Damien Woody and Mark Schlereth don't think the supporting cast will be enough to lead Jared Goff to a win in his first career start against the Dolphins. (0:31)

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. -- Cal coach Sonny Dykes learned everything he ever really needed to know about Jared Goff during Goff's freshman season, as a teenage quarterback for a program that won only once in 12 tries.

"He never blinked," Dykes said in a phone interview this week, days before Goff makes his long-awaited debut for the Los Angeles Rams. "I think we played Ohio State in Game 3 that year, and we weren’t very good, and we were playing with a ton of young players. Bunch of freshmen. Bunch of O-linemen that weren’t ready to be playing, I can promise you that. He got hit a bunch, and I learned that he was incredibly tough physically, incredibly tough mentally. He never complained one time. He just got up, dusted himself off, went back to the sideline and went back to work. And that’s the best thing about Jared Goff."

This won't be easy for Goff, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's NFL draft.

His own coaches have cautioned as much. Like Jeff Fisher, who warned against judging Goff solely on the merits of his first game -- Sunday, at home against the Miami Dolphins -- and said Goff is "going to have some moments, like all young quarterbacks do." Or offensive coordinator Rob Boras, who acknowledged that taking practice snaps is "different than actually playing." Or quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke, who talked about how the Rams "have to accept that there’s going to be some bumps in the road."

Jared Goff left a strong impression on Sonny Dykes, who praised the former Cal quarterback's toughness. AP Photo/Tony Avelar

Goff will be tested from Day 1, against a Dolphins team with a devastating front four and while standing behind an offensive line that has not performed well this season.

One thing that should help him, Dykes believes, is his footwork in the pocket and his willingness to absorb hits, a trait teammates have already picked up on.

"When they sat down and looked at all the quarterbacks, I think that’s what made him stand out, made him unique and made him the first pick," Dykes said. "It was his toughness, ability to stand in there and throw the ball with somebody in his face. Also, his ability to shuffle around and create space is pretty unique. The NFL game is different than the college game. Everything has to happen much faster than it does in college, but I’m sure he’s made that adjustment. I think he’ll do a great job."

The Rams waited to start Goff largely because he came from an offense in which he did not take a snap from under center and did not call plays from the huddle. Besides getting acclimated to NFL speed, those have been his two biggest adjustments. The system Goff ran at Cal was the pass-happy Air Raid offense that lends itself to gaudy collegiate statistics but traditionally has not produced successful NFL quarterbacks.

Goff ran a lot of run-pass options that mostly required two simple reads, but Dykes doesn't believe his progressions were much different from what he will now face.

"We asked him to full-field read all the drop-back passes, so he’s gone through a progression-reading system where he reads pre-snap one read, starts on one side of the field and progresses to the other side," Dykes explained. "Every one of our five-step passes he had a full-field read on. So he’s done a lot of that. I don’t know that the passing game stuff is going to be that much different. Maybe a little bit more play-action."

Dykes has his own season to think about, so he hasn't watched any of the Rams' games and he doesn't know a whole lot about their overall situation. But he and Goff constantly exchanged text messages throughout the year, even though the two teams work on opposite schedules. Dykes figured the Rams would be patient with Goff. Heading into the year, he guessed that Goff would debut by Week 10.

"This is Week 11," Dykes said, "so I wasn't too far off."

Dykes says Rams fans are getting a quarterback who is "going to be prepared" and "put the time in" and "be very competitive" and "make all the throws." But he also believes it is going to take time and that a lot of it will hinge on Goff's supporting cast. Dykes is glad the Rams took their time, even though Goff has felt ready for a few weeks.

"Jared just turned 22," Dykes said. "He’s a young guy. When you are the first pick in the NFL draft, there's a certain amount of pressure that goes with that. When you’re the face of the franchise that just moved from one city to the other, there’s a certain amount of pressure that goes along with that. And I think they were certainly aware of all that, and I think they wanted to make sure, before they threw him in the fire, that he was ready. And I think they were very wise to do that."