Mario Goodrich has made the most of his week at the Senior Bowl heading into Saturday’s all-star game in Mobile, Ala.
After concluding his Clemson career as MVP of the Cheez-It Bowl, the 2021 first-team All-ACC cornerback seems to have further improved his NFL Draft stock during Senior Bowl practices while impressing in coverage, locking up opposing receivers and showcasing his speed – during Tuesday’s practice, he was clocked at a max speed of 21.22 miles per hour, good for the second-fastest time among corners at the practice.
Although he was a bit overshadowed at Clemson by fellow first-team All-ACC corner Andrew Booth Jr., a projected first-round draft pick, Goodrich opened eyes as a senior this past season and proved he is capable of shutting down a side of the field on defense.
The Kansas City native joined the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast this week from the Senior Bowl and spoke about a number of topics with Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain, including why he feels NFL teams should look at spending a high-round draft pick on him.
“I would say I’m a physical guy,” Goodrich said. “I like to get up and press, get my hands on receivers, be able to knock timing off the route. You can go back and look at the film, there was a lot of times the quarterback’s looking to my side, and he ended up just getting sacked or he held the ball or something. So, I feel like I do that well, and just coming up in the run game and being physical. I want to tackle. I mean, there’s a lot of corners who don’t like to tackle. They shy away from contact, and I’m not that type.”
As a senior in 2021, the 6-foot, 186-pounder was credited with 48 tackles, nine pass breakups, two interceptions and a forced fumble in 12 games (all starts). He finished his career as a Tiger with a bang when he earned Cheez-It Bowl MVP honors after picking off a batted ball and returning it 18 yards for a touchdown, as well as forcing a fumble on Iowa State’s final offensive play to seal a game-winning turnover on downs.
Being taken in the top two rounds of April’s NFL Draft is a dream for Goodrich, who hopes to take more steps toward that by showing well in the Senior Bowl — which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday and be televised on NFL Network — and then putting his skills on display for NFL personnel at the NFL Combine, which will be held Monday, Feb. 28 through Sunday, March 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
“I always had it in mind, like it’s always been a vision to go first and second round,” he said. “So, just trying to put a good product together, making sure I stay patient, all that, making plays on the ball. And then with the combine invite, just trying to go there and show them that I can run fast and just trying to keep rising up the draft stock.”
Goodrich has had a great Senior Bowl experience, and making it even better was the fact that Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, cornerbacks coach Mike Reed and chief of football administration Woody McCorvey showed up in Mobile earlier this week to support him.
“It’s been wonderful, just getting in front of coaches, trying to display what I got. Really just doing interviews, talking to people, just seeing what I need to work on and get better at,” Goodrich said of his week at the Senior Bowl.
“It meant a lot,” he added of the coaches coming to support him. “Just to have my coaches come out and support me – I mean, a lot of guys’ coaches don’t come out there. … It shows that they really care about their players and everything. So, it just meant a lot.”
Speaking of Clemson’s coaching staff, which has undergone plenty of change this offseason, Goodrich is fully confident that the Tigers’ defense is in good hands moving forward with new co-defensive coordinators Wes Goodwin and Mickey Conn.
“Wes is a genius,” Goodrich said. “He’s had many NFL teams offer him jobs, and he’s turned them down just for this position. He’s been wanting this position for a while, so just to see him get that opportunity – I know the guys are going to fight for him. I know he’s going to do well, him and Coach Conn, co-defensive coordinators. I know they’re going to do a good job, and I’m really proud. I’m happy for them.”
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