It was just after New Year’s, and Terry Godwin had the world by a tail.
The five-star wide receiver prospect was coming off a successful week in Orlando, Fla., at the Under Armour All-America Game, and despite his longtime commitment to Georgia, major programs were hitting him hard with recruiting love. He had official visits to Alabama and Auburn planned, and Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin was making a push to have him visit to College Station.
But behind the scenes, Godwin’s world was coming unglued. The family had just received some news, and it was the kind nobody wants to hear.
On Jan. 5, Godwin’s father, Terry Godwin Sr., was diagnosed with colon cancer.
“We got back from the Under Armour in Orlando and he was sick,” Olivia Godwin, wife and mother, recalled. “He started off being dizzy and light-headed, and it didn’t go away. That Monday we decided we better go to the emergency room and get checked out.”
All of Godwin Sr.’s vital signs were fine, but doctors noticed that he was extremely pale and were concerned there might be internal bleeding. They admitted him to ICU and started doing tests.
“Everything just starting snowballing then,” Olivia Godwin said. “I was, like, ‘Oh my God.’”
A tumor was discovered. Surgery commenced immediately. Cancer was confirmed.
As far as the rest of the world knew, “Little T,” as he’s known in and around LaGrange, was just being “Little T.” He still flashed his trademark sparkly smile during every interview. He still showed up for basketball practice and made spectacular plays in games. He still answered the phone when coaches and reporters called, which was daily.
But inside, he was worried sick about his dad.
“When they first told us his diagnosis, it really didn’t hit me for like two days,” Godwin said. “It wasn’t until then I realized, ‘man, this is really serious; he could go away any day.’ … It was hard because he finally had to stop taking trips with me to visit colleges. He had to cut off work, had to stop coming to some of my games. I mean, it was really tough.”
Said his father: “He got scared there for a minute, but I tried to coax him through it. I told him to be strong and not to worry and everything would be all right.”
While Olivia Godwin is the unquestioned catalyst in the family home, Terry Sr., 45, has always been his son’s inspiration. Like Little T, “Big T” had always been an exceptional athlete. He was a standout in basketball and baseball at LaGrange High School. He went to junior college on a baseball scholarship and pitched and played third base for Southern Union College.
As would happen for his son years later, the Reds and Braves came calling on Terry Sr. But the elder Godwin was unable to answer that call. Love and work intervened and quickly swept that dream to the side. He reunited with Olivia, his high school sweetheart, and after the first two of their three daughters were born, he began a long stretch of two-job work to provide for his family.
When Terry Godwin II was born in October 1996, it was left to the son to live out the father’s dreams. And he has not been disappointed.
“I always wanted him to do better than me,” Godwin Sr. said during a massive send-off party for his son. “We could tell right away he had some special athleticism. By the time he was in the ninth grade I knew he was gonna be way better than me. He had a strong arm, and he could catch anything you could throw at him. He was faster, stronger and always had a positive attitude.”
Godwin’s exploits in the parks and gyms around LaGrange are the stuff of playground legend. Family friend Broderick Stargill — an integral figure in the Godwin household — coached Little T in virtually every sport from peewee ball till high school.
“He was always younger than the other kids, but he was always better,” says Stargill, who is a Division I basketball referee. “He was 5 years old, and we were playing basketball and this kid hit a half-court shot at the buzzer to win the game. What kid that age has the presence of mind to shoot that shot, much less make it? Five years old. It blew me away. Most of the kids his age couldn’t get the ball up to the rim. He’s always been that type guy.”
His mother tells of Little T wanting to quit tee ball because he would hit the ball to the fence in the outfield and they would make him stop at first base. In fact, Godwin quit football early on in his youth league career because it wasn’t challenging enough for him.
“He was playing flag ball and nobody could pull his flag,” Olivia Godwin says with a laugh.” He was just running, running and running all over the place. He said, ‘they can’t do nothing with me, Mama.’ So they put him on defense and he wanted to hit somebody. He’d tackle ’em and they’d get onto him. He decided he didn’t want to play football until it was a contact sport.”
Godwin proved equally as hard to corral with pads on. After playing him all over the field at different positions on offense and defense, Callaway High coach Pete Wiggins finally settled on putting Godwin at quarterback so he’d be sure to have the ball in his hands every play. Godwin also played defensive back and kick returner as a senior.
Godwin’s team won only seven of its 12 games — he missed the playoffs with a high-ankle sprain — but his individual exploits didn’t go unnoticed. He was an AJC Super 11 selection, and Rivals.com ranked him a five-star prospect, the No. 1 “athlete” in the country and the No. 1 overall prospect in Georgia.
Godwin committed to the Bulldogs in January 2014, but that did nothing to stem the tide of recruiting attention. And all that just intensified in December after the Bulldogs lost offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to Colorado State. Auburn and Alabama put on a full-court press, and Georgia sent Brian Schottenheimer to meet with Godwin as soon as he was appointed Bobo’s replacement.
They would all learn that Godwin had more important things on his mind.
“It was quite a time,” Olivia Godwin says. “We tried to tell everyone to stay away for a while and ‘we’ll call you.’ My husband was just torn wide open then.”
The Godwins are happy to report that all is well again. On July 22, Terry Godwin Sr., received what they hope will be his final chemotherapy treatment for a long, long time, if not forever.
“He’s doing wonderful,” Olivia Godwin says. “They can’t believe how good he’s doing. He’s just been fighting it. He hasn’t lost any weight. He’s staying right there about 210. He hasn’t been sick lately. It’s all truly a blessing.”
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