Uncommitted defensive tackle Eddie Goldman fights through double- and triple-teams yet still racks up tackles and sacks.
Photo by Jim Stout
has all the football skills necessary to make him one of the top players in the country and one of the most prized recruits in the class of 2012.
He has the bragging rights of being a star player on what many experts consider to be the best football team in the Washington, D.C., area.
Goldman has his list of potential colleges downto seven schools.
Photo by Jim Owens
He has received scholarship offers from virtually every major college football program in the country and is idolized by the 1,200 students he passes in the hallways each day at
Friendship Collegiate Academy (Washington, D.C.).
The only things missing in the stellar high school career of the 6-foot-4, 315-pound defensive tackle are a home field, a real locker room with his own locker, and a practice field that doesn't double as a public park with no grass. He's never hit a real practice dummy, but instead dodges beat-up traffic barrels.
Goldman had plenty of opportunities to attend other private schools that had more established football programs, including his father's alma mater, Dunbar (D.C.). But when it came time to decide, Goldman said that it wasn't facilities or equipment that convinced him to attend Friendship Collegiate, but rather the coaches themselves.
"I trusted the Friendship coaches," Goldman said. "They told me I would get better coaching and better life lessons at their school, and I've experienced that. The coaches care about you here. At Friendship they stress grades and managing your life after football, since most people don't make it to the NFL."
Goldman hasn't let a lack of football essentials get in his way of becoming a top defensive lineman and being listed at
No. 18 on the MaxPreps Top 100 players in the class of 2012. Despite being double- and triple-teamed on nearly every play, he has already recorded 22 tackles and seven sacks in leading the Knights to a 4-0 start this season.
"He's got a lot of God-given ability," Friendship Collegiate coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim said. "He's a hard worker. He has great ‘twitches' as they say on the college level. His first step is very explosive."
Goldman says his favorite football memory took place in eighth grade when he returned a fumble 80 yards for a touchdown, and that even now what he loves most is the intensity on defense.
"I love when the momentum is on your side and the defense needs a big stop and you get a three-and-out," he said.
Goldman is like a walking billboard for the school. Without him there would be no invitations to play against the big teams in the big stadiums, and occasionally on national television. Without him, teammates wouldn't be getting looks from college coaches who initially only come to games to see the daunting physical specimen.
"He puts his other teammates in front of himself sometimes," said Abdul-Rahim, who recalled it was Goldman's mature physique as a ninth-grader that first caught his attention. "He tries to get colleges to recruit his buddies."
MaxPreps' Tom Lemming calls Goldman "the most dominating defensive tackle in the country," saying that he "gets off the ball like no one's business, is quick as a cat, has super strong hands, and dominates the point of attack."
Yet, those who know Goldman best say as tenacious as he is on the field, he's that shy and quiet off it.
"He's actually introverted and quiet until he gets to know someone," Abdul-Rahim said with a laugh. "And then he's actually very funny."
Goldman says he won't make his final college choice until signing day in February, and stressed that distance won't be a factor in his decision. He has narrowed his choices, in no particular order, down to seven: Maryland (the first to offer), Alabama, Auburn, California, Clemson, Florida State and Miami.
"It's fun, but it gets repetitive at times," Goldman said of the recruiting process shortly after returning from an official recruiting visit at Florida State. "You hear the same things and coaches ask the same questions. It can get annoying, but that comes with the territory. You just have to face it and know what you want. You can't just pick a school randomly; you have to take the time to pick out the pros and cons."
When decision day finally comes, some lucky Division I coach will receive Goldman's letter of intent, and when he does, Abdul-Rahim says that program will get a player who will "wow" them.
"You see some plays that he makes when he comes off the ball and destroys the offensive line, which is his signature move for the notoriety he gets," Abdul-Rahim said. "On film, you really see the offensive linemen getting jerked back.
"We've come to expect him to ‘wow' us."
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and on the broadcast team for the 1290AM The Ticket High School Football and Basketball Games of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.
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