SOUTH BEND — Coaches have taught John Goodman the proper way to wrap up a football after a pass reception.

He drills on the fundamentals of ball security every day in practice.

But, until he got the ball punched out of his grasp in last Saturday's loss to Southern Cal, Goodman didn't truly understand.

"Armando (Allen) was there (to recover the fumble)," Goodman said, with a sincere sigh of relief. "Everybody was in the right spot. I knew my team would back me up."

He had his big chance. The 6-foot-3, 203-pounder from Fort Wayne had been toiling in anonymity up until last week. Relegated to cameo appearances earlier in the season, and not playing at all against Michigan and Purdue, Goodman found his niche against the Trojans and took his best shot.

A quarterback as well as a receiver during his high school days at Dwenger, Goodman's versatility helped put him in a prominent role. On the second play of the Southern Cal game, he was lined up at quarterback in the wildcat formation.

He took the snap, read the defenders and kept the ball for a 13-yard gain. Then, took a solid hit from Trojan defenders Everson Griffen and Taylor Mays.

"That second play broke me in so well," Goodman said. "Getting back there, having your name called, getting the ball, read the options... I saw (the defender) go down and I decided, 'I'm keepin' it,' right away. I took it and got hit by Everson Griffen and (Mays), and felt it. It felt really good. It woke me up. It broke me in for the rest of the game. I hadn't been hit like that for a while."

Goodman's brush with the disaster of a fumble came much later in the game.

Trailing 34-27 with 4:18 to play, the Irish started a march on their own 22. Six plays into the drive, Jimmy Clausen hit Goodman with a nine-yard pass near the sidelines at midfield. Southern Cal cornerback Kevin Thomas punched the ball out on impact, but running back Allen pounced on the loose ball to keep the drive alive.

"My eyes opened very wide (on the fumble)," Goodman said.

Those two plays pretty much summed up Goodman's statistical production against Southern Cal. What's most important to him is the trust he's gained from the coaches. There's hope for an expanded role with receiver Robby Parris expected to be limited or held out of Saturday's game with Boston College because of injuries.

"(Goodman will) continue to play more because, as things have gone on, he's become very dependable," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "He's not the fastest guy in the world, but he's smooth and he can catch the ball. He also gives us an opportunity to do a couple of wrinkles by putting him in quarterback, like the second play of the game; he's at quarterback even though we didn't change the personnel, all of a sudden you can pull a run-read option.

"We know he can throw it too. We had a couple of those things in there we didn't get to. He just gives us another weapon besides just as a receiver."

Goodman just laughs at the prospects of him throwing the ball. He said he hadn't seen that wrinkle in practice yet. However, last spring, Weis toyed with the idea of giving Goodman reps with the quarterbacks in case injuries hit a position that's already thin.

Goodman, who didn't play at all his freshman year, likened his situation to former Irish receiver Jeff Samardzija, who didn't blossom until his junior season.

"He waited too," Goodman said of Samardzija. "He's definitely my inspiration. I didn't let it get into my head that I wasn't playing a lot, but I wanted a vital role in a game. I worked my hardest, no matter what the depth chart was. I just hope the team and coaches have trust in me."

It was good to have a year to adjust to college football, but playing in a game was light years away from practice.

"Once you get into a game, things are 10 times different than they are in practice," Goodman said. "Sizes are different. Speeds are different. Then, you have to adapt game by game. Last year, I didn't get a chance to adapt at all. Now, I'm getting more comfortable with it."

Except that ball security thing. Next time...