Most crucial Jayhawks 2015: No. 12 – DE Ben Goodman
Kansas buck Ben Goodman (93) leads the Jayhawks onto the field against South Dakota on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 at Memorial Stadium.
The rigorous KU football camp schedule put our summer series on hold for a week or so, but we’re back to finish off the second half of the list in the next couple of weeks.
Let’s jump right back in with a name that, unlike many on this list, is pretty well known by KU fans and has been for the past couple of seasons.
Be sure to check out the links below for Nos. 25-13 and stay tuned the rest of the week for the rest of the list.
12. Ben Goodman, 6-foot-3, 253-pound Sr. Defensive End
I’ve always thought Ben Goodman was one of the better dudes on the KU football team. He’s always been incredibly friendly, had a great personality and a smile that lit up his entire face and had a way of pushing positive vibes onto those around him.
That demeanor doesn’t make tackles or win football games but it does help you stand out. Today, just a couple of weeks removed from his final season of college football, Goodman is standing out for a completely different reason.
Always a little under the radar because of bigger names and more productive players on the defense ahead of him, Goodman enters the 2015 season as one of KU’s most experienced defensive players and a man possessed.
Goodman’s wearing a new number this year — 10 instead of 93 — and instead of just being happy to blend in and do what he can to help the D, the Beaumont, Texas, native is doing his best to make a difference. He has emerged as one of the top leaders on the team and looks as lean and mean as he ever has.
Perhaps the best part of Goodman’s strong offseason heading into his final season with the Jayhawks is that he has not become complacent because of his status as an upperclassman. In Dallas, at Big 12 media days in late July, Goodman told me that Damani Mosby and Anthony Olobia had looked so good during the offseason that he was worried about them taking his spot, even though neither one had played a single down of Div. I football.
Through the first couple of weeks of camp, it does not look like that has happened. Goodman has been a fixture with the first team and looked as determined as ever.
The next step is for him to take all of those good traits and determined feelings and turn them into production on the field. As long as Goodman has some help around him — and it’s starting to look like he might have a little more there than we once thought last spring — he should be poised for the best season of his KU career.
Most Crucial Jayhawks 2015: