BIOGRAPHY
C.J. Goodwin was born on February 4, 1990, in Wheeling, West Virginia. He is a cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL.
C.J. Goodwin attended The Linsly School in Wheeling, West Virginia and began playing football his senior year. He was a standout wide receiver for Linsly's football team. In addition to football, he also competed in track and basketball. After graduating from high school, Goodwin attended Bethany College. He would play basketball for Bethany for two seasons and transferred after his sophomore year.
Following his departure from Bethany, Goodwin would enroll in Fairmont State University for his junior year. After his arrival, he played in an intramural basketball game against the school's football staff. At the urging of his father, the late Perry Galloway, Jr., and his college roommate, future NFL player Dewey McDonald he eventually joined the Fighting Falcons football team.
In his first game against Clarion he would make 6 catches for 56 yards. On September 22, Goodwin would amass 3 catches, 104 yards, and make an 83-yard touchdown catch in a game against West Liberty University. While matching up against West Virginia Wesleyan, he would reel in three receptions, 55 receiving yards, and a career-high two touchdowns. In the next game against Seton Hill, Goodwin would score on a 31-yard reception. On November 10, he made a career-high seven catches for 141 receiving yards in a win against Shepherd.
After walking on his first year and having a successful season he was offered a scholarship to continue playing for Fairmont. Head coach Mike Lopez would be fired after Goodwin's first year playing for Fairmont and accepted a defensive coordinator position with California University of Pennsylvania. Goodwin finished the 2012 season third on the team with 24 receptions and 440 receiving yards. He also led the team with 18.3 yards per a catch and finished the season with 4 touchdown receptions.
After the departure of Fairmont's head coach, Goodwin would transfer to California University of Pennsylvania to continue playing wide receiver for his former head coach Mike Lopez. Since he already graduated from Fairmont, he was able to begin playing immediately, instead of sitting out a year due to NCAA student transfer guidelines.
He would make his first touchdown reception of the 2013 season against Kutztown. In a game against IUP, he made two receptions for 16 yards. While playing Gannon, he made three receptions for 40 receiving yards. Against Millersville, Goodwin ended with a season-high four catches and 49 yards. Since he mainly saw action on special teams, he only finished his senior season at Cal-Pennsylvania with a total of 11 receptions, 126 receiving yards, and one touchdown in 11 games and one start.
After finishing his collegiate career, Goodwin would enter the 2014 NFL Draft. He was a virtually unknown prospect due to him playing at two NCAA Division II schools and he was thought to be a raw player, but also had good size and measurables to play wide receiver. Although he wasn't invited to the official NFL Combine held annually in Indianapolis, he still had good showing at a pre-draft combine held by the Detroit Lions.
On November 3, 2015, Goodwin was signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad. Goodwin signed a reserve/futures contract with the Atlanta Falcons on January 5, 2016. During the Falcons training camp in 2016, he converted from a wide receiver to a cornerback. In 2016, he played in 14 games with one start, recording 17 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 10 special teams tackles. Goodwin and the Falcons reached Super Bowl LI on February 5, 2017. Against the New England Patriots, the Falcons fell in a 34–28 overtime defeat. He recorded two total tackles in the game.
On December 15, 2017, Goodwin was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Cardinals. On May 2, 2018, Goodwin was claimed off waivers by the New York Giants. On May 15, 2018, Goodwin was claimed off waivers by the San Francisco 49ers. On August 4, 2018, Goodwin signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. October 9, 2018, Goodwin was signed by the Dallas Cowboys off the Bengals practice squad.
