Goodson’s gain means Iowa’s running back rotation has shifted. Goodson, Mekhi Sargent, and Toren Young have had the bulk of the carries. Goodson and Mekhi Sargent were the only two backs to see carries against Minnesota.

Having a corps that benefits from making each other better — with the likes of Young, Ivory Kelly-Martin, and other veteran players there to teach Goodson the ropes — has been beneficial.

“Mekhi, Toren, and Ivory mean a lot to me,” Goodson said in a release. “I came in not knowing anything, and they taught me the playbook and made things slow down for me, especially protections. Protections are the hardest things to deal with. They taught me the fundamentals.”

Those protections are something that Goodson has picked up slowly over the course of the season. The Minnesota game was a turning point.

He picked up a blitz and ran forward to block for Stanley, lowering his right side to lift a Gopher over his shoulder and push him back down onto the ground.

“For a freshman to make that protection, then execute it, was really impressive,” head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “It’s even more impressive because he didn’t execute it during the week, the end of the week last week. I think that kind of shows you the kind of young guy he is. He learned from a mistake, carried it out there to the game field.”

Goodson’s learning capabilities has been something that has impressed the coaching staff from day one, something that ultimately has earned him a spot on the field.

His coaches say he absorbs the information he needs and makes an effort to become better each and every day.

“The kid’s hungry — I mean that because he’s willing to learn,” Foster said. “I think Tyler responds to coaching. I think you can kind of go back and watch him in previous games and see, OK, he can improve on this or he can improve on that, and I think he accepts that accountability and takes ownership in that. That’s what’s impressed me most about the kid, is that he responds to coaching, he listens, he loves the details.”