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The Daily Tar Heel

Goddard looking to return UNC to bowl

goddard
Senior safety Trimane Goddard" who picked off two passes last week provides postseason experience to a young UNC squad.

The last time North Carolina went to a bowl game only one member of the 2008 Tar Heels saw playing time.

Trimane Goddard.

Then a freshman cornerback and return specialist Goddard recorded one tackle and tallied 15 return yards in UNC's 37-24 loss to then-Big-East-member Boston College in the Continental Tire Bowl.

The losing seasons have mounted since Darian Durant last laced 'em up for the Tar Heels" and the memories of postseason play — though officially in the UNC record books forever — have all but vanished in Chapel Hill

""A lot of guys" you know they don't even know that we went to a bowl game in 2004" Goddard said.

I try to talk to them about it and tell 'em how fun it was being down there.""

And the Robersonville"" N.C. native is ready to have that kind of-fun again — just a little bit more.

""You know" we lost. And I tell 'em ‘You want to get back and win"'"" he said.

""Just the experience that you have there in that bowl game"" there's nothing you're going to get in the regular season. That's why in the regular season you got to put it all on the line so that you can get to that point.""

In the first year since then in which a bowl game seems plausible"" Goddard's drive to play and win that 13th game has spread throughout the locker room. 

Free safety Deunta Williams emphasizes the team's desire to win not just a bowl game but every game.

""(Losing) is not acceptable anymore" Williams said. Of course we have lost a game" but we can still go undefeated from here on out.""

Love of the game

While getting back to a bowl is priority No. 1 for Goddard" simply making contributions on the gridiron — especially one as vital as his game-saving interception against Miami on Sept. 27 — is an accomplishment in itself.

It seems like every time Goddard is ready to make a name for himself outside of the Triangle a broken foot" a fractured wrist or an emergency appendectomy impedes his progress.

But nothing has stopped Goddard this season.

""You see people that love this game like that and just give everything that they have" you have nothing but respect for them" Williams said.

Often, injuries have a way of diminishing aggressive instincts and making a player hesitate to play at full speed. Goddard hasn't displayed such tendencies.

Each time an injury has gotten in Goddard's way, he has come back as strong as ever.

It's a blessing just to come back from those injuries and be playing" being a part of this team he said. And how we're playing right now" it's definitely rewarding how this season's going so far.""

But it hasn't been through happenstance that No. 31 has continually gotten himself back onto the field.

A nearly unmatched work ethic and commitment to North Carolina football have been key to getting Goddard back in uniform.

And those attributes have not gone unnoticed.

""That always impresses other teammates when they see somebody fight back through injuries and fight back through adversities to come back and have success and play as well as he has"" UNC coach Butch Davis said.

Raw ability never hurts

Beyond his dedication to persistently getting back on the field, one aspect of Goddard's game has helped the National Defensive Player of the Week more than most.

Natural talent.

Coming out of Roanoke High School, Goddard was one of the most highly touted defensive backs in the country, ranked the No. 10 cornerback and the sixth-best player overall in North Carolina by Rivals.

On top of that, Goddard — who, like most elite athletes at the 1-A level, played on both sides of the ball in high school — compiled more than 2,700 yards of offense his senior year as a dual-threat quarterback.

And despite his injury-riddled career, that talent is as evident as ever. Just ask quarterback Cam Sexton, who, like Goddard, knows a thing or two about fighting back from injuries.

Trimane has picked me off probably a thousand times in my Carolina career here. So I knew he had the ability.""


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