The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Hall of Honor
- Induction:
- 2024
- Class:
- 2020
Marquise Goodwin was Mr. Versatility on the Forty Acres and beyond as a two-sport letterwinner, 2012 Alamo Bowl Offensive MVP, Track & Field National and USA Champion, Olympian and NFL veteran. Goodwin, who played in 50 career games, including 22 starts at receiver during his four years, ended his career ranked 11th on the Texas all-time receptions list (120), sixth in kickoff return yards (985) and fourth in kickoff return attempts (44), while amassing 2,776 career all-purpose yards. Fresh off competing in the Olympic Games prior to his senior season, Goodwin quickly returned to football and helped Texas to a 9-4 record capped by a 31-27 win over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl and a top-20 finish. He was named the Offensive MVP of the bowl after scoring on a 64-yard run and catching the game-winning TD pass with just over two minutes remaining. As a junior in 2011, he posted career highs in receptions (33), receiving yards (421) and all-purpose yards (888), while also carrying the ball 22 times for 220 yards. Texas finished 8-5 that season with a 21-10 win over Cal in the Holiday Bowl and ranked 24th in the BCS standings. The year before, Goodwin appeared in 11 games and tallied 31 receptions for 324 yards and a TD, while as a freshman in 2009, he had an immediate impact with 30 catches (No. 3 on UT’s freshman single-season list) for 279 yards and a TD, while returning 16 kickoffs for 349 yards and a score. The Longhorns went on to a 13-1 record that year, a perfect 8-0 mark in conference play with a Big 12 Championship Game win over Nebraska, and an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game against Alabama in the Rose Bowl. His clutch 14-yard TD catch in the Texas-OU game was the Horns’ only TD of the game in a 16-13 win and a critical play in the UT’s undefeated regular season. In addition to the biggest stage in college football, Goodwin made his presence felt on the highest levels in the world of track and field, most notably winning the long jump title at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials (27-4.25), earning a spot in the Olympic Games, and finishing 10th in the London Olympics. On the collegiate level, he was a two-time NCAA long jump champion, seven-time All-American and five-time Big 12 Champion. He won the 2010 and 2012 NCAA Outdoor titles and claimed the U.S. Outdoor championship twice as well (2011, 2012). He was the first collegian since 1960 to win both the Olympic Trials and the NCAA Outdoor long jump competition in the same year, and he was the first-ever Longhorn to reach the long jump final at the Olympics. Goodwin holds the UT long jump indoor record (26-8.50) and the second-best mark (27-4) outdoors. A two-time World Junior champion (long jump, 4x100m), he was also twice named Texas Gatorade Track & Field Athlete of the Year (2008, 2009) and set the national high school record in the long jump (26-10), finishing fifth in the senior division at the U.S. Championships in 2009. A graduate of Rowlett High School in Garland, Texas, he was only the 20th prep athlete all-time to jump over 26 feet. After his collegiate football career, Goodwin was chosen with the 78th overall pick of the 2013 NFL Draft in the third round by the Buffalo Bills. He played his 10th NFL season with the Cleveland Browns in 2023 and has also spent time with the Bills (2013-16), San Francisco 49ers (2017-19), Chicago Bears (2021) and Seattle Seahawks (2022), missing the 2020 season during the pandemic. In that 10-year span, Goodwin played in 115 games, caught 191 passes for 3,090 yards (16.2 ypr) and 18 TDs, while also returning kickoffs. While with San Francisco, Goodwin was named the 2018 George Halas Award winner by the Pro Football Writers Association of American as the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. A three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection (2010-12), Goodwin returned to school during his NFL career to complete his bachelor’s degree in Youth & Community Studies from UT in 2020. His wife, Morgan, is a Longhorn Track and Field All-American as well and they have three children.
