Last weekend, junior wide receiver Marquise Goodwin kept up with Texas’ season opener via Twitter while he was thousands of miles away from Austin. This Saturday, Goodwin said he will take off his red shirt and put his Longhorn uniform back onto a more familiar playing field.
Goodwin said he had originally decided to take a year off from football to focus on his 2012 Olympic track aspirations. He competed in the World Championships held in Daegu, South Korea, last week, finishing 13th in the qualifying round of the long jump competition. The top 12 advanced to the final round. Despite tying with two others for 11th, Goodwin found himself on the outside looking in following a tie-breaking jump, knocking him out. Returning home, Goodwin said he had a change of heart concerning football at UT this fall.
“When I came back to the [United] States, I just knew that I couldn’t live without football,” Goodwin added.
Goodwin, whose first day of classes and football practice were Tuesday, said he will play this Saturday against BYU and plans to work on returning kickoffs this week.
Head coach Mack Brown said five to 10 plays would be a reasonable target for Goodwin in that game. Even though he only had two seasons under his belt, Goodwin is one of the more experienced receivers on the team.
“The one thing he brings to the table right away is his instant credibility with the success he’s had on the football field as well as the track,” said wide receivers coach Darrell Wyatt.
“Anytime you put a guy out there on the field with his speed, he has to be respected by the defense. Certainly, that’s going to open up other guys for one-on-one match-ups.”
Goodwin said that his teammates did not believe it when he told them he was coming back. When Garrett Gilbert saw No. 84 back on the practice field, Goodwin said Gilbert looked at him like he was a “ghost.”
As fast as Goodwin is, he could seem like a ghost to opposing defenses as well. BYU will be the first team he’ll get a chance to scare this season.
Printed on Wednesday, September 7, 2011 as: Goodwin back on gridiron for 2011.
