Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Athletics Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2015
- Class:
- 2004
One of the most decorated defensive players in Marshall football history, Johnathan Goddard was one of five finalists for the 2004 Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the National Defensive Player of the Year. The Jacksonville, Fla., native was a defensive end who disrupted opponents on a weekly basis, becoming second in Marshall history with 63.5 career tackles for loss (for minus-275 yards) and third in career sacks with 27.5.
Known as for his big play ability, Goddard scored two touchdowns as a junior in 2003, including a crucial 84-yard fumble return for a score as Marshall upset No. 6 Kansas State 27-20 in Manhattan, Kan., and a 40-yard fumble return in a 28-0 shutout of Ohio University.
Goddard exploded onto the national scene as a senior when he parlayed five Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors into the MAC Defensive Player of the Year Award and first-team All-American honors. He sacked opposing quarterbacks 16 times and made 28.5 tackles for loss. He again scored a pair of touchdowns, a 27-yard fumble return for a score in a 24-21 final play loss at Ohio State and a 23-yard interception return for Marshall’s only touchdown in a 16-13 win at Ohio University. In a 33-25 win over Miami (Ohio), Goddard recorded four quarterback sacks, forced a fumble and recovered another fumble.
Following his Marshall career, Goddard was chosen by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft and played in one NFL game for the Indianapolis Colts in 2006. He was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida in 2008, and there is a Big Green Scholarship Foundation scholarship named in his honor. Goddard was inducted into the Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015.
