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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

UW’s Goodwin reborn

Huskies WR put in extra work on way to old form

Scott M. Johnson Everett Herald

SEATTLE – D’Andre Goodwin may have pouted … for a minute.

He may have felt sorry for himself. He may have cursed the University of Washington coaches in his mind.

But there is one thing the University of Washington receiver never did. Goodwin never gave up.

“D’Andre definitely went through the down and the adverse side of things. He was down in the dumps a lot last year,” receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty said. “… I always thought there was a great story for him out there as far as battling back from adversity. And now he’s seeing the rewards of it and playing at a high level.”

After emerging as the Huskies’ go-to receiver as a sophomore in 2008, then dropping on the depth chart under UW’s new coaching staff last season, a re-focused Goodwin has re-emerged with the Huskies.

And with that, a career has been reborn.

“It has a lot to do with my teammates and the coaches,” Goodwin said. “They never gave up on me. I do what I’m coached to do. I have a great coach in Coach Dougherty. I’ve been helped by other people; it’s not just me. Other people have stuck with me.”

When Goodwin was at his lowest – his reception totals dropped from a team-high 60 in 2008 to just 14 last season – it would have been easy to point fingers and make excuses. A hamstring injury slowed him during his first offseason with coach Steve Sarkisian’s staff, and the new coaches eventually settled on another group of go-to receivers like Jermaine Kearse, Devin Aguilar and true freshman James Johnson.

But a retrospective Goodwin looks back on last season and knows there’s only one scapegoat for his lack of numbers.

“I just wasn’t performing like I should,” he said this week. “It had nothing to do with anything else. It was all on me. I wasn’t doing a good enough job to be the No. 1 guy.”

Goodwin put in extra time during the offseason to earn back the trust of the coaches and quarterback Jake Locker, and he’s slowly worked his way back into the offense. He caught just two passes in the first three games of 2010, then broke out with four receptions in an upset of USC.