The Players’ Corner

Chris Golson didn’t arrive at John Carroll with a clear path. He arrived on a crowded roster, with plenty of names above him.

But with patience, Chris carved out an incredible career; one defined by a coach who challenged him, teammates who sharpened him, a position change that demanded studying, and setbacks that would have ended others’ careers.

This is the story of a player who embraced the wait, mastered the little things, and turned toughness into impact when it mattered most.

The Crowded Opportunity

Coming in right after the NCAA granted players a fifth year of eligibility due to COVID meant even more competition when Chris got to John Carroll.

The deep roster even had Chris questioning his football future, with close to 8 guys ahead of him just in the sophomore and junior classes alone.

But Coach Jeff Long Jr. gave Chris the fuel and confidence he needed in the spring of his freshman year. Chris remembered, “Coach Long pulled me off. [He] basically screamed at me—told me they wanted me to play. And I started acting like a person who could actually step up into that role—not like a baby because I wasn’t playing as much as I wanted to.”

Adding to his confidence was the support of his older teammates. Specifically, when Tyshawn Jones took Chris under his wing because he liked the angry competitiveness Chris brought to practice.

While they battled on the practice field, Chris also learned from Tyshawn’s film. He shared, “I would watch his (Tyshawn’s) stuff consistently. I knew I wasn’t getting a lot of reps in the game, so I would go in there for our film meetings on Sunday and just watch his stuff.”

The mentorship from Coach Long and Tyshawn was essential for Chris’ transition from safety to a more hybrid role called the penny.

The Hybrid DB/LB

In his penny role, Chris got to play in space and do one of his favorite things: “seeing where the quarterback’s eyes are and just flowing to it.”

Some players live for interceptions, sacks, and forced fumbles, but Chris lived for big hits. He’d always been a “thumper.” The penny role gave him the ability to have the big-hit moments.

While he loved these big-hit moments that “ignite the team,” he also knew every play couldn’t be one. He had to do his job and wait for those chances to come. This meant doing the little things right every play:

It’s really important to understand that the little things matter when you’re trying to make the big plays—is my alignment right? Is my technique right? Am I in the right spot? … It’s going to fall into your lap if you’re doing the small things right.

Loving the heavy hits takes a “it’s just a bruise” mentality. It means knowing that “you’re gonna get hurt, you’re gonna get banged up, but the next play you can do the same thing to the other guy across from you.”

Paired with his ability to read the field and drop into coverage when he had to, his hard-hitting nature made him the perfect penny.

The Setbacks

Just as Chris’ career is defined by the big moments, it is by the “multiple times” he was “thrown off the wire.”

From coming into a loaded roster to mistakes made on the field to tearing his knee before his senior season, Chris responded to the downturns. It took a mindset that he has tattooed: John 13:7, which says, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

Chris told himself it’s just “God’s timing, God’s plan.” It helped him through the difficult moments, like when he had to teach himself how to walk again or when he watched the class of guys he came in with play out their senior seasons from the sidelines.

The moments were tough, but he bounced back. And it all led to him being a captain of the best team in John Carroll history.

The Semifinal Run

John Carroll made a historic run to the semifinals of the Division III playoffs this past season.

After a week 2 loss to Johns Hopkins, the team had to rally to make the playoffs. The team was down after not responding to the “punches” like they knew they could. Chris helped set the tone and told the guys, “We know we’re a good team. We know we’re good players. We just have to start acting like it.”

The team went on an undefeated run through the NCAC conference, with a couple of “dogfight” wins over Wabash and DePauw.

The season led to a playoff game against John Carroll’s former conference rival, the historic Division III program and number two team in the country, Mount Union. Going into the game, John Carroll was 3-40-2 versus its rival.

When Mount Union scored an 85-yard touchdown on busted coverage with the first play of their first drive, it looked like history would repeat itself. But Chris and the rest of the defense weren’t ready to give up.

In moments like this, Chris said it was important for the team to emphasize, “We’re a college team. We’re not going to make every play 100 % right… It’s about how we come back from these mistakes.”

It’s this mindset that brought the team together and kept Mount Union scoreless through the rest of the first half. Then, following halftime, when John Carroll put together an offensive drive to tie the game at 7-7, the team once again found themselves in a dogfight.

Immediately after they tied it up, Mount Union began driving down the field. Following a targeting call that put Mount Union on the eight-yard line for first and goal, it looked like the momentum had swung back to them.

Until Chris saw they were about to run their favorite red zone play. When the ball got handed off, Chris was ready for it and delivered his favorite thing: a big hit. And this time, the ball came out.

He recalled, “I didn’t even know I hit the ball out until I heard everyone screaming, ‘get on the ball.’” All he knew was that he “didn’t want them to score,” but all of those moments focusing on the little things led to his game-changing hit.

Forcing this fumble might have saved the game because there was not a single point scored in the rest of regulation. The game went into overtime tied 7-7. In overtime, the teams traded a pair of missed field goals before John Carroll sealed the win by forcing a Mount Union turnover on downs.

In the biggest moment, Chris delivered an impact play that culminated his career, which was defined by toughness.

Hanging Up the Helmet

The team went on to win another playoff game before the season came to a close in a semifinal loss to the subsequent national champions.

Chris ended his career giving it everything he had. He shared, “I wanted to give everything that I could because I knew that I would eventually not be able to play it anymore. So I didn’t want to regret not putting in the time or effort to be a player that could be a great player and one of the best players on the team.”

His effort gave him a rigorous lesson in the power of patience. Through the ups and downs, he learned, “Time’s gonna pass, days are gonna go by, just be patient. Things will come to fruition.”

Walking away as a First Team All-Conference player and team captain, Chris’ achievements reflect his patience, drive, and grit.

In an old video on YouTube, a young Chris falls hard off a skateboard. He doesn’t cry or call for help. Instead, he looks at his mom and says the words that would eventually define his football career: “It’s just a bruise.”

As Chris Golson hangs up the helmet, the hitting may be over, but his resilient mentality remains.