What will UGA 5-star football signee Terry Godwin try to do next?
Godwin has started for four years in three sports at Callaway High School – football, basketball and baseball.
Earlier this week after baseball practice, Godwin walked over to the school’s soccer field to watch a few minutes of the upcoming games.
“Some of the guys walked over and said, ‘Hey T, do you want to play because it’s Senior Night?’ Godwin told the AJC. “I liked the idea. So they went and asked the soccer coach, and he was like ‘Would the baseball coach care?’ I said ‘No sir.’ He said ‘OK, just don’t go out there and get hurt.’ I was like ‘Are you serious?’ He was serious.
“The guys went out there and got me shin guards, some gloves and some cleats to play in. And they found me a jersey. They put me at goalie, and I did pretty good for my first time.”
It was Callaway’s last home soccer game of the season, and it was a meaningless non-region game. The small crowd that gathered in the stands got a kick out of seeing the school’s biggest celebrity playing goalie. Godwin gave up four goals but had 5-6 saves in the 4-2 loss to Chapel Hill.
“I just wanted to have fun and help the guys on their senior night, and be a part of something at my school,” Godwin said.
What did he think about playing goalie? “It was amazing. If you are a good receiver, you will want to play goalie in soccer. It helps you work on your hand-eye coordination. With them kicking it, there’s a lot of speed behind the soccer ball. It’s coming at you pretty fast. You’ve got to have strong hands and good hand-eye coordination.”
Godwin’s signature position in sports is playing receiver in football. He is expected to contribute immediately at that position at UGA next season. He is rated as the state’s No. 4 overall prospect for 2015.
The 6-foot, 165-pounder plays shooting guard in basketball, and averaged around 8 points this past season. He plays third baseball in baseball, and has a .410 batting average with a couple of homers. One of the long balls traveled an estimated 425 feet.
While Godwin’s focus is mainly on football in college, he is also considering an invitation to join UGA’s baseball team. “I’m still trying to decide on that because everybody said there’s a lot on you in college with school and football. But if I can go up there and handle it very easy, I’ll go out for baseball my freshman year.”
What do UGA’s football coaches think about that? “They said they are fine with it. They let me meet with the baseball coach, Coach Stricklin. And he’s all good with that, too.”
Right now, Godwin’s priority is to finish the baseball season and graduate from Callaway next month. He is scheduled to report to UGA on June 1.
Well, that’s unless one of the school’s other sports teams needs him again.
“Everybody at school is still talking about the soccer game,” Godwin said with a laugh. “They said I might be the first person at Callaway to play four sports in one year. Hey, whatever I can do to help out.”
5-star Terry Godwin stuck with UGA over Auburn on signing day (247sports)
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