2012 NFL Draft: West Virginia Linebacker Najee Goode Is All Goode

Najee Goode, Linebacker, West Virginia University

Najee Goode is an attacking middle linebacker coming out of West Virginia University.  Goode is very well put together at 6’1” and 244 lbs.  He is a leader and he attacks the line of scrimmage and offensive linemen and actually enjoys it.  I recently had a conversation with him and he was a pleasure to talk to.

During our conversation we talked about what he could offer to an NFL team.  He told me “my main thing that I can offer is the flexibility of playing more than one position and my speed along with my strength.”  He talked a little more about his versatility and said that he had played all three linebacker positions at West Virginia “and playing defensive end helps; I can do that and play special teams.”

We talked about what his favorite moment from college was.  He told me that his favorite moment was receiving his scholarship from Coach Bill Stewart.  He said that he was a walk-on and there were financial stresses for his family.

He said “I did get my scholarship my freshman year in the second semester but I walked on and getting that scholarship was huge.”  He also said that winning the Orange Bowl was huge for the program and him personally.

We talked about learning lessons and what he learned playing college football at West Virginia.  He said that “college football taught me how to be a leader, how to follow before you can lead.”  He talked about being a senior and what that meant for him from a leadership perspective. 

He said that “leading these guys to a win in a BCS championship game and making a few key plays during the season” was very important to him and talked to me about playing with his teammates and the camaraderie with the guys, that “there's definitely a fraternity within football.”

He lauded West Virginia with praise and told me about how much he loved his time there and how great the people at the University are.  He mentioned that the fans travel very well for their team and that their fan base is huge.

He told me that he was a playmaker and that he tried to take the positives from watching other players on film and that he liked to do a variety of different things on the field.  He told me that scouts had compared him to Jon Beason and D’Qwell Jackson.

We talked about the strength of his game and he detailed what it is lime to play in a 3-3-5 defense and how he “had to bang with linemen all the time” and that his main strengths were “my hands and my strength, I like to put my hands on guys and throw them around, push and pull them, you know using different techniques that linemen don't recognize.”

He has a lot of tackles for loss and he talked about speed, getting to a running back before he gets started and how he uses anticipation and instincts to make plays, especially getting a jump on the snap count.  He told me “wherever I get drafted to or wherever I go you can tell them that they are getting a great player and a great person.”

Najee Goode is a team leader and a player who is willing to do whatever it takes to help a team win.  He is a physical football player and a player who is willing to get dirty at the point of attack.  He is going to attack the ball and can do it from multiple positions on a defense or special teams.

Scott Bischoff is a Contributor for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or from official interview materials.