MORGANTOWN -
All Nate Godwin really needed was a second opinion.
Since he first met with West Virginia defensive line coach
Erik Slaughter, the Tampa native knew he had made an impression. The key was
getting other members of the staff to agree with what Slaughter believed he had
found in Godwin.
"We've talked on the phone probably four or five times after
the spring game and we've just been getting to know each other, building a
relationship," Godwin says of Slaughter. "He always told me that if it was up
to him, he would have offered me when he first met me, but he had to get the
trigger pulled by the d-coordinator."
On Thursday, Godwin called Slaughter and this time, his film
had undergone a thorough review by WVU co-defensive coordinator Joe DeForest.
He liked what he saw from the Freedom High School defensive back and gave
Slaughter the green light to extend an offer.
The Mountaineers are Godwin's 12th offer and
currently stand out as arguably the most impressive school on his list.
"When you look at it, of course they're a bigger school,
they've won more games," Godwin says. "If you look at the stronger programs as
far as West Virginia, I don't want to say I have a favorite, but they're
definitely up there."
He is quick to cite Iowa State and Arkansas State as the
other teams that sit atop his options at this point and expresses his interest
in joining a program that is ready to win right now.
Slaughter first met Godwin at Freedom's spring game back in
May and even though the scrimmage was rained out at halftime, the Mountaineers
assistant appeared to be pleased by what he saw from his 2013 prospect.
"I did pretty good. I was at corner, I didn't give up any
passes, I locked my receiver down and I made a big hit on a screen that really
got the crowd going and really set it off. I showed a lot of toughness," says
Godwin, listed at 6-foot, 190 pounds.
In the conversations that have followed, Godwin feels he has
an idea of what it is exactly that West Virginia sees in him.
A skilled athlete that can play cornerback, he says the
Mountaineers want him as a safety. He believes his skill set allows him to make
plays both in coverage as well as in the run game or to take down a ball
carrier downfield.
His current two-star rating according to Rivals.com is
something he is certain will rise now that WVU has offered and following a
recent combine performance in which he ran the 40-yard-dash in the 4.4-seconds
range.
"As a defensive back, I feel like size really puts me up
there, my physicality. Those two really stand out about me," he says. "I give
it my all, I get in receivers' faces and I've got speed to go along with it, so
that really helps me out."
Godwin is looking into planning an unofficial visit to
Morgantown in late July to get his first glimpse at a campus that he has only
ever seen on a television screen.
"I'm a big college football fan and I watched them in the
Orange Bowl against Clemson. They're a winning program, always in the top year
in and year out playing in bowl games," says Godwin. "I haven't been on campus,
but I know they have nice facilities, I know they have nice uniforms from what
I see on TV, but that's about all I know right now."
He is hoping a summer of unofficial visits will help
determine where he schedules officials throughout the fall. His focus
throughout those months will be on his high school ball, but then he will try
to single out the one program that has made the best impression on him and make
a commitment.
"I really want to feel the environment and get to know the
coaches because they'll be coaching at least the next four to five years that
I'll be there. That's the biggest thing," says Godwin. "I want to get a feel
for the coaches, learn the Xs and Os, see the facilities and where you watch
film and how they do academics and study hall."
Until then, he will wait on other offers to come in and
begin taking a closer look at WVU and any other school that comes knocking for
his services.
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