August 15, 2011

Tim Prister
IrishIllustrated.com Senior Editor

John Goodman has learned the art of critiquing his performance on the football field. Maybe that’s because he’s heard the coaching staff critique it so emphatically, so frequently.

“Basically, it comes down to catching the ball,” said the 6-foot-3, 207-pound senior. “There were a lot of mishaps last fall and last spring where I had a lot of drops. That happens when I get tired.”

The clock ticking in Goodman’s head seems to get louder and louder. Although he preserved a year of eligibility as a freshman in 2008, he is a senior in the classroom, and as Brian Kelly continues to upgrade the receiving corps in his spread offense, there are no guarantees for Goodman beyond the 2011 season.

TJ Jones came in last year and usurped the X receiver position from Goodman, although Goodman managed to start three games in October (Boston College, Pittsburgh and Navy) when Jones and Theo Riddick were banged up.

Now it’s freshman DaVaris Daniels who threatens to gobble up some of the playing time at X.

“I’m running out of time,” smiled the good-natured Goodman, who caught 15 passes for 146 yards in 2010. “I’m 22-years old. That’s pretty old. I should be in the real world. I’m not ready for that.”

Goodman wants his piece of the pie. Jones likely will win the starting X job, but also is a candidate to play the other two wideout positions. Daniels still has much to learn about route running, per Kelly as recently as last week. Goodman isn’t ready to give up the fight.

“He definitely earned that spot for himself,” said Goodman of Jones last year. “He started off the season well and finished off the season well. He definitely deserves that.

“But if you’re No. 2, there’s always the potential to start, whether he gets hurt or you out-play him. I believe that I could, but it’s going to take a lot more work and concentration.”

There have been several times during his collegiate career when Goodman felt like he might never get over the hump.

“It’s definitely draining mentally, but you can’t give up,” Goodman said. “Giving up is not an option. I learned that from my family - my dad and my brother - who have taught me the game of football. Just don’t give up. If you stop working, what kind of person are you? I could never do that to myself.

“Football is my life. I’ve been playing it all my life and I love it, especially here at Notre Dame. It’s really special to me and I want to keep playing as long as possible and I want to get on the field. I won’t give up.”

It all comes back to catching the football consistently.

“He’s done that so far, and those are things we talked about coming out of the spring,” said Irish receivers coach Tony Alford. “Hopefully, it will continue on.

“He is bigger. No doubt he’s gained, I don’t know, 10 pounds. You can see he is a bigger, stronger guy and that’s going to help him.”

Goodman admits that he had to fight through fatigue last season as he and his fellow receivers learned first-hand just how much conditioning it took to be a wide receiver in the spread offense.

“It’s a mental game, and it’s very mental once you get tired,” Goodman said. “That will set you apart from other teams. If you can catch the ball at the end of the game being dead tired, and that DB can’t knock the ball down, then you’ll win.”

Goodman’s belief in himself as a receiver is at an all-time peak.

“It’s really high right now,” said Goodman of his confidence. “I feel like I’m still going to be the (punt) returner. At receiver, I’m No. 2 but I’m going to work my butt off to get to the No. 1 spot. No matter what mistakes I make, I’m going to have a short memory and just continue on because that’s really important.

“The mental aspect is such an important thing. If you let yourself down early, you’re digging yourself a hole. So I’m trying to stay positive and work my tail off so nothing goes wrong mentally and physically.”

While admitting that downfield blocking also remains on his list of priorities to perfect, it ultimately comes down to one simple aspect of the game: catching the football.

“If I can catch the ball, I feel like I have the potential to be a starter,” said the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Bishop Dwenger High School product. “But right now, dropping the ball is keeping me back. If I continue that, I’ll stay back. So I have to keep working and that aspect of my game has to improve.

“It’s not on the quarterbacks and catching balls from different guys. Trust me. They’re throwing great balls. All four of them. It’s not the quarterbacks; it’s definitely me.”