Notre Dame Adds 30-Year-Old U.S. Army Vet as Walk-On Kicker

The Notre Dame football program announced the addition of a kicker to its roster after Eric Goins was picked up after coming off a seven-year stint in the United States Army.

Goins was a kicker for the military school The Citadel from 2012 to 2015, but his football career was placed on hold after he went into the army to fulfill his commitment to the armed forces.

Goins enlisted as an airborne infantry second lieutenant, earned his first lieutenant bars, and earned his captain’s bars after four years. He ended his service as an executive officer in a combat advisor training unit, according to Blue and Gold.

Goins is also a 2012 graduate of Herndon (Va.) Oakton and is in a two-year Master of Business Administration program from which he is scheduled to graduate in 2025. He is a member of Notre Dame’s MBA Military Veterans Club.

“As I felt I was approaching the time to conclude my military service, I wanted to become a more well-rounded and skilled leader for whatever my next calling will be,” he said on his Veterans Club member profile.

“Graduate school seemed like a natural starting point for that. I chose Notre Dame because I value how the Catholic faith is the foundation that this University was built upon and continues to stand on,” he added.

Goins had only one year of eligibility after red-shirting for the Citadel in 2012. He set a record of 16 field goals in 2015, which still stands.

In 2015, Goins kicked off 74 times, for 61.1 yards average and 32 touchbacks. He was named a second-team All-Southern Conference selection that year and was a finalist for the Fred Mitchell Award.

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