WR Marquise Goodwin (5.31.23)

You got to show off that speed a little bit today on a couple of people. I mean, what’s that connection with Deshaun Watson like? 

Connection as elite today, man. Just grateful for the opportunity to shine. It’s electric. You see that arm? He got God’s arm for sure.

 

You’re over 30 years old now. How much speed have you lost since your prime as an athlete? 

I think I’m pretty much in my prime, so I don’t think I lost any speed. It’s kind of like fine wine. You just get better with time.

 

How do you do that? 

Taking care of my body, doing little things, spending time with my family, being intentional with my time and my habits and it’s definitely working out. Got another opportunity to play football this year. I’m blessed.

 

What are some of the little things you think have helped you be able to maintain your speed and some of your strengths as you get older? 

Training in offseason, going hard on the track. I’m a track and field athlete, 2012 Olympian, for people who don’t know. So that’s a huge background of mine. I love spending time on the track in the offseason. I volunteer with the Texas track team. I volunteer coach, so I spend a lot of time out there.

 

How do you look at this as an opportunity with a new team? 

Another opportunity just to stack some wins, man. Build a culture here that is about winning and create a change. After making the playoffs a few years ago, just headed right back on the way up. So just trying to do my part, do my job.

 

What did you run in the Olympics? 

Long jump. That’s my specialty event. If anybody doesn’t know what long jump is, you basically take a sprint all the way, about 45 meters, to the board. You can’t jump over the board. It has to behind the board, and you jump as far as you can. It’s measured from your furthest point back to the front of the board.

 

And what was your best? 

27 feet, nine inches. 8.45 meters.

 

Marquise, what was developing your connection with Deshaun? What has that been like so far for you? And what’s that process like for you as a receiver? 

It’s really humbling to work with somebody as elite as Deshaun. I don’t really have to guess or wonder ‘is he going to throw it far enough? Is he going to throw it?’ I look in the air and I’m like, ‘dang, I got to run.’ So when you have somebody who is as dedicated and as focused and as experienced as he is elite, it just makes my job easier. All I have to do is run.

 

What is the biggest thing about those deep balls? Is it knowing where Watson releases it? What is the biggest thing that you guys need to get on the same page? Just strictly on the deep pass. 

Running. Just the running and making the catch. It’s just being at the right place, at the right time, and making the catch. That’s the most important part that I feel like people lose sight on. Yeah, I can run a route, I can do whatever, I can make the DB fall. But if I dropped the ball, it was for no reason. So got to catch the ball.

 

How much was the Deshaun factor impacting your decision? 

Huge factor. I mean, we have the same agent. I’ve thrown with him before. I just haven’t been a free agent at the time and at the right time to be able to try to mesh it up and play with him. So this worked out. I mean, it was a great opportunity. It couldn’t be any better.

 

Does it seem like eleven years have passed since you were an Olympian? 

Wow, that’s crazy to think. Yeah, it has been eleven years. You aged me, man. That much time has passed? It doesn’t really. I mean, because I’m always in season. I go from football to track, to football. Even since I’ve been in the NFL. My first three or four years, I was crossing between the two. And then 2015 and 2016, I did as well, and then 2020. So kind of like I get lost in time.

 

Did Deshaun do any recruiting to get you here? 

He didn’t have to. His talent and his leadership, it speaks for itself. So you see these chills? You can’t fake energy, right? That’s real talk.

 

Like you said, you got to build up that speed and then make the jump. How does that help you kind of help your speed?

So I want you to run and jump at half speed, see how far you go. Then run and jump at full speed. You have to be fast to jump far. And it correlates by me being able to put my foot down hard and break off of a route. At long jump, I’m running full speed and I have to transition and put my foot down. So I’m training these muscles the same way, to start and stop, which is huge in football.

 

So what about you has allowed you to kind of maintain both those sports the way you have? 

Thank you for asking. I got a sister who has never walked a day in her life. She was born with cerebral palsy. I am ten months older than she is, and that’s my motivation. I’d be doing her disservice, if I were to not go and maximize in my sport of ability. If I’m not out running it, if I’m not out jumping, if I’m not out catching footballs and I’m just sitting around being lazy or complaining, then I’m doing her disservice. A quick story, I woke up one day in the middle of the night, probably 3:30-4 in the morning, and I just hear somebody in the room. And I go around the corner, I’m listening, and my sister’s like, ‘God, just please.’ And I just hear her saying, ‘Please.’ I’m like ‘what?’ She’s like, ‘Please just let me feel what it feels like to walk. I just want my feet touch the ground.’ You hear that, you ain’t going to be motivated?

 

What’s your sister’s name?

Deja. D-E-J-A.

 

When did that happen?

I was in probably middle school. I was in middle school at the time, and over the course of time, I’ve heard it a couple of years. And so when I got drafted by the Bills, my third year, she came and lived with me. So did my brother. My brother helped take care of her. And one day I was showing her a picture on my phone. I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ She was like ‘That’s mama.’ And I’m like, ‘No. Who is this?’ It was a picture of her. She didn’t know. And I’m like, ‘how do you not know who this is?’ And she’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ So she’s like, ‘I don’t see myself.’ She don’t see herself in the mirror. She can’t walk. I bought a big ass mirror, put it up, and I picked her up, and I’m just weeping. I’m bawling, because my sister at the time was like 25 and had never seen herself in the mirror. You know what I’m saying? So it adds perspective for me. I have no excuses. I’m humbled to be here. I’m super grateful.

 

What’s your brother’s name and is it just you two?

No, I’m the oldest of twelve. Rickey. R-I-C-K-E-Y.

 

How old is the youngest? 

Thirteen. Journey. That’s my baby. She’s like my daughter.

 

At what point when you were young did you realize that you had the capability of being super fast?

Racing in the neighborhood. Just racing people, grown people, whoever wanted to race for money. I was very motivated by that, because I grew up in an impoverished neighborhood. So you throw some dollars out, we going to get it, I’m going to win it. And that’s just always been a part of my hustle.

 

How early in your life did you start doing that? 

I was seven when I started racing, and then I got an organized sports when I turned nine. Been running and playing football ever since.

 

When was the last time you did a long jump? 

I think my celebration last year versus the L.A. Chargers.

 

So did you win the state championship in high school? 

I have the high school national record.

 

You got your own motivation, but you got your coaches out here talking you through things. What is it like to have that? How impactful can that be to your game when they’re out there holding you guys accountable, getting you, coaching you through it? 

It’s always great to have a coach, somebody you can lean on, somebody that is not afraid to help you grow. And I think it’s essential in sports,  because a lot of people have egos and we feel like we’ve arrived sometimes. So a coach kind of helps facilitate  keeping you humble. I love it. Shout out to C.O. (Chad O’Shea)

 

# # #