Before each and every football game at the Memphis home, O’Bryan Goodson gathered his defensive line teammates for a lively chat.
The old man suggested who they were betting on besides everyone else. Think about what happened and let him out on the field.
It’s a recommendation Goodson has heard more than ever this year. As the Tigers went through a season of ups and downs, he faced demanding situations that tested his brain.
“Things are happening. All the time, you go through something, you don’t do anything yourself in the kind God needs you to be,” Goodson said.
The phone call came when he was leaving the classroom in February and Goodson’s girlfriend Tierynee asked him if he was alone.
She told him that she had had a miscarriage. The pain in her voice stopped Goodson and he didn’t know how to react, that he knew he had to be with her.
He drove down Interstate 55 in Batesville, Mississippi, but every mile couldn’t stop tears from running down his cheeks.
While Goodson was crying, she thought it had to be so she knew she was even more sorry.
“I knew I had to be there for her and tell her that everything would be fine. It didn’t happen well this time, but we had an eternity,” Goodson said. “They gave it back to me and I know it’s getting better. “
It’s just the beginning of a tumultuous year. In March, his younger brother Caleb diagnosed him with leukemia when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled spring practice.
Six months later, Goodson’s father, Darrell, struggled with headaches similar to maximum blood pressure when the Tigers faced their own COVID-19 outbreak. In October, his mother, Cherry, and sister tested positive.
Both, however, have recovered and Caleb continues treatment, but Goodson struggled to concentrate only on football when bad news continued to arrive.
“It makes you think, ‘Why is this happening to me?God, am I not smart enough or am I not doing anything right?” asked Goodson.
As a child, Goodson sought to be strong for everyone, he vowed to take care of his mother, who had several jobs for her 3 children.
“She told me it wouldn’t be the sun or the rainbows. Sometimes cloudy days last longer than sunny days, so I had to move on,” Goodson said.
So he channeled his pain through football. As a defensive tackle overlooked and undersizing, the 6-foot 1-inch, 297-pound Goodson is a pillar of tiger defense.
Goodson had eight tackles for the loss, adding four catches and two forced loose balls before suffering an injury that ended the season and lacked the last three games. He won the first All-AAC team and finished his 4-year career starting 44 out of 46 games.
He had one of the Tigers’ most productive defensive moments in their 50-49 victory over UCF on October 17. At the end of the third quarter, Goodson on the double team and his helmet flew, but controlled to pass through the two. definers and still fired Field Marshal Dillon Gabriel.
He jumped, hit the air and screamed on the Sideline of Memphis. As in the previous game, Goodson suggested his teammates keep fighting.
Even now, as Goodson prepares for the 2021 NFL Draft, he sees how pain has taught him to fight even harder. He deepened his determination to continue his football career while recalling how motivated his circle of relatives was.
“There are so many reasons why I do this. My dad, my mom, my lost son, my daughter who makes her strong, everything I do is for them,” Goodson said.
“It’s hard. Sometimes it’s still difficult. I never looked at him much on my shoulders. That’s another obstacle you have to overcome. “
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