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6 Cal Quarterbacks To Remember

BERKELEY, Calif.  (CBS-SF) – With Heisman Trophy talk swirling around him, University of California quarterback Jared Goff has emerged this season as one of the best at his position in all of college football.
The buzz has brought back memories of the great quarterbacks who have led the Golden Bears over the years. From fiery Joe Kapp to the cool precision of Aaron Rodgers, the list of Cal QB's is long and memorable.

Here's six who will never be forgotten.

  • Kapp manned the position in the late 1950s and led Cal to its most recent Rose Bowl berth in 1959. He also played on two conference championship basketball teams.

 

  • Craig Morton. Before he went on to star in the NFL, Morton earned All-American honors in 1964 as the Cal QB.  He played for Marv Levy and assistant coach Bill Walsh, but ironically never played on a winning team in Berkeley.

 

  • Steve Bartkowski. The first overall pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, was forced to split playing time with future NFL star Vince Ferragamo his first two seasons, but emerged as the full time starter in 1974 after Ferragamo transferred to Nebraska. Bartkowski also earned All-American playing first base for the Cal baseball team.

 

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Quarterback Steve Bartkowski (Photo by Mike Powell/Getty Images)

 

  • Rich Campbell. He was named All-American following his senior season, but never enjoyed the same level of success in the professional ranks. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the first round. The next time the Pack would draft as quarter in the first round was Rodgers.

 

  • Joe Roth. Cal's version of 'Brian's Song.'  Roth was a Heisman favorite heading into the 1976 season, but the year did not unfold as well as predicted. He didn't win the award, but still was named All-American.  After the season ended, it was revealed that Roth was battling cancer.  He would die a year later at the age of 21.  His number 12 jersey is the only retired number for the Cal football program.

 

  • Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay great has emerged as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks. After leading Butte College to the No. 2 JUCO rankings in the country, Rodgers arrived at Cal in 2003. Rodgers played just two years at Cal, but led them to two bowl appearances and an overall 18-5 record.

 

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Aaron Rodgers/Getty Images

 

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