INDIANAPOLIS — Luke Goedeke had designs on being an NFL tight end when he reported for his first day of football practice at Central Michigan in 2018, even if his coaches secretly saw his future at a different position.
A transfer from Division III Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Goedeke showed up to the equipment room and was told the only cleats available in his size were for an offensive lineman.
Undeterred, Goedeke spent the next week and a half slipping and sliding across the practice field before he approached his position coach, Tavita Thompson, and asked what he could do to crack the playing rotation.