The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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June 15, 2008

Former Herd DE dies in motorcycle accident

From staff and wire reports

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Former Marshall defensive end Johnathan Goddard died early Sunday after a motorcycle accident in northern Florida.

Goddard’s motorcycle went off the shoulder of a road at a high rate of speed and overturned about 7:40 p.m. Saturday in Clay County, Fla., Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Bill Leeper said Sunday. Goddard, a resident of Starke, was pronounced dead about 6:30 a.m. Sunday at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, a nursing supervisor said.

“This is a terrible loss for our football family and our thoughts and prayers are with the Goddard family,” Marshall coach Mark Snyder said.

Goddard was the Mid-American Conference defensive player of the year and an Associated Press second team all-American in 2004, when he led the nation with 16 sacks and 28 tackles for loss. He also was a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, given to the nation’s top defensive player.

Goddard was selected by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL draft. He later played briefly for the Indianapolis Colts and the Arena Football League’s Colorado Crush.

Former Herd coach Bob Pruett, now the defensive coordinator at the University of Virginia, said he recently talked to Goddard’s father and discovered there was talk of the Colts bringing Goddard back.

“He was a kid who really overcame a lot,” Pruett said. “He overcame a learning disability, being undersized and became an All-American and an NFL football player.

“When God takes you home, sometimes you don’t understand why.”

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