SPRINGDALE — A huge smile spread across Troy Goss’ face as soon as he saw the ball coming his way.
It’s rare when a defensive lineman can get his big paws on the football, and Goss made certain when he got the chance, he held on to it.
Granted, this was a Shiloh Christian practice in mid-August during limited contact team drills. But if the opportunity comes along in a game, Goss (6-foot-3, 260 pounds) is ready to not only get his hands on the ball, but to “take it to the house.”
Goss, a senior, is sometimes overlooked when compared to teammates Travis Bodenstein (a Kansas verbal commitment) and Samuel Harvill (a Kansas State commitment).
But in the Saints’ biggest game of the season in 2009, it was Goss’ sack of the Nashville quarterback in the end zone that ultimately proved to be the difference in a 51-49 win that propelled the Saints to their second straight Class 4A state title.
The gentle giant has been a fixture at Shiloh for the past four seasons, transferring to the school to join his best friend Harvill, who’d moved in the year before. They were both from Granby, Mo., and wanted to play together, Goss said. While Harvill was varsity ready as a freshman, it took Goss a little more time, assistant coach Dawayne Hudson said.
“The thing about Troy is he’s grown up, he’s matured,” Hudson said. “As a sophomore, when I first got here he was pretty mentally ... young. As a sophomore he didn’t play a lot at first. But slowly you could see him working, where he worked up to where he was a guy we could count on to play and give us quality reps.
“As a junior, probably two or three games in, he became ‘the man.’”
Goss was injured early in his sophomore season, tearing his medial collateral ligament and dislocating his knee cap. He had surgery after the season, and the rehab from the surgery was the spark he needed to improve in the weight room, he said.
That and having Harvill as a role model and mentor was a huge key to the improvement Goss has shown over the past two seasons, Hudson said.
“You can’t put that into words, to be honest,” Hudson said. “With Samuel’s work ethic to model after, I mean that makes my job pretty easy.”
Goss agreed that having Harvill to push him “made me a lot better.”
“He just kicked my butt every day,” Goss said.
Goss will likely be a two-way starter for the Saints as an offensive lineman and a nose guard on defense, coach Josh Floyd said. The coach also believes Goss’ football days will continue beyond high school, and he has started to get attention from a host of schools, including Central Arkansas and Missouri State.
“Troy is definitely a guy who can play at the next level,” Floyd said. “He’s improved every single year. He’ll have some opportunities.”
As a junior, Goss recorded 46 tackles and eight sacks. The goals he has set for both himself and the team this season are much loftier.
“I want about 12 sacks,” Goss said. “I want an interception, and I want to try and take one to the house. And I’d like to get about 80 tackles.”
His team goals are even higher.
“I want us to be the best team ever in Arkansas,” Goss said. “Better than the ’05 Springdale (High) team.”
With his continued improvement, Goss will have a chance to wrap his hands around those goals like a fluttering pass on a summer day.