Goode Times
August 07, 2008 03:55 PM | General
August 7, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Sometimes good recruiting is as much luck as it is skill and knowledge. Consider the case of redshirt freshman linebacker Najae Goode. Former West Virginia coach Bruce Tall found out about Goode when he saw him working out in the weight room at Cleveland Benedictine High School while on a recruiting trip to visit one of Goode’s high school teammates.
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| Freshman Najae Goode led all players with 10 tackles in the Gold-Blue Spring Game.
Blue & Gold News/Kevin Kinder photo |
“They came in and saw me working out and they asked to see some film,” Goode said. “I came down for a trip and I liked it.”
Najae Goode was actually a 235-pound option quarterback/linebacker playing against some very stiff competition. Among the standout players Goode faced in high school were safety Nate Oliver, now playing at Ohio State, and the McCarthey brothers at Youngstown Cardinal Mooney who wound up going to Notre Dame and Ohio State.
Goode also comes from an exceptional football family. His father John Goode was a tight end at Youngstown State who later spent two years in the NFL with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles. An older brother, Tariq, was a wide receiver at Toledo who now plays in the Arena Football League while another older brother, Wakeem, is a 5-foot-11-inch, 227-pound sophomore linebacker at Hampton University playing for former Mountaineer defensive back Jerry Holmes.
In addition, Goode has a cousin, Bryant Browning, who is the starting left tackle at Ohio State. Goode said all of them have given him sound advice.
“My brother told me my true freshman year to try and get on the special teams and be ready to knock the mess out of anybody you see. That’s what he did at Toledo,” Goode said. “My other brother told me to work hard and my dad said to do whatever it takes.
“He said to just stick in there because you are going to see a lot of things: you are going to see a lot of freakish athletes and stuff like that. I have seen that here and I have just adjusted to it,” Goode said.
Perhaps the biggest influence on Goode ultimately choosing to come to West Virginia University was his cousin Bryant Browning.
“He told me that I should take my chances here because he got a great opportunity at Ohio State and there is nothing like being at a big university,” Goode said. “He knew West Virginia was big and he thought I should take the opportunity to come here.”
Goode did not have a qualifying test score until late and he passed up offers from Ball State, Bowling Green and Miami, Ohio, on signing day to come to West Virginia as an invited walk-on.
Goode played quarterback in the Northeast Ohio East-West All-Star game where he threw three touchdown passes and also ran for a 77-yard score. When he was in high school, Goode said teams used to key on him.
“A lot of head coaches … we played (Cleveland) St. Edward’s and their coaches told their players that they had to knock me out so they blitzed on every play,” Goode said. “It was a little different playing offense and I miss it, but I’d rather knock somebody out.”
Knocking people out is exactly what he’s doing right now. Goode is presently battling Pat Lazear and Anthony Leonard for a spot as the team’s No. 2 linebacker behind senior Reed Williams.
“Coaches say we don’t have a set depth chart and I’ve been working with the twos and getting in with the ones a few times and taking all of the three reps,” he said.
Goode says the talent West Virginia has accumulated at linebacker right now is almost ridiculous.
“Watching Reed … when he’s in it’s a lot different and the environment changes because Reed knows the defense like the back of his hand,” Goode said. “Sometimes when I come off the field I don’t even go to Coach Casteel, I just go to Reed and check with him. That helps me out him watching me.
“And J.T. (Thomas) and Ovid (Goulbourne) are our two fastest linebackers and they can move,” Goode said. “They know what they’re doing and they know how to use what we do in our defense to their advantage. They know how to fit into certain creases and they can just fly.”
Presently, Goode says he’s on five of the six special teams, the exception being the field goal team. He is the wedge buster on the kickoff team and is also a member of the punt team. Coach Bill Stewart mentioned Thursday morning that the 11 fastest, toughest and best football players are ultimately picked to play on the punt team.
“Mortty Ivy is a three-year starter on the punt team and he wouldn’t come off that team for anything,” Stewart said. “J.T. Thomas, who is a starter at right tackle, wouldn’t come off that team for anything. The best 11 will be on the punt team and the second best 11 will be on the kickoff team.”
“I want to get the exposure out there,” Goode said. “Every guy’s dream is to go out there and play in front of that crowd and if I get the chance I’m definitely going to take it.”
In addition to being one of the defense’s top young talents, Goode is one of the few players on the team majoring in engineering. He says it best matches his love of drawing.
“I like to design and draw and I can draw well,” Goode said. “Ever since I was little I did stuff like that. Actually it’s cars. I like to draw and design cars. I like the mechanics. I like to change tires; work on radiators and engines.”
Right now, Goode is spending all of his time working on his game. And all of his hard work may pay off, perhaps sooner rather than later.
