We're taking a look at a player from each Pac-12 team who could step into the spotlight in 2014.
Spotlight: WR D.D. Goodson, 5-foot-6, 170 pounds, Sr.
2013 summary: Goodson caught 22 passes for 306 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The skinny: Stability isn’t something D.D. Goodson has been privileged to during his time at Colorado. He started at defensive back under former coach John Embree, switched to running back as a sophomore and then to wide receiver, at his request, when Mike MacIntyre’s new staff arrived in 2012.
With Paul Richardson on the team, there wasn’t necessarily the need for immediate production from Goodson, but now that Richardson -- and his 83 catches for 1,343 yards -- is off to the NFL, he is expected to play a much bigger role.
It’s an opportunity Goodson is highly anticipating.
“I want to chase records set by receivers in school history,” he said. “And I want to be more of a vocal leader rather than just leading by example.”
The second part is something he’s already got down, according to receivers coach Troy Walters, who won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as a senior at Stanford in 1999.
“He’s probably the hardest worker on the team,” Walters said. “When other guys are winded and bending over [during conditioning], he’s the one holding them up, getting them to the next station. He’s at the front of the line in gassers.
“He just has that chip on his shoulder to prove he can be a great player.”
Walters said Goodson’s strengths are his hands, finding open zones in the defense and what he can do after the catch, which he attributed to his background at running back.
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