Gators land huge OL transfer in Kiyaunta Goodwin

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•01/25/23•

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida continued to overhaul its offensive line Wednesday with another massive addition to the roster in former five-star recruit Kiyaunta Goodwin.

Goodwin was the highest-ranked player ever to commit and sign with the Kentucky Wildcats. He joins Alabama transfer Damieon George and Baylor transfer Micah Mazzccua at the position. Reloading on the offensive line was a huge need for Billy Napier, Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.

The Gators were tasked with replacing consensus All-American O’Cyrus Torrence, starting left tackle Richard Gouraige, starting left guard Ethan White and (prior to a foot injury) starting right tackle Michael Tarquin. Getting back Austin Barber, who took Tarquin’s starting job, softens that blow, but UF had to add talent that was ready to play right away.

The Gators have unquestionably done that this offseason.

More on Kiyaunta Goodwin

Goodwin received his first scholarship offer from Kentucky when he was in seventh grade. By his sophomore year in high school, Goodwin had ballooned to 425 pounds. His mother, Kimberly Durham, inspired him to make a change. He moved in with his mentor, Chris Vaughn, the founder of Aspirations Gym, and began the body transformation that allowed him to lose more than 100 pounds.

The high-profile high school prospect had a very popular recruitment. Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, and Texas A&M were all heavily involved. In the end, Kentucky was able to beat out the Spartans.

However, Goodwin never made an impact in his first season in Lexington and only played on special teams. The blue-chip prospect would enter the transfer portal on Dec. 16.

What Gators fans need to know about the transfer portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. If a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship, and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

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