Nicholas Aaron Goings (born January 26, 1978) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played his

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

and

Pitt Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

before signing with the Panthers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2001.

Early life

Goings graduated from

Dublin Scioto High School Dublin Scioto High School is a public high school located in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb northwest of Columbus, Ohio. Dublin Scioto High School was constructed in 1995 at 4000 Hard Road between Sawmill Road and Riverside Drive. Attendance boundary T ...

Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. A suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, it falls within the jurisdictions of Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin, Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware, Union County, Ohio, Union, and Madison County, Ohio, Madison ...

. Nick finished his prep career with 5,785 yards rushing and 82 touchdowns. Nick was a 2 time First-team All-Ohio selection. During his Senior year he was a Blue Chip Illustrated Pre-Season All-American and led Dublin Scioto High School to their first ever State Championship in 1995, while rushing for 2589 yards and scoring 38 touchdowns. Following his Senior year Nick was awarded the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division 2 Player of The Year. He was named the Columbus Dispatch-Agonis Club Offensive Player of The Year and Scoring Leader in 1995. Nick went on to become M.V.P. of Ohio's North vs South All-Star game as well as M.V.P. of the Big 33, the Ohio vs Pennsylvania All-Star game, setting the record for most rushing yards in the game (176) along with 3 Touchdowns (including and 88-yard touchdown run). Nick has recently been awarded a spot on the 1st team All-Time “ThisWeek” Publications Football Team (top players from Central Ohio since 1990).

College career

Goings was highly recruited Running Back coming out of High School in 1996. Nick accepted a scholarship from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

as a member of the #1 recruiting class in the nation. In his first collegiate action as a true freshman (vs Pitt), Nick rushed for 56 yards on 12 carries and added 1 reception for 15 yards before suffering a season ending neck injury. Following his redshirt freshman year, he transferred to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

, and he was forced to sit out due to

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

rules. His productivity increased with the Panthers, and finished his collegiate career with 1,185 all-purpose yards and 8 touchdowns. Goings graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor's degree in social sciences.

Professional career

Carolina Panthers

Goings signed with the

as the only undrafted free agent to make the team in 2001. He utilized his versatility as a third down back and core special teams player during his career. In 2003 his role began to expand with the change in offense once

Jake Delhomme Jake Christopher Delhomme (; born January 10, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). Delhomme played college football at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ...

took over as

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He scored his first NFL touchdown against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

on an eight-yard reception from Delhomme. During the

2004 NFL season The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League (NFL). With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004, to January 2, 2005. Hurricanes forced ...

, Goings went from fourth on the depth chart to starter, once Stephen Davis, DeShaun Foster, and Rod Smart all went down with injuries. Goings started the last 7 games of the season and led the team in rushing with 821 yards and scored 7 touchdowns. His 121-yard, 3 touchdown performance against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

earned him NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. On Dec 5, he logged 122 yards and 1 touchdown on what remains a franchise-record 36 carries. Goings finished the 2004 season with 1,215 all-purpose yards. During the 7-game stint he also led the NFL with five 100-yard rushing games, and tied Davis' team record with four consecutive 100-yard games. Following the 2004 season Goings was selected to Daryl Johnston's "All Lunch Pail Crew". The next season, he moved up to the third slot on the depth chart, and thanks to his impressive 2004 season, he was used much more often in game situations and was voted a special teams Captain in 2007. On October 24, 2007, Goings was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

by the

after sustaining the fourth

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

of his career and suffering from the effects of

post-concussion syndrome Post-concussion syndrome (PCS), also known as persisting symptoms after concussion, is a set of symptoms that may continue for weeks, months, or years after a concussion. PCS is medically classified as a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). About ...

. Prior to being placed on

, Goings had played in 4 games.ESPN
/ref> Goings was released by the Panthers on February 25, 2009. Nick finished his Panthers career with 2,763 all-purpose yards, 9 touchdowns, and 53 special teams tackles.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Carolina Panthers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goings, Nick 1978 births Living people People from Dublin, Ohio American football fullbacks Ohio State Buckeyes football players Pittsburgh Panthers football players Carolina Panthers players Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio