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n o r t h w e s t e r n f o o t b a l l • D I G I T A L P R O G R A M • N O R T H W E S T E R N v s . M I N N E S O T A
O N E L A S T R I D E A T R Y A N F I E L D
By: Skip Myslenski
An exemplar, a walk-on and a flashback as the 'Cats head into Saturday, Senior Day, and a meeting
with No. 10 Minnesota. . . .
GIVING IT UP: This is an age that revels in instant gratification and personal glorification, and so it is
both notable and admirable what Trent Goens did this season. He was a defensive end for the 'Cats
through his first four years with them, but last spring, just a week before practice opened, he was
asked to move to superback, a position that lacked depth. He did and that is where he practiced and
played until Nov. 4, the day they began their preparations for Purdue. Now, with the defensive line
decimated by injuries, he was switched back to his old spot, taking reps at defensive end for the first
time since the 'Cats New Year's Eve win over Utah in the Holiday Bowl.
Five days later, against the Boilermakers, he was credited with a single tackle, and then last Saturday
against Massachusetts, he had a sack among his four tackles. So now, after an extended detour,
he finds himself concluding his career back where it began. "The biggest thing is team first," he
will say when asked to explain why he agreed to the switches, acts that manifest the true meaning
of unselfishness. "The culture here definitely allows people to put the team first before themselves.
Obviously, when the coach asks you to do something, you understand the implications and the fact
that he's asking you to do something that's significant in terms of transitioning. Those two things go
hand-in-hand.
"So for me it wasn't about where I was going to be, or how much I was going to play, or how it
was going to look. It's, 'That's what we need to win.' If it's the best for everyone, I'm all for it, then
reevaluate as things go on. That's what happened. So it's a process. But, for the most part, it's, 'Hey,
how can I help the team the most today?'"
