Linebacker Jonathan Goff starred for Vanderbilt's football team before a pro career with the New York Giants. He's 43 on the list of 100 greatest players we've covered; view the full list here.
Honors and awards: 2004 Freshman All-Southeastern Conference
2006 second-team All-SEC (coaches)
2007 second-team All-SEC (AP)
In the VU record book: Goff doesn't appear on any single-season or career charts.
Before VU: Three-year starter and captain for Boston area power St. John's Prep. Started at safety and receiver as sophomore; safety, receiver and quarterback as junior, and tailback and outside linebacker as senior. Team was unbeaten in 2001 and 2002; Goff was an all-conference pick both years. Rushed for 920 yards for 104 attempts in 2002. Passed for nine TDs and ran for 642 yards as junior quarterback. PrepStar All-East pick. Also started for basketball and track & field squad. Ran an 11.0 in the100-meter dash and threw the discus 151 feet.
Freshman (2004): After a redshirt season, Goff played in every game, starting the last four, at middle linebacker. First collegiate start came at LSU; had five tackles and forced a fumble. Had seven solo stops and two assists vs. Kentucky, earning team co-Defensive Player of the Week. Had seven tackles versus Florida… In first start, had five tackles and forced fumble at LSU. Posted five tackles in finale versus Tennessee. Special teams Player of the Week in a win over Eastern Kentucky.
Sophomore (2005): Started all 11 games at middle linebacker. Had four or more tackles nine times. Had 14 tackles in win at Arkansas. Had 10 tackles in the win at Tennessee. Had nine tackles vs. Kentucky and was the team's Defensive Player of the Week.
Junior (2006): Started all 12 games at middle linebacker. Was named team's Most Valuable Linebacker. Had at least five tackles in 11 games. Had a stellar game at Michigan, earning team Defensive Player of the Week honors with 12 solo tackles, two assists and a blocked field goal, and again against eventual national champion Florida (nine tackles, one sack, one interception). Had 13 tackles and two forced fumbles vs. Alabama. Had seven tackles in win at Georgia, and 10 tackles and a sack in a win at Duke.
Senior (2007): Started all 12 games at middle linebacker, extending his streak of consecutive starts to 39. Returned two interceptions for 12 yards and tied for the team lead with six quarterback hurries.
Post-VU: The Giants took Goff in Round 5 (pick 164) of the 2008 NFL Draft. Goff played 37 games with New York from 2008-10, starting 20, before successive ACL injuries in 2011 and 2012 ended his career.
Final thoughts, and why I ranked him where I did: Goff was outstanding his last two years at Vanderbilt. He was a constant headache those two seasons and could drop back in coverage a bit (which probably held down his sack totals). As a sophomore, he was fine, but not great, but really started to come on at the end of the year and had a big hand in a win over Tennessee.
Goff's a little hard to rank because he didn't have the stat lines of some other Commodore linebackers. But if you watched him, there was no doubt he was a star for two seasons, and proved he could play in the NFL until injuries took a toll.
