Whether it’s an arm around his shoulder as he’s sitting in the running backs room or a few words of encouragement — maybe a bit more vocal, of course — as he’s lifting in the Pitt Iron Works, Juelz Goff has felt the sense of community.
Goff — a 5-foot-9, 190-pound running back from Central York in York, Pa. — has been taking advantage of the opportunity to arrive in Pittsburgh early and start his collegiate career on the right foot. It helps to have teammates who make feel like he belongs.
“They’ve been treating me like a young brother, so when it comes to the playbook and stuff, they help me out,” Goff said Wednesday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “On the field, workouts, just helping me get adjusted.”
Whether it’s been Rodney Hammond Jr. or Daniel Carter, Goff has felt the love — the community. It feels like home already. Despite the coaching turnover since Goff committed to Pitt in January of 2023, Goff has never wavered in his commitment to Pitt football. It’s about more than what he can do on the field.
“It’s bigger than just football for me,” Goff said. “I think Pitt has a real good community and I think they develop young men very well, so I wanted to stick with coach Narduzzi and the rest of the staff because I knew he was going to bring in a good coach. I trust him.”
Narduzzi, to his credit, trusts Goff to make an impact on the football field. Goff was the No. 1 back on the Panthers’ recruiting board.
“You know, at one point we had two, but there’s no question (Goff) was the guy,” Narduzzi said on National Signing Day in December. “His dad will tell you, he’ll tell you, I’ll tell you, if we were going to lose one, this is the one we did not want to lose. He’s a 10.8 100-meter guy, he’s the all-time leading rusher in that school district there.
“He’s got that breakaway speed, you talk 10.8 and he’s only a senior in high school. He’s explosive, and it’s one of those guys if you give him a crack, he’s gonna take more than you blocking, and that’s what we need.”
Goff, who committed to Pitt over offers from Boston College, Duke, JMU, Old Dominion and Rutgers, earned back-to-back All-State honors at Central York. He followed up a 1,600-yard junior season with another, racking up 1,623 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and 31 touchdowns — setting the school record for career rushing yards in the process.
One of the best examples of his dominance came in his senior season opener, a performance in which he carried Central York to a 45-35 win over Central Dauphin High, racking 279 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
The Pitt coaches and the strength team led by Michael Stacchiotti have done a good job preparing Goff for the next level, and he’s been active in his studies so far, but it’s just about adjusting at this point.
He feels like he’s doing well in that regard, but it’s a process. It’s a brand-new location, new coaches, new teammates and just an experience that he’s never had to deal with at this point in his young life. And new running backs coach Lindsey Lamar is a new experience, too.
“So far, coach Lamar’s been pretty good,” Goff said. “He’s just been working with us and helping me adjust, just working with the film, the new installs and everything.”
Goff chose to enroll early in order to get a head start on his fellow freshmen. The roughly five months he’ll have, arriving in January instead of June, will help him figure out what he needs to succeed — what works and what doesn’t. It’s not about coming in and earning a starting spot Week 1 against Kent State. It’s about positioning himself for success whenever the opportunity arises.
“My goal is just to put my head down and work and let the results speak for themselves,” Goff said. “I’m just gonna put the work in, put the time in and see where that takes me.”
In just a couple of practices at Pitt, as the offensive install moves forward and the start of spring ball inches closer, Goff has seen how the speed of the game is faster. It’s a much faster pace than anything he’s used to, but his game is speed. Explosive speed.
“I think it comes down to speed,” Narduzzi said. “There’s a lot of good backs that are a little bit slower, a little bit bigger, but this dude’s explosive. And as a defensive guy, the one thing you don’t want is to have that guy that if you give him a crack, a five yard run turns into a 55, that’s what you don’t want.
“If you lose a big guy, and you miss him for five, you gain seven, or eight, or ten, you’re okay. And those guys aren’t going to bother you as much.”
Goff prides himself on being a home run hitter. He’s fast, explosive and able to make a play on any carry he’s afforded. He’s not as big as Izzy Abanikanda, but that comparison is certainly there. If Goff is comparable to any recent Pitt back, it’s Abanikanda. That speed, explosion and vision stand out, but his receiving chops are what make him tailor-made for the new Pitt offensive scheme.
“I think just being a versatile back, being able to catch the ball out of the backfield, I think that’s gonna fit into my play style,” Goff said. “And the fast pace, as I said, quick, explosion, that’s my style of play.”
It’s about patience now, on and off the field. Goff has established that mentality of patience, when it comes to adjusting through his first semester of college life and when it comes to letting plays unfold before him on the football field.
It will be difficult to crack the running back rotation as a true freshman, working behind a veteran rotation that will likely feature three backs at any given time, but he’s still a name to watch as an early arrival this winter. The ability to integrate into the new-look offense will be paramount.
Rodney Hammond Jr. figures to be the lead back entering the 2024 season, but that was the expectation before last season, too. Derrick Davis Jr., Desmond Reid and Daniel Carter should feature in the rotation. And Montravius Lloyd showed flashes as a true freshman.
Goff’s ability to see the field, outside of situations in which the youth hits the field, may come from how quickly he’s able to adapt to the Pitt offense and bulk up for the next level. But he does hold high expectations from the coaching staff already.
The RB room was completely and utterly misused last year. Coaching malfeasance. A joke.