It is, quite possibly, the most thankless job in sports. Do it correctly and nobody notices. Do it incorrectly, and you are the goat – skewered by fans, media and coaches.
So what motivates redshirt junior Matt Goldberg to hold kicks for the Terrapins? With zero career receptions, the rail-thin walk-on wide receiver has finally earned the opportunity to play for the team – a lifelong dream for Goldberg, who grew up in Baltimore as a rabid Terps fan.
Just getting on the field in his first game this season against Villanova made that dream come true.
“It’s kind of surreal,” Goldberg said. “The whole time you’re working for it, working for it, then it happens, and you’re so involved in the moment, it doesn’t hit you till afterward. Then you kind of say, ‘Wow, that was cool.'”
Goldberg lined up at wide receiver during the waning moments of that game, but holding kicks is where he’s made a real impact.
Last year at the beginning of practices, when kickers were attempting field goals, the usual holder, Adam Podlesh, was busy punting. Goldberg had to resort to holding balls for the place kickers.
Special teams coach Ray Rychleski said he thought Goldberg did a nice job holding, so with Podlesh no longer on the team, Rychleski asked head coach Ralph Friedgen to make Goldberg the replacement.
“I always like guys that are dying to play,” Rychleski said. “Matt has been in the program for four years, and he’s worked really hard.”
Rychleski’s experiment did not get off to a good start.
Goldberg fumbled one of the first balls he had a chance to hold in spring practice.
“It was like 30 degrees out there, windy as hell. It was a little bit of a high snap; my hands were frozen and I kind of double-clutched it setting the ball down,” Goldberg said in his defense.
Friedgen was less than amused.
“He was kind of worried that I would get nervous once I got in the game situation,” Goldberg said. “I kind of took it personal and wanted to show him I wasn’t about to get nervous like that.”
During the summer, Goldberg continually worked on his holding and replaced days at the beach with days practicing alongside kicker Obi Egekeze. The two built a relationship, studying for business classes when they got done with field goals and PATs.
“I’d call him,” Egekeze said, “and say, ‘You busy, Goldberg?’ ‘Nah’ ‘Come out and hold?’ ‘Yeah.’ That helped a lot.”
While Goldberg was inconsistent with his spots early in the process, the repetitions with Egekeze eventually allowed him to instinctively get holds down in the right place.
“He’s a perfect holder,” Egekeze said. “Knowing that’s gonna be constant helps me focus in on what I need to do.”
Even Goldberg’s harshest critic is impressed. After six games, Goldberg has shown Friedgen and the rest of the team that he’s a reliable guy who can handle the pressure.
“Any time you’re touching the ball and it’s part of scoring, I get concerned with who’s doing it,” Friedgen said.
While knocking on a wood table in his office, Friedgen admitted, “He’s done an extraordinary job.”
Perfecting the hold is not the end of the road for Goldberg. He is currently the No. 2 slot receiver on the Terps’ depth chart and said he hopes to move up and contribute in the passing game as well.
“I’ve played wide receiver my whole life,” Goldberg said. “It’s always something I’ve done and had a passion for.”
He’s certainly shown that he has the hands. The lack of speed, athleticism and blocking ability may be a problem, though.
Another problem is the fact that the Terps’ young receiving corps isn’t going anywhere soon. There are no seniors in the group and probably no openings for Goldberg to seep through next season.
His teammates are on his side, though.
“He’s come a long way,” said Darrius Heyward-Bey, who played against Goldberg in high school. “He’s just a hard worker; that’s something he had in high school and something he has now. Hopefully he’ll get on the field more.”
The former scout team player would almost certainly be on the field as a receiver if he went to one of the Ivy League schools he thought about attending. But he never would have fulfilled that fantasy to play in front of 50,000 fans at Byrd Stadium.
And who knows if his role would be as integral as the one he has here, as a holder?
“He’s a guy that, when it’s tough, you want to be with him in the foxhole,” Rychleski said. “You can count on this guy. That’s what a holder has to be. He’s got to be very accountable. It’s a non-glory job. You mess up, they know who you are; you don’t mess up, they probably never know you.”
If he doesn’t make it as a receiver, you may never hear the name Goldberg called at a football game. So long as he is the team’s holder, let’s hope you don’t.
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