Mike Goodson Is Oakland's Versatile Kick Returner And Running Back
By Ryan Leong
Mike Goodson, RB # 25
Height: 6-0
Weight: 210
Age: 25
Hometown: Klein, Texas
College: Texas A&M
Experience: 4th NFL Season, first with Raiders
Mike Goodson didn't start his NFL career with Oakland but now that he's wearing the Silver and Black, he's part of Raider Nation.
Drafted in the fourth round in 2009 and the 111th overall pick by the Carolina Panthers, Goodson attended Klein Collins High School in Spring, Texas, where he played running back.
During his junior year, Goodson ran for 1,152 yards on 101 carries, averaging 11.5 yards per carry with 14 TDs, and had 11 receptions for 277 yards and 5 TDs. His senior year, Goodson had 973 yards rushing on 99 carries. Goodson was a finalist for the 2005 Houston Touchdown Club's Offensive Player and participated in the 2006 U.S. Army All-American Game.
Goodson played collegiately at Texas A&M. In his college career he saw action in 36 games with 14 starts. He was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned honorable mention All-Big 12 Honors. As a freshman, he rushed for 847 yards and four touchdowns averaging a conference high 6.7 yards per carry and also caught 17 passes for 113 yards. He had a career high 127 yards against Oklahoma and scored a 41-yard touchdown against the Texas Longhorns, who had the nation's leading rush defense.
In his final season as a junior, he totaled 406 yards on 94 rushing attempts with five touchdowns including an 80-yard touchdown run against Oklahoma State.
In the 2009 combine, he was clocked at 4.54 in the 40 yard dash ranking him 7th among running backs. After the draft, he signed a four-year deal with Carolina.
In his rookie season, he was primarily a backup, playing in eight games. He made his debut as a starter in Week 17 filling in for an injured DeAngelo Williams and had 13 carries for 44 yards.
His best season with the Panthers was in 2010 when he played the entire season and started three games. He finished the year with 452 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and an additional 310 yards on 40 catches. He had 1,034 yards on kickoff returns. Goodson led the team in rushing touchdowns and finished second on the team in both rushing yards and receptions.
When General Manager Reggie McKenzie was hired by the Raiders, his first deal was to trade for Goodson in exchange for tackle Bruce Campbell.
Upon his arrival to the Raiders, Goodson was involved in a scary incident where he suffered a neck injury early in training camp. He had a helmet-to-helmet collision with teammate Philip Wheeler and was taken away from the Napa facility in an ambulance. A CT scan and MRI were both negative after Goodson was on the field in a prone position for 15 minutes.
During his recovery in the hospital, Goodson's first visitor was his new head coach Dennis Allen and that prompted Goodson to send the following tweet.
This season he is the primary backup to Darren McFadden and also serves as the team's kick returner. For his best game as a returner, he returned a kick 64 yards for a touchdown and had three kick returns for 83 yards in Week Two at Miami. As a running back his best performance was Week Six at Atlanta where he rushed for 59 yards on four carries, including a 43-yard run.
This past Sunday, Goodson left the game early in the fourth quarter after suffering a high ankle sprain. Both he and McFadden have high ankle sprains and it will be determined later in the week what their statuses are for the upcoming game at Baltimore.
Oakland ranks 31st in run offense, and that's been a problem for the team. Goodson once ran for 120 yards in a game while with the Panthers, so the potential is there for him to succeed. He also has donated his time to the community by making an appearance at the Boys and Girls club in May.
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Ryan Leong has reported on over 2,800 games in the Bay Area since 1998, covering the Sharks, Giants, A's, Warriors, 49ers, Raiders and the local college teams for radio networks and wire services. Having the best seat in the house to watch sports has been a thrill and Ryan still enjoys going to the games giving fans some insight and perspective on the players and coaches. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
