COLUMBUS – Although Elijaah Goins calls his mother nearly every day, the phone call he made to her on Saturday was extra special.
That was when the Ohio State wide receiver informed her, just minutes after receiving the news himself, that he had been placed on scholarship for his senior season with the Buckeyes.
"I’ve been talking to her about it for a few months, because it was up in the air if they were going to give me one or not, so I was like, the first person I got to tell was my mom," Goins said Monday. "And her reaction was priceless. It was truly a blessing."
Doesn't get much better than this. Congratulations to @WorkHardSleepEz for earning a well-deserved scholarship!#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/a3Yu5ZqWoz
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 12, 2017
Two days after receiving the award in front of his teammates after practice, Goins said it still felt surreal to be a scholarship football player at Ohio State. That said, Goins doesn’t expect it to change the way he lives his daily life.
Goins plans to continue working as hard as he ever has both on the football field and in the classroom. And even though he no longer has to worry about paying his own way through school, Goins also has no plans to quit his job at CVS Pharmacy.
"I won’t have to work as much because they’re giving me a scholarship right now, but I still want to do everything I can for myself and still work, because I plan on becoming a pharmacist when I leave, so I’m still working to get that hands-on experience," Goins said. "For the most part, it doesn’t change much except I have a little bit more money in my pocket."
“It doesn’t change much except I have a little bit more money in my pocket.”– Elijah Goins, on earning a scholarship
Goins credits his mother, Nicole Goins-Turner, with instilling that work ethic in him and inspiring him to be the best he can be.
Goins-Turner was in the military when her son was born, so Goins lived with his grandmother when he was young. Goins-Turner currently lives in Texas, so Goins doesn’t get to see his mother often. Yet Goins says talking to his mother raises him up and keeps him grounded at the same time.
"Just talking to her, hearing her voice, it just keeps me within myself and I feel humbled all the time," Goins said. "Basically everything I do, I just do it to impress my parents, mostly my mom. Because she’s just, she’s such a role model for me, she’s such a strong woman and I just really love her to death."
Trying to balance a job with going to school and playing football was overwhelming, Goins admits, when he first joined the football team in the spring of 2015.
"Initially, it was hell," Goins said. "We would practice later in the evening, and then I would still have so much homework to do and I would have to do it the next day and I would be so exhausted – like mentally, physically, emotionally – it overwhelmed me at points."
Goins stuck with it, though, because while he is unlikely to be among the Ohio State players who go on to the NFL, he wants to be successful enough to provide for his mother and the rest of his family.
"I actually wanted to quit my job, and then try to just balance school and football, but I guess as the semesters progressed, I just learned to juggle it," Goins said. "I just stuck with my faith and kept talking to my parents and they kept uplifting me, and I’m here now."
Goins moved to wide receiver this spring after beginning his Ohio State career as a defensive back, but it’s unlikely Goins will see any significant playing time on offense. However, Goins is expected to play a significant role this season on special teams, specifically playing the “5” position on kickoffs (for more on how Ohio State divides up roles on kickoffs, check out this breakdown from Kyle Jones).
Now that he has earned a scholarship, Goins also has another important role: setting a positive example, much like Joe Burger and Craig Fada did for the Buckeyes last year, for the younger walk-ons who hope to eventually follow in his footsteps.
"I’m going to continue doing anything and everything I can for this team," Goins said. "I tell the other walk-ons all the time … work your tail off and everything and anything’s possible."
Goins was one of two former walk-ons to receive a scholarship on Saturday, along with linebacker Zach Turnure, who is also going into his senior year with the Buckeyes.
