Why this Canadian specialist chose to walk on to the Wisconsin Badgers

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Jake Kocorowski | Last updated May 9, 2025 4:15 PM ET

Andrew Goodman's long-winding college football journey across two countries now takes him to the University of Wisconsin football program.

Goodman, a Montreal native, has played for a number of programs before his latest entrance into the transfer portal. He made a last-minute visit to Wisconsin on May 2, as he was already in the state for training at Special Teams University. He then announced Friday his commitment to Wisconsin as a walk-on, becoming the second long snapper and sixth player overall to commit to the program after the spring portal window.

"When I came up for my visit the other week, I met a bunch of the coaches, and I saw the facilities, and I really liked the environment," Goodman told Wisconsin Badgers on SI. "And one of my boys from Tulane (defensive lineman Parker Petersen) actually transferred up there after the season last year.

"And he said the culture there is super great. The connection between the academics and football, the support network is awesome. For me as a Canadian moving up north, it's little closer to home, little more my style. So I think it's kind of, overall, a really good fit, and I'm super excited."

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Goodman has a few connections to Wisconsin, being at Tulane with Petersen and his friendship with new Badgers long snapper Nick Levy, who transferred in from Purdue. He said he also played at the same youth football organization as redshirt freshman safety Raphael Dunn.

Goodman has worked his way up to the FBS ranks after time at Division II Simon Frasier and FCS Bryant. He was most recently a walk-on at Tulane, where he was listed as a 5-foot-11, 230-pound redshirt sophomore last season. Now he has an opportunity to prove himself in Madison.

"Being in New Orleans was a fun experience, but honestly, the distance from home really got to me," Goodman said. "Being that far across a different country, it was kind of hard for my family to come see me. And I think I would have liked to earn the scholarship at Tulane, but to me, it didn't seem like the opportunity was going to present itself, and so I decided I was going to go look for what I could see was possible.

"Wisconsin just brought in, actually, one of my good friends, Nick Levy, on scholarship at long snapper. He has one year left, and when I spoke to the coaches about it, they basically told me, 'Yeah, if you want to come in, get in the environment, become accustomed to how we do things, and then once Nick leaves, if you perform, it's possible that you earn a scholarship.' That felt like a concrete, in-my-hands kind of thing where I can show up, show that I'm capable of being that guy and then earning it once Nick leaves."