Super Mario: Goodrich Earns Cheez-It Bowl MVP, Says Farewell to Clemson

Clemson cornerback Mario Goodrich makes two huge plays in his final game as a Tiger.

Had the NCAA transfer portal been available in Mario Goodrich's sophomore season, Clemson's veteran cornerback probably wouldn't have been the MVP of the Cheez-It Bowl on Wednesday in Orlando, head coach Dabo Swinney said.

Goodrich was lacking maturity at that point in his life. 

"Really proud of Mario," Swinney said. "I was talking to the team about Mario a week or so ago about this young man because he didn't get off to a good start. Like a lot of 18-year-olds, a little immature, not quite as focused, a little distracted, in my office a couple of times when he didn't need to be in my office. Got my foot in his rear a few times and, you know – but you don't know what you don't know."

What Goodrich didn't know then, he knows now. 

"We've been through a lot," Goodrich said after producing a big performance against Iowa State. "I was in his office a couple of times, and I greatly appreciate him and the rest of the coaching staff just pushing me to become a better man on and off the field and just in my daily life, really."

That all manifested on the field Wednesday when No. 19 Clemson defeated Iowa State 20-13 to finish the season 10-3. Goodrich caught a batted ball by Cyclones quarterback Brock Purdy and returned the interception for an 18-yard touchdown that gave Clemson a pivotal 20-3 lead in the third quarter. 

"I thought (Purdy) was going to catch it or something," Goodrich said. "I don't know what he was thinking honestly, but once he did, I was happy. I was excited. I started pointing – saw my D-Lineman out front and shout-out to him and the linebackers, but happy to get one."

Goodrich wasn't done. With the game on the line and Iowa State trying to drive the field for the game-tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Purdy appeared to have converted a fourth-and-2 and his own 36. But after he scrambled past the first-down marker, Goodrich ran up and popped the ball right out of his hands with a strip tackle. 

The ball squirted behind the line of scrimmage and was recovered by Purdy, who was now behind the marker. It was a turnover on downs and sealed the game for the Tigers. It capped a stellar performance from a defense that went through a major change. 

Everyone counted our defense out because they thought Coach (Brent Venables) was going, but we got Wes (Godwin) and Coach (Mickey) Conn, and they know what they are doing," Goodrich said. "They have been here awhile. Everybody just got faith in them. And to go out there and play our hearts out meant a lot to us, and we wanted to leave it all out on the field for them."

For Goodrich, it capped a memorable senior season that took him from a player fighting for starting time at the beginning of the year to one of Clemson's most reliable defenders. He finished sixth on the team with 43 tackles. He earned a spot in the Senior Bowl, was named first-team All-ACC, earned the honor of being a team captain and had his best semester in the classroom. 

"That's what is great about coaching, is seeing the transformation, seeing young men buy-in," Swinney said. "He'd have probably been in the portal if the portal had been around in his sophomore year. But to be up here in this moment with this guy right now, he knows. This is a winner. He's equipped. Whoever gets Mario, man, this dude right here, he's a grown man, and he gets it and he's equipped because of what he's been through and because he hung in there."

Goodrich is now headed to the NFL, and he left a message for Clemson on Thursday as he's off to prepare for the next stage of his life. 

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