Tiger Board Logo

Donor's Den General Leaderboards TNET coins™ POTD Hall of Fame Map FAQ
GIVE AN AWARD
Use your TNET coins™ to grant this post a special award!

W
50
Big Brain
90
Love it!
100
Cheers
100
Helpful
100
Made Me Smile
100
Great Idea!
150
Mind Blown
150
Caring
200
Flammable
200
Hear ye, hear ye
200
Bravo
250
Nom Nom Nom
250
Take My Coins
500
Ooo, Shiny!
700
Treasured Post!
1000

YOUR BALANCE
A little more info on Goodwin.
storage This topic has been archived - replies are not allowed.
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic
Replies: 3
| visibility 1,853

A little more info on Goodwin.


Dec 17, 2021, 5:33 PM

https://www.postandcourier.com/sports/clemson/getting-to-know-clemson-defensive-assistant-wesley-goodwin-aka-weslichick/article_bc0f5d1a-5c45-11ec-854f-ff5733b9af21.html


military_donation.jpg flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Re: A little more info on Goodwin.


Dec 17, 2021, 5:50 PM

Yeah that was a really good piece.

Thanks for posting.

2024 orange level member flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


If anyone can't read cause subscription here's the text


Dec 17, 2021, 5:57 PM

Wil Langston/Clemson Athletics
CLEMSON — Of all the brains in Mississippi State’s football machine in the mid-2000s, student assistant Wesley Goodwin held a nickname that spoke to his brilliance.

He was “Wes-lichick,” an homage to New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

Like the Super Bowl-winning mastermind, Goodwin wasn’t all that talkative. Stumpy in build, the former offensive lineman from Clarke Prep School in tiny Grove Hill, Ala., wasn’t all that physically imposing. But unlike most minions tasked with analyzing plays from the press box, picking up small details about route combos or run schemes, Goodwin had a rare ability to see more.


“He could tell you what all 11 offensive players did on a play. He could see it and diagnose it, really quick,” said Jody Wright, a graduate assistant for Mississippi State from 2006-08, and now an offensive assistant with the New York Giants. “It was like that from Day 1. That is a great gift.”

More than 15 years into a coaching career, college and NFL counterparts know “Wes-lichick.” He followed veteran assistant Woody McCorvey from Mississippi State to Clemson in 2009, just as the Dabo Swinney era kicked off. He’s spent a decade at Clemson in two stints, split by three seasons serving Bruce Arians as the Arizona Cardinals’ assistant to the head coach from 2015-17.

Clemson, with all of its resources and prestige, could have courted a defensive coordinator with a more extensive resume as a position coach or play-caller. But Swinney appears prepared to replace one of the most respected defensive minds in college football with a 36-year-old understudy, who has name recognition amongst his peers but not necessarily the layman fan.

“To go from an analyst straight to what he’s doing, it’s unheard of in major Division I football, especially at Clemson. We’re not talking about some itty bitty school,” said Billy Hamilton, Goodwin’s high school coach at Clarke Prep. “That just tells you what Coach Swinney thinks of him and the whole outfit thinks of him. Because Coach Swinney is putting his reputation on the line if his defensive coordinator flops, right? He must think the world of him.”

Hamilton, a five-time state champion, and the man Clarke Prep named its field after, holds Goodwin in high regard. And not just from his time as an offensive guard in Hamilton’s Wing-T offense. As Goodwin continued in his coaching career, he became a person Hamilton called, just to pick his brain.

Mississippi State beat Alabama twice during Goodwin’s tenure, and, after one of those wins, he returned to Clarke Prep to show Hamilton that game’s scouting book. It was two inches thick, filled with information on what plays the Tide run, out of what formations, and on what downs.

“He knows that stuff. He knows everything,” Hamilton said. “Wesley didn’t get married until way into his career. He burned that midnight oil for years, always working, making a name for himself.”

Goodwin, who earned a master’s in business administration, just chose to apply his intelligence in the football space. He also just fell in love with Clemson.


While Goodwin has never been a position coach, that wasn’t for a lack of opportunities elsewhere. Wright, who remains close to Goodwin, wanted to bring “Wes-lichick” with him to the Browns as an assistant linebackers coach in 2019. He wanted to bring Goodwin to the Giants in 2020, too, when Joe Judge — a graduate assistant at Mississippi State from 2005-07 — became the Giants’ head coach.

Both times, Goodwin didn’t bite. He wanted to wait it out at Clemson, even if opportunities for advancement were scant on a staff with so little turnover.

“Wesley really loves Coach Swinney, and rightfully so. He’s felt like they were doing a lot of special things there,” Wright said. “He stayed at Clemson, which ended up being the smart move. Coach Swinney is rewarding him for his hard work and loyalty.”

Now, Venables is gone, and it appears Goodwin is ready to assume a bigger role.

Wright can attest to Goodwin’s smarts, not only game-planning and breaking down opponents’ tendencies but in his teaching methods. It sounds really simple in hindsight, but the tech-savvy Goodwin figured out how to make the Xs and Os in PowerPoint presentations move, giving his athletes a chance to see what a play should look like in motion.

The word “innovative” repeats when coaching colleagues speak of Goodwin.

“He understands, with this generation, you can’t hand them a playbook in black and white from the 1970s,” Wright said. “They learn and respond differently.”

There will be questions about Goodwin’s ability to recruit, because he doesn’t have an extensive on-the-field resume or an over-the-top personality. But his strength will be his genuine nature. Goodwin is described by those who know him as humble, down-to-earth and a straight-talker.

It’s rare, but Wright saw Goodwin chew out a scout team player or two at Mississippi State. He hasn’t been a position coach full-time, but Goodwin did coach Clemson’s secondary for the month leading into the 2012 Chick-Fil-A Bowl after Charlie Harbison left for Auburn. So it’s not completely new to him.

“Everybody’s going to respect him when he opens his mouth because he knows what he’s talking about. He’s a terrific guy, there’s no ego with Wesley,” Wright said. “He’s a guy who can hold a room, command a room, because he’s got some fire in him. I’ve seen it.”

Now, the rest of the college football world will get to see it, too.

A big leap is coming for Goodwin, but those who have followed his career — from student assistant to analyst and now an on-the-field role — believe “Wes-lichick” will continue to ascend.

“He hasn’t been sitting in some room somewhere and doesn’t know what was going on in this world. I guarantee you he’s recognized in the coaching ranks and the pro ranks,” Hamilton said. “That’s my opinion, but he’s not a secret to them. Maybe a secret to sportswriters and some of these ESPN guys who don’t know him. But I can assure you he’s going to do well. I’d absolutely be shocked if he doesn’t do great.”

2024 orange level member flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up


Re: If anyone can't read cause subscription here's the text


Dec 18, 2021, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the OP, and thanks so much for the repost.

flag link military_tech thumb_downthumb_up

Replies: 3
| visibility 1,853
Archives - Tiger Boards Archive
add New Topic