Panthers rookie RB Mike Goodson eager to put disappointing college career behind him

Panthers’ Goodson eager to put college behind him

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — It isn’t often Steve Smith says anything positive about a rookie, yet he’s been heaping praise on Mike Goodson.

Carolina’s coaching staff is similarly impressed, and the fans at training camp routinely gasp at some of the speedy running back’s shifty moves.

So what in the heck happened to him at Texas A&M, where his numbers declined each year before he declared early for the draft?

“I wanted to do a lot more in college,” Goodson said. “But that’s thinking in the past. I’m on a great team now and it’s a great opportunity. I’m going to try to make up here what I didn’t do there.”

The Panthers hardly needed help at running back going into the draft. They had the top rushing duo in the NFL last year in DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. But with their extra fourth-round pick they received from San Francisco in a draft-weekend trade, the Panthers took the 6-foot, 212-pound back.

“When we drafted him somebody told me to go on YouTube and look at him. I watched it and I was like, ‘Wow.’ He was phenomenal,” said Smith, Carolina’s four-time Pro Bowl receiver. “I think he’s a great asset to the team. I think he’s explosive, he’s smart, he makes a lot of moves.”

It just didn’t translate into success at Texas A&M. After rushing for a team-best 847 yards as a freshman, he dipped to 711 yards a year later. Last season, in which he was slowed for a while with a sore knee, he managed only 406 yards rushing under new coach Mike Sherman.

“With a guy like Mike, we ought to be better,” Sherman said midway through last season.

Goodson said he’s not sure why he struggled, but acknowledged he didn’t click with Sherman, the former Green Bay Packers coach.

“But I think when you say that it comes across that Sherman is a bad guy. He’s not that at all. He’s a great guy,” Goodson said. “I think that I didn’t have enough time with him. I was there for one year and I was out. I think if we had a little more time it would have worked out better.”

There wouldn’t be a second year together. Facing family financial problems — his father, Mike Sr., is in prison after a mortgage fraud conviction — Goodson decided to turn pro despite his sliding draft stock.

Goodson used part of his $492,000 signing bonus to pay off his mother’s mortgage and remodel their home in Klein, Texas. Then he came to Carolina intent on resurrecting his career, whether it be at running back, slot receiver or kickoff returner.

“Very early on we noticed he’s a very explosive guy no matter how you get the ball in his hands, as a runner or a pass receiver,” coach John Fox said. “He’s still learning, being a rookie, but he’s still been able to show that explosiveness even as he’s feeling his way through learning the offense.”

With Stewart sidelined for much of camp with lingering Achilles’ tendon pain, Goodson has been getting a number of carries with the first team. His shiftiness has befuddled the defense and impressed his veteran teammates.

“On the run his feet don’t stop. I think a lot of times you can’t coach or teach that and he already has those instincts,” Smith said. “I think he has a lot to learn, but I also think he has a lot to give to the team.”

Once Stewart gets healthy, the Panthers could use Goodson as a third-down back or as a slot receiver on passing downs. Goodson also is a top candidate to win the kick returner job.

Goodson will likely get plenty of work in Monday’s preseason opener at the New York Giants. It’ll be his first game since last season’s finale at Texas A&M, when he carried six times for five yards in a 49-9 loss to Texas.

“I’m not really sure why it turned out the way it did,” Goodson said, “but I’m happy that I’m here now.”