Senior Wideout Hopes to be next entry in Ring of Honor

On 3rd-and-goal with 3:33 to go in the second quarter of the biggest game he’s ever played, senior wide receiver Dominick Goodman caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tony Pike, giving his team a lead and breaking Jim O’Brien’s school record for career touchdown receptions.

Goodman will go down as arguably the greatest receiver ever to play at the University of Cincinnati. Four years ago, however, he nearly gave up football to pursue a career in basketball at the University of Findlay.

Before accepting a football scholarship at UC, Goodman originally signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball at the University of Findlay in Ohio. Findlay is currently the No. 1-ranked men’s basketball team in Division II.

“I thought I was better at basketball,” Goodman said. “That’s what a lot of people were telling me, that I had more of a shot playing basketball. I was a slasher, you know, I’d get to the cup, but if you need me for the three, I’d stroke the three.”

Although Goodman’s father, Don, played fullback at UC and went on to have a career in the NFL, he didn’t push his son to pick football over basketball.

“I told Dominick ‘Do things that make you happy,’ ” said Don Goodman. “Whatever you feel, if football or basketball makes you happy, you do what it takes to make you happy.”

After playing wide receiver during his junior year at Colerain High School, head coach Kerry Coombs decided to move Goodman to quarterback for his senior year. The move paid off as Goodman rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, leading Colerain to an Ohio Division I State Championship and a No. 5 national ranking by USA Today.

In the Ohio state championship game, Goodman rushed for 259 yards and four touchdowns, earning MVP honors for the game.

“As the football season started to go on and [Goodman] became a very prominent player in Cincinnati and recruiters started to come in, I had to have a conversation with him to make sure he was secure in his commitment,” said Coombs, who is now the defensive backs coach at UC. “As the season continued, he came in and said, ‘Coach, I might like to think about playing football.’ ”

Goodman’s father had to call Findlay head coach Ron Niekamp to ask if he would release Dominick from his commitment. The school eventually agreed, and he turned his attention to football.

“The first people I contacted were the people at Cincinnati because I knew so many of them and his dad had played here,” Coombs said. “They jumped all over it, and I think because they did, and they were so eager, so early, they kind of snuck one out of there.”

Goodman switched positions back to receiver when he began playing at UC. He had just 163 receiving yards in his freshman season, but by the end of his sophomore year, he had established himself as the team’s best wideout.

Former head coach Mark Dantonio left UC for Michigan State before the end of Goodman’s sophomore season and the school brought in Brian Kelly to coach the team for the 2007 International Bowl.

“When I got on board here I was looking for some of those, what I consider championship-level players,” said head coach Brian Kelly. “[Goodman] brought a work ethic to the first practice I had here, and I said ‘That’s a guy that we can build this thing around,’ and what happens is, as a sophomore, he becomes the MVP of the International Bowl. He’s been an MVP since I got here.”

Goodman caught seven passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns in the Bearcats’ 27-24 victory over Western Michigan in the International Bowl.

Over the next two years Goodman earned a reputation as a clutch possession receiver with a great pair of hands.

“Ask Mike Mickens or DeAngelo Smith,” Coombs said. “We can have him covered like an absolute blanket and he can stick one hand out there and catch the ball. He does it day after day. Sometimes he’ll even tap it to himself. He’s as good as anybody we have seen or played against.”

Goodman’s ability to make spectacular catches on poorly thrown balls earned him the nickname “the Wizard.”

“My dad told me I always had good hands,” Goodman said. “Growing up, he would always take me out to the front yard and make me do routes and he wouldn’t throw little pitty pats. He would throw rockets and lasers, so he kind of got me while I was young.”

As a junior, Goodman led his team in receiving with 869 yards and eight touchdowns on 68 receptions, but he saved his best performances for his senior year.

After a 7-2 start in 2008, the Bearcats came into the Louisville game needing a win against a team they hadn’t beaten in the last five years to stay alive for a possible BCS bowl berth.

With 6:38 left in the third quarter and his team trailing 20-14, Goodman made a fully extended diving 23-yard touchdown reception to give UC the lead.

“Dominick Goodman is pretty much a go-to receiver on every down,” Pike said. “Any time you see one-on-one coverage with Goodman, you are 90 percent sure he’s going to come down with it. As a quarterback, you just want to give him a chance to make the play. You couldn’t ask for more; he’s unbelievable.”

Goodman finished the Louisville game with nine catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.

“He just put the team on his shoulders,” Kelly said. “There’s a senior that was going to find a way to win. Every time we had a play where we needed something to happen, we went to Dominick Goodman.”

Just eight days later, the Bearcats faced Pittsburgh, a team they had never beaten. Once again, “the Wizard” came through in the clutch. With the score tied in the second quarter, Pike threw a screen pass to Goodman, who broke several tackles on his way to a 33-yard gain, setting up the record-breaking touchdown three plays later. That touchdown ended up being the difference in the game, and Goodman finished with 101 yards on seven receptions.

“He reached what I consider competitive greatness,” Kelly said. “Competitive greatness for me is in the times necessary ,when the game's on the line, the guys that love that opportunity, step up and Dominick Goodman stepped up under those circumstances.”

With three games left to play, Goodman needs just 14 receptions and 96 receiving yards to become UC’s all-time leader in every receiving category. If Goodman notches 18 receptions and 211 more yards in the last three games he will also hold the school’s single season records for receiving yards and receptions, as well as the Big East record for career receptions.

Despite his accomplishments, some draft analysts think Goodman doesn’t have the speed to play in the NFL. Goodman’s former high school coach disagrees.

“He will play in the NFL,” Coombs said. “Wherever it is, they are going to get a steal because he probably won't be as highly drafted as he should be. He’s incredibly difficult to cover in one-on-one situations; he always seems to catch the ball no matter where it’s thrown. He’s one of the greatest playmakers I have ever seen.”

Even if Goodman doesn’t make it to the NFL, he has already cemented his legacy at UC and should fulfill his lofty goals of helping his team win a Big East Championship and earning a spot on the Ring of Honor in Nippert Stadium.