‘Scoop and score’ touchdown gives Goggans time in spotlight

Michael Goggans never expected glory. It’s not really part of his job description.

Goggans, Auburn’s strongside end, isn’t exactly a headliner.

Fellow ends Antonio Coleman and Antoine Carter tend to rack up the attention, racing in from the weakside to hammer opposing quarterbacks.

Goggans, meanwhile, has to content himself with being a rock against the run, wrestling opposing tight ends and offensive linemen and stuffing tailbacks.

But last Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe, Goggans got a taste of the spotlight. And his timing was exquisite.

On the first defensive play of his first career start, Goggans was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Coleman drilled ULM quarterback Kinsmon Lancaster, forcing a fumble, which rolled directly into Goggans’ path.

With a clear path to the end zone, Goggans quickly snatched the ball, returning it 9 yards for Auburn’s first touchdown of the 2008 season.

The play developed quickly, so Goggans didn’t have a chance to reflect on his good fortune.

“I was like, ‘Wow, the ball is right here in front of me,’” Goggans said. “It happened so quick.”

His reaction was all instinct: He lowered his hands, squared his hips, leaned forward and scooped the ball off the turf. It was a familiar feeling.

After all, Auburn’s defenders practice doing exactly that almost every day in practice. In a drill called — appropriately enough — “scoop and score,” linemen do just that as coaches toss balls at the ground near their feet.

For defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads, the play was sweet confirmation of a mantra he’d repeated to his players daily since the start of the preseason.

“We continue to emphasize that the game is just a series of drills that take place every play,” Rhoads said. “That play, to me, is what we’ve been working on becoming as a defense.”

Goggans’ response was simpler.

“I did it just about perfect,” he said with a smile.

Goggans wasn’t the only player making good use of muscle memory on that play. Coleman’s sack, which set up Goggans’ big play, was also a product of practice. In a defensive meeting in August, Rhoads showed his players a similar situation: A defender was coming from a quarterback’s blind side, while the quarterback held the ball in an unprotected position.

“We watched this film as an entire defense and said, ‘This cannot be just a sack. This is the kind of play that has to be a turnover,’” Rhoads said. “That’s exactly what A.C. was presented with on that first play. It’s textbook.”

Of course, making big plays on defense has been Coleman’s m.o. since he first arrived at Auburn in 2005. Goggans’ route to the playing field hasn’t been quite as easy.

The Alexander City native arrived at AU in 2006 as a touted tight end prospect. But after a redshirt season on offense, it became clear that his strength and physical play were best suited to the defensive line.

He made the switch in spring practice before the 2007 season, then played in 12 games as AU’s second-team strongside end, finishing with nine tackles. He took over from starter Sen’Derrick Marks in the spring, when Marks moved inside to defensive tackle.

Coleman says that when Goggans first moved to defense, he was very much a work in progress.

“I thought it might not work,” Coleman admitted.

But one short season later, Goggans is entrenched as a starter and making a statement about his play-making ability. Coleman is impressed.

“Mike Goggans has come a long way,” Coleman said. “I credit him for all that hard work — all the things I taught him and all the things he wanted to learn.”

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