history. In December of 2012, Franklin was hired as offensive coordinator and QBs coach at the University of California, Berkeley. A month later, Goff arrived on campus as an early enrollee fresh out of Marin Catholic High School (CA).
Goff would go on to win the starting job in his freshman season, becoming the first true freshman quarterback to ever start a season opener at Cal. He played three years for the Golden Bears before getting drafted first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Rams, setting 26 program records including passing yards, touchdown passes and total offensive yards.
Since getting drafted, Goff has gone on to be named to the Pro Bowl twice, and he took the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018. Franklin left Cal in 2016 for his second stint at Middle Tennessee, where he's since developed the Blue Raiders into one of the most potent offensive teams in the offensive-driven Conference USA.
Their bond has lasted through the years. The idea of having a similar relationship with Franklin was part of the reason the Blue Raiders' quarterbacks were drawn to MT.
"I'm in good hands with Coach Franklin," redshirt junior Asher O'Hara said. "It was a good opportunity to talk to Jared and hear his thoughts.
"That was really cool of Coach Franklin to do, and we were not expecting it at all."
For Goff to take the time to jump on a Zoom call speaks perfectly to his character, Franklin said.
"His character comes from a long line of people in his family that have character," he said. "He's just a good man. He's doing a lot of things that no one knows about, and that, to me, is a sign of true leadership and truly a really good person.
"Anytime you can get somebody who has lived in their shoes and gone through what they've gone through, especially with the same coach, it's a no-brainer. Normally, Jared's schedule would be such that it would be hard to fit in, but he's, like all of us, at home self-quarantined."
It surely was one meeting Middle Tennessee's quarterbacks will never forget.
"That was really cool," O'Hara said. "To hear things about him and what he's doing in this quarantine … that was a really nice surprise."
A recent Zoom chat between Blue Raider football players and their position coach was going along just like any other when a surprise visitor dropped in.
As Middle Tennessee's quarterbacks were in the midst of a conversation with offensive coordinator and QBs coach Tony Franklin, a video box appeared on the screen. In the box was Los Angeles Rams quarterback Jared Goff.
"I didn't tell them he was doing it," Franklin said. "We were having a conversation, and five minutes into it, another picture pops up, and it's Jared. … It was pretty cool.
"It was a really good experience for all of them because of the wisdom that he gave them, not just about football but about life. He told them some of the things he had taken away from the three years he and I spent together and since then."
Thx to @JaredGoff16 for joining our Zoom QB meeting today and sharing football and life advice!! Loved coaching him. Great player, better man! pic.twitter.com/9WZGrfvsN4
— tony franklin (@coachtf) April 2, 2020
Franklin finished what he was saying, then introduced Goff.
The two have a long history. In December of 2012, Franklin was hired as offensive coordinator and QBs coach at the University of California, Berkeley. A month later, Goff arrived on campus as an early enrollee fresh out of Marin Catholic High School (CA).
Goff would go on to win the starting job in his freshman season, becoming the first true freshman quarterback to ever start a season opener at Cal. He played three years for the Golden Bears before getting drafted first overall in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Rams, setting 26 program records including passing yards, touchdown passes and total offensive yards.
Since getting drafted, Goff has gone on to be named to the Pro Bowl twice, and he took the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018. Franklin left Cal in 2016 for his second stint at Middle Tennessee, where he's since developed the Blue Raiders into one of the most potent offensive teams in the offensive-driven Conference USA.
Their bond has lasted through the years. The idea of having a similar relationship with Franklin was part of the reason the Blue Raiders' quarterbacks were drawn to MT.
"I'm in good hands with Coach Franklin," redshirt junior Asher O'Hara said. "It was a good opportunity to talk to Jared and hear his thoughts.
"That was really cool of Coach Franklin to do, and we were not expecting it at all."
For Goff to take the time to jump on a Zoom call speaks perfectly to his character, Franklin said.
"His character comes from a long line of people in his family that have character," he said. "He's just a good man. He's doing a lot of things that no one knows about, and that, to me, is a sign of true leadership and truly a really good person.
"Anytime you can get somebody who has lived in their shoes and gone through what they've gone through, especially with the same coach, it's a no-brainer. Normally, Jared's schedule would be such that it would be hard to fit in, but he's, like all of us, at home self-quarantined."
It surely was one meeting Middle Tennessee's quarterbacks will never forget.
"That was really cool," O'Hara said. "To hear things about him and what he's doing in this quarantine … that was a really nice surprise."
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