GOFF MADE UP HIS MIND; FOLLOWED THROUGH

Dax Goff tends to stick to something when he makes up his mind.

As Bearcat head coach Doc Crowley noted during Goff’s signing with Harding University this morning in the Booneville High School auditorium, Goff made up his mind he wanted to do everything asked of him to be a great football player – and then did it.

“It’s been so fun watching him grow into the young man and football player he is today,” said Crowley.

The son of Trent and Candy Goff also made up his mind he wanted to continue playing football after high school. Toward the end of baseball season last spring he announced he would do just that, for Harding in Searcy.

Goff did get other suitors, but he did not change his mind.

“Since I was little and all the way through high school I wanted to play at the next level,” said Goff. “It’s pretty amazing that I get the opportunity to do that at such a high quality school.”

It’s a pretty good football school too. Goff will actually join the defending NCAA Division II national champions, a title the Bison won with Goff in attendance for the win over Colorado School of Mines.

“I was in McKinney, Texas. I had faith in the team. I knew I wanted to go play for a team like that and coaches like that. I love those dudes,” said Goff.

Evidence of that seventh grade kid working to be the best he could be Goff has the single game rushing record with 307 yards against West Fork in 2022, the single season mark at 2691 yards last season – 1004 coming in the playoffs for another record – and the career rushing mark of 5961 yards.

Besides those there are the single game touchdowns with six, which is a tie overall but a playoff standard, the most touchdowns in a season with 43 and the most in a career with 87.

Additionally, Goff topped the 200-yard mark in a game 11 times which is third most in state history and his 2323 yards in 2022 helped the Bearcats set a state rushing record with 5956 yards.

Following the signing ceremony Goff admitted hearing all the accolades was cause for a little bit of a blush.

“I didn’t realize I did all that this season. I knew I had a few of the records but I didn’t know all the playoff stuff.”

But, Goff has been recruited as a linebacker where he made 304 tackles for the Bearcats over the last three seasons, including 5.5 sacks. He also intercepted four passes, returning one for one of his 87 touchdowns.

All of that withstanding, athletic director Josh Walker noted, Goff has done all of this while compiling a 4.08 grade point average.

Crowley also stated he has done multiple interviews where the subject was exclusively Dax Goff.

“In every interview I do I always start off with as good of a football player Dax Goff is, he’s an even better person,” said Crowley. “He’s everything that we want our program to be about. He’s done a phenomenal job being a leader for our program. He’s a phenomenal player and a phenomenal kid too.”

Crowley would also put Goff up with anyone.

“There have been several great players that have come through here. There’s been several great coaches that have come through here,” said Crowley. “Those coaches, those players have allowed us what we have today.

“No disrespect to anyone who has played here before him or coached here or whatever it may be, but the last two years we’ve had a front row seat to watch the best player to ever put on that Bearcat uniform – that’s not a knock to anyone else because man there have been some great ones.”

Can any9one even hope to reach that bar?

“I don’t know that there will be one like this. Selfishly, I hope there’s several like this. I love you man. I know those coaches back there love you man. But if you really do love Booneville you’ll come back get married and have kids," Crowley added, which elicited laughter across the auditorium.