The Texas Longhorns are still working to put the finishing touches on their 2021 recruiting class, but the staff has been active of late with some key 2022 offers, including along the offensive line. One of the big offers to go out recently was to Kiyaunta Goodwin, a Rivals250 lineman out of Charlestown, Indiana.
The 6-8, 305-pound Goodwin has been talking to Texas recruiting director Bryan Carrington and assistant coach Jay Valai for about a month. He recently began communicating with Texas offensive line coach Herb Hand and Hand extended an offer via a Zoom call over the weekend. Goodwin is keeping an open mind at this stage of the recruiting process but said the Texas offer does intrigue him.
“Obviously Texas has a great tradition of football. It’s a national powerhouse,” Goodwin said. “I love the Hookem sing, the Texas fans, big strong alumni base.”
Any school that is hoping to eventually win over Goodwin, they’ll have to show him not just success on the football field, they’ll also have to emphasize academics. A strong student in addition to being a tremendous football player, the UT coaches have made it a point to stress Texas’s strong academic reputation.
“I love football, but at the end of the day, school has always been my priority and the most important thing,” Goodwin said. “I think if you have best of both works, there’s no limit to what you can do.
“(Texas has) talked to me about the McCombs School of Business. I would be excited to play at a school with top-notch football land academics. I think Texas is a great university overall. I really like the Big 12. It’s a passing conference, so I could show my ability at left tackle as a pass blocker and in run blocking.”
With recruiting visits on lockdown due to COVID, Goodwin is taking the process at a slow rate. He does want to get out and take some visits when the current restrictions are lifted. Stops at places like Texas, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, USC, Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State and Michigan are possibilities. As far as a decision timeline, Goodwin says things are completely up in the air.
“I would have liked to have been committed before my senior season starts, but with everything going on, I don’t know how it’s going to go right now,” he said.
A four-star prospect, Goodwin views himself as “the hardest working player in America.” That may sound like hyperbole, but he actually has the regimen to back up that claim. He wakes up at 5 a.m., does cardio from 5-7 am., eats breakfast, then lifts weights. He then does another cardio session, then attends practice with his Charlestown team, comes home for dinner before doing the day’s third cardio workout from 7-9 p.m. That’s the routine, six days a week, with Sunday being a rest day.
“I know God blessed me with size and strength. I’ve worked really hard,” Goodwin said. “My dream is to be number one tackle in the country, the number one player in draft … I just want to be student of game, overachieve. I really want to maximize my ability to be the best I can be.
“(The work ethic) is what I pride myself in. I know if I continue to work hard that I can accomplish great things.”
Goodwin currently holds more than 50 scholarship offers. He’s ranked No. 222 on the Rivals250.
