West’s Goodman to play in All-American Bowl

FLORENCE — The list of names is a who’s who of college and professional football players.

Reggie Bush, Vince Young, Brady Quinn, Adrian Peterson and Tim Tebow have more in common than just great skill and name recognition — they were all part of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

And now, West Florence’s Malliciah Goodman can count his name among those.

On Thursday, the U.S. Army officially announced Goodman’s selection to the ninth annual All-American Bowl, the premier high school football all-star showcase in the country.

The game has featured 93 NFL Draft picks, eight Pro Bowlers and two Heisman Trophy winners.

It will be held Jan. 3 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, and will be broadcast on NBC at noon. The series is tied 4-4 between the East and West teams.

Goodman is the first selection from West Florence. He was chosen as one of 90 of the nations top seniors.

“It’s an honor,” Goodman said. “To see all the great college and NFL players that came before me, it’s special to be a part of a game like this. I look forward to seeing what I can do against the best high school football players in the country.”

Goodman leads the Knights and the Pee Dee with 14 sacks. The senior defensive end also has 63 tackles in a little more than nine games.

He’s a commitment to Clemson, and hopes to graduate early and attend spring semester.

Not bad for someone who earlier in his career was labeled as clumsy.

“I basically just lived in the weight room,” Goodman said of his transformation. “I asked the coaches what I needed to work on and went from there.

“When I started, I didn’t think I would get to this point. But I saw this game on TV once, and I thought it would be great to play in.”

Goodman became a defensive force for the Knights, standing 6-foot-4 with a wingspan to match. And it’s not just his physical size that makes him so dominant, West coach Trey Woodberry said.

“A lot of people don’t realize how quick and aggressive he is,” Woodberry said. “He can bulrush you off the end and really get to the quarterback quickly. It’s a testament to his work ethic.

“This is a tremendous honor for Malliciah, our team, our school and our community.”

Woodberry was also honored with an invitation to the U.S. Army Coaches Academy, where he’ll get to speak with high school, college and even NFL coaches from around the country.

“It’s a great opportunity to talk with a lot of successful coaches and work on making myself a better coach as well.”