Jared Goff learned a hard lesson in his first experience with the HBO football reailty series “Hard Knocks” in 2016 — not what direction the sun rises, but what not to say when TV cameras are around.
Goff said being on “Hard Knocks” was “not as bad you think,” but after two appearances on the show he offered some veteran advice for his young teammates for when the show invades Detroit Lions training camp later this summer.
“I think for the young guys it’s always hard cause they don’t know any better, to an extent,” Goff said earlier this spring. “I was a victim of it myself is, you have to be careful what you say and when you say it and what cameras are around.”
He was featured twice on “Hard Knocks” in his five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and had one forgettable moment as a rookie in 2016, when he could not tell then-Rams quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke which direction the sun rises.
One of several Rams stumped by that question, Goff told Barstool Radio more than a year later fans still were harassing him about his faux pas.
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“Every game I’ll hear, ‘Hey, where does the sun rise?!’ I hear it all the time,” Goff said in 2018, via The Rams Wire. “The next day, someone came up to me and said, ‘Hey, they’re going to air that sun stuff.’ And I’m like, ‘All right, how are they gonna frame this?’”
Goff, who also was with the Rams during the filming of the Amazon series “All or Nothing,” has softened his stance on the show since telling Barstool there was “not one thing” enjoyable about being on “Hard Knocks.”
“For the most part, they’re trying to make us look good,” he said last month. “The NFL’s trying to make Detroit look good and they’re on our side, but you do have to be careful.”
Along with Goff, defensive lineman Michael Brockers, receiver Josh Reynolds and fullback Jason Cabinda have been part of at least one “Hard Knocks” season, with Cabinda taking a featured role in his 2019 bid to make the then-Oakland Raiders.
Lions running back Jamaal Williams said he does not care one way or another about being on “Hard Knocks,” and having cameras around constantly will not change his daily routine.
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“I don’t give a (bleep),” he whispered when asked about the possibility last week. “I just want to play football. But it’s just, all that to me now is more cameras walking around staring at me. I don’t care. I just want to play football and I want to win a Super Bowl this year. Forget ‘Hard Knocks,’ all that stuff. It’s just going to happen. Like, people think I’m funny but I don’t do it on purpose, it’s just me. I just walk around and be me all the time, that’s it. I can’t fake nothing.”
Running back D’Andre Swift said he’s looking forward to having NFL Films cameras chronicle his every move in camp.
“That’s a blessing,” he said. “As a kid I used to always watch that type of stuff being around the game. Having the opportunity to have that and be a part of that is a blessing. We still got to work, but that’s going to be cool to look back on one day.”
Lions cornerback Amani Oruwariye predicted second-year defensive back Jerry Jacobs would emerge as a fan favorite on the show because of his fun-loving personality
“He’s a camera guy,” Oruwariye said. “As soon as the camera’s on him, you’ll see all the jokes.”
But no one, Oruwariye said, will get top billing over Lions coach Dan Campbell, whose passion and honesty were a big draw for the show.
“Everybody wants to see superhero Dan,” Oruwariye said. “He does look like a superhero walking around the locker room.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.