Goolsby practically re-writes USF record book

The next stop for John Goolsby is not the National Football League.

Because Goolsby is not only a quarterback.

But a football player that is very pragmatic in addition to being very athletic.

Most area sports fans can remember vividly when Goolsby was calling signals for the Morris Redskins varsity football team. And putting up enough numbers that the University of Toledo offered him a chance to continue his career at the collegiate level.

Which is where the pragmatic rationality first manifested itself to Goolsby.

"I redshirted my first season out at Toledo and when I was there, I saw just how tough it was to be a quarterback at a Division I school," said Goolsby. "The starting quarterback out there was Bruce Gradkowski, who is the starting quarterback right now for the Oakland Raiders. He was unbelievably good and yet he has been somewhat of a journeyman in the NFL. I guess that made me think. I am more of a realist about my talents. I knew I probably wasn't going to be good enough to make the NFL. So I decided I had better prepare myself to have a job after college."

Which led Goolsby back to LincolnLand.

And the University of St. Francis in Joliet.

"The two guys that recruited me to go to Toledo had also both left to go onto bigger schools," added Goolsby. "One is now the quarterbacks coach at (the University of) Wisconsin. That showed me how big a business college football was. And I knew the new guys coming in were probably going to go with the guys that they had recruited and I wasn't sure of my chances. So I talked to the coach (Mike Uremovich) at St. Francis and I liked what I heard.

"I had heard good things about St. Francis and knew a bunch of guys from Morris had gone there," Goolsby added. "Basically, it came down to Illinois State (University) and St. Francis. ISU looked at me originally coming out of high school but let's just say things did not work out. I just felt most comfortable going to St. Francis. I felt it was the better fit."

Goolsby set four single game passing records for the Saints, along with re-writing four single season marks and two career records.

But his debut season (make that seasons) is anything but auspicious.

"I had won the starting role at St. Francis but then I broke my wrist (after completing 51-of-108 passes for 539 yards and a solitary touchdown)," said Goolsby. "We weren't very good that year because we were so young. We had about 20 guys come back from the previous year. Everybody else was a freshman.

"Then my sophomore year, I broke my foot in the first game," Goolsby added. "I came back two weeks later and then the following week, I tore my ACL. I was beginning to think I was injury plagued. But then my junior and senior years, I started every game."

After passing for 471 yards after connecting on 46-of-93 aerials as a sophomore, the numbers blossomed for Goolsby his last two seasons.

He was 172-of-345 passing for 2,099 yards and 18 touchdowns as a junior. Then, as a senior, Goolsby bumped those figures to 201-of-379 for 2,426 yards and 24 TDs while also slicing his interceptions down from 17 to 8.

"John was such a smart quarterback," pointed out Uremovich. "He is the best kid I ever had for understanding an offense. He understood the ins and outs about what we were trying to do and continued to improve all the time. When he was a senior, he made most of the play calls. He would get up to the line, make his reads (of the defensive sets) and check us into something that would work against that defense. We ran what I would call a multiple I offense and it is tough to learn. It is certainly not a spread.

"And being in that offense worked out in John's favor," Uremovich added. "If reading defenses was that easy, everybody could do it. But John was able to do it because he was so smart. And he is the type of kid that retains information. He remembers things from last week or last month or last year. The really good ones do that."

And yet even though Uremovich actively wanted Goolsby to play football at St. Francis, he also knew that that was probably not John's main goal.

"The interesting thing about my talking with John before he decided to come here was I really tried to emphasize the education he would be getting," said Uremovich. "He ended up getting his undergraduate degree (in business) and his MBA (masters in business administration) from here. We both knew that football was secondary to his education."

"A lot of people don't realize that if you are going to play football in college, you have to approach it like a job," said Goolsby. "When I was growing up, I practiced and then enjoyed the games on Friday night. In college, there is a lot more preparation. You have to study plays ... lift ... attend team meetings and lots of other things. There is no offseason. You don't have time to play other sports. When I was out at Toledo, I was out there year-round. You can't believe the amount of hours you have to put in."

Which means it was a lot different when a lot younger John Goolsby first began playing the sport.

"I started playing flag football at ICS (Immaculate Conception School) and I could always envision myself playing football," related Goolsby. "It is something I certainly enjoyed."

A highlight or two in college?

"I would say winning the MAC and going to a Bowl Game at Toledo even though I didn't play," said Goolsby. "But at St. Francis, we turned the table and became a winning program. Probably the best game I enjoyed was beating St. Xavier, who was ranked about No. 7 in the nation when I was a junior at their place. We were down 14 at half but came back. But my biggest enjoyment is leaving the football program at St. Francis in better shape than when I arrived. Maybe the records don't show it but we are certainly playing a better quality of football now."

"Beating St. Xavier, what a fantastic game," said Uremovich. "That was the first time that St. Francis had ever beaten St. Xavier. And if I have to say the big thing about John and his senior class is they brought us to the point of respectability. Quite frankly, before those kids got here, there were a lot of times we went out there on a Saturday and didn't have a chance of winning. Now we have confidence that we can compete. And win. They have allowed us to take the next step."

"Besides playing football, one of my best memories of St. Francis is being a two-time All-Academic scholar," said Goolsby. "In a small school, academics matters."

"John is a tremendous kid and I know I am going to miss the opportunity to be around a great person like he is," said Uremovich. "He is going out and will make a lot more money than most football coaches. He will be a great ambassador for our school."

"I will start working for ECC Insurance in Oak Brook on Jan. 4," said Goolsby. "I think my playing career is over. I have no regrets. I am a realist. I am just happy to have a job."