Senior Finn Goodman’s commitment to the University of Dayton’s football team reflects his dedication, drive, and work ethic. As a defensive end for the Lake Forest Varsity Football Team, Finn was among the most impactful players on and off the field. He was honored to be captain for his senior season, which showed his dedication to the program and his teammates.
Why Dayton? For Finn, Dayton was a dream come true, with not only a good business school but also a good football team competing in Division I FCS. “I just like the good mix of academics and athletics, being able to possibly play early and getting a great education at the same time,” Goodman said.
Finn also was attracted to the school due to his religion as a Roman Catholic. “I’m happy to know that the university is based on faith,” Goodman said.
“As a program, you could tell that they have a really strong connection,” Goodman said. “What I liked about our high school team the most is that we were all brothers. There was a really strong brotherhood where everyone would fight for each other and go to war with each other.”
Along with Finn’s intention to major in Business, he also plans to major in finance and business management. “I know it’s going to be tough because it’s a big step from high school to college with the workload. So being able to play football and having to manage all my classes is going to be tough, but I’m just going to have to adapt to the time management,” Goodman said.
Finn’s football journey has been a lifetime in the making, starting when he was four years old. He always knew he would play football, however, how he pictured himself playing football when he was older has routinely changed.
“In fifth grade, I played middle linebacker and fullback. I played quarterback from sixth grade to eighth grade,” Goodman said. “Starting freshman year, I went back to linebacker. Going into junior year when I had my growth spurt, I switched to defensive end.”
However, Finn’s journey as an athlete has not been smooth sailing his whole career. “I was always a small linebacker because I was just a skinny guy. And it was hard sometimes because all these guys were growing faster than I was,” he said. However, Finn believes that “with hard work, I was able to stay in the mix of everything.” This eventually would pay off, as for his senior year he grew massively, leaving behind all the size considerations, and allowing Finn to compete.
And compete he did. Finn’s senior season was filled with many highlights. From shutting down Warren to dominating Carmel, Finn was a cornerstone in the defense that allowed the Scouts to have as much success as they did.
However, none of these wins compared to the Libertyville wins. “Beating Libertyville twice was the best. But honestly, I think that senior night was a little more exciting for me,” Goodman said. Recalling the game, Goodman said, “The crowd was shaking. The atmosphere was phenomenal. When we got that stop on fourth down, the win began. That was the best feeling I’ve ever had in my life.”.
Introspective about his recruiting process, Finn says he was “really lucky getting into contact with Dayton.” The process started with his brother, who guided him through creating a Twitter account and gaining traction with highlights on Hudl.
While the process was not easy, Finn persevered, believing eventually he would fall into the right place. “The process was really slow until after my junior year, when coaches actually started to reach out,” Goodman said. Then, with more guidance from Finn’s older brother, Finn would go to many camps over the summer of his senior year. This is where Finn found many of the coaches, such as Denison, Dayton and Butler.
Above all, his love for the sport has kept him in. “I just love the game of football so much. Nothing ever stood out to me that made me want to quit, even during the hardest moments.
