Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? gin," he said. "I thought the last two, three, four years, I didn't see that kind of swarming-attitude-type defense, swagger. Whatever you want to call it, I didn't see it. It's starting to show itself a little bit this year, which is re- ally refreshing." That attitude, he said, starts with having talent and knowing you have it. That started to trail away from the Irish by the time Goolsby returned from an injured year (see sidebar) to finish his career in 2004. Notre Dame went 6-6 that season and fired Ty Willingham af- ter allowing 120 points in the last three games of the regular season. While Notre Dame was trending of 107,000 fans at Tennessee's Ney- land Stadium. Notre Dame knocked off its second top-10 team of the year that night by beating the ninth-ranked Volunteers, 17-13. Goolsby made 14 tackles in that game and had one of five Irish sacks. By that time, A gaps and passing coverage were becoming second na- ture — but the middle linebacker still remembers the times that he slipped. "I played pretty well that game," he downward, Goolsby put together an impressive senior season. He led the team with 97 tackles and made his fair share of memorable plays. The one that most remember was his game-winning interception in front said. "I screwed up one run fit all year and it was against Tennessee. They ran it again and I stuck the guy the next time. That was the deal for me, just getting your mind around that play- book. That's what I think a lot of kids don't necessarily understand." Goolsby is doing his best to change Playing Through Pain It took three fairly serious injuries to push Mike Goolsby out of the Irish lineup for what should have been his senior season in 2003. The first blow came during training camp the year before. Goolsby tore his labrum — the same shoulder injury that has sidelined current Irish defenders Austin Collinsworth and Chase Hounshell — that August, but started all 13 games. The plan was to have surgery following the team's trip to the Gator Bowl. That fell through when Goolsby broke his collarbone on the opposite side of his body during the game. Shortly after all was healed and a successful surgery, Goolsby broke his collarbone again. He had gone almost a year without lifting a weight with his upper body and was forced to sit out the year. Prior to that 2003 season, Goolsby said he never missed a workout or a practice in South Bend. That includes the conditioning drills when he had a bursa sac that needed to be drained regularly and would occasionally burst while running. "That's something I always prided myself on was just having a toughness, kind of a chip on my shoulder, which I still have to this day," he said. "It sees you through a lot of life's ups and downs, that's for sure." The lowest Goolsby got during his stretch on the sidelines was the helpless feeling of watching his team lose 38-0 to Michigan at The Big House. He bounced the back the following year when he led the team with 14 tackles against No. 8 Michigan in a 28-20 win. — Dan Murphy that now by teaching everything he learned over a successful collegiate career. ✦