What people are saying about Kiyaunta Goodwin at Kentucky Spring Practice

Kiyaunta Goodwin was the talk of the Big Blue Nation for months as his high-profile commitment to Kentucky reached a chaotic conclusion on the second day of the Early Signing Period. After spending months and years getting to know Goodwin as a recruit, Kentucky’s coaches and players now finally have a chance to work with him on a football field as one of 13 mid-year enrollees.

A five-star prospect and the highest-ranked signee in Kentucky football history, there is plenty of hype surrounding the offense tackle. Kiyaunta is bringing much more than hype to Lexington. The kid has an outstanding work ethic. In conversations with folks close to the football program, KSR has learned that Goodwin spends almost all of his down time at the football facility. In addition to practice, he works out twice a day and watches film in-between with his new teammates. It echoes the statements shared by his coaches. Goodwin is a “sponge,” learning as much as possible to get acclimated to life as an SEC football player and compete for a starting position on the Big Blue Wall.

Mark Stoops

KSR asked Kentucky’s head coach about Goodwin after his first spring practice. Of course, Stoops didn’t see too much in the un-padded practice, but it was good to see the long-time recruit finally in Kentucky blue.

“It’s good to see him out there, a big, big fella. But Kiyaunta is a really great young man that really wants to be great. I’m sure things were moving fast for him today, but but he’s a big presence. And like I said, I love his attitude and his work ethic and really wants to be great,” he said. “If he continues that, then the sky’s the limit.”

Zach Yenser

In his opening press conference, Kentucky’s new offensive line coach did not try temper expectations. His message to Kiyaunta is simple: come in and prepare to play right away. If you trust the process, the results will lead you to the field.

“Physically, the guy’s an absolute monster, right? I mean, he just swallows a doorframe when he walks in. It’s really cool. He’s such a beast and he’s an awesome guy. He’s like a sponge right now; he just wants to soak everything in. But like I tell guys … ‘Dude, you’re coming, you’re stepping foot on campus expecting to play. Right?’

“Don’t come in here thinking you’re going to redshirt and all that stuff, because that’s just going to waste your year. You’re coming in expecting to play football and then the redshirt and all that stuff will take care of itself. You come in with the mindset of, ‘I’m coming in to play left tackle’ And everything else will take care of itself. I know if he’s good enough to play, if he’s good enough to be an 18-year-old starter at left tackle in the SEC, then he’ll play. If he’s not, then we have four games to play with and he does redshirt, we have a great plan for him.”

Eli Cox

“Kiyaunta is gonna be a really good football player. And he’s a really nice kid who’s really eager to learn and so we’re excited to have him here. He’s obviously very talented guy in high school. We’re trying to make that transition easy for him. It’s hard for every freshman, especially coming in mid-year. He was just in high school a few months ago, and all of his buddies are still in high school. Now he’s got the grind: tutors, class, early workouts and now spring practice, so we’re just trying to ease all those young guys along and he’s a sponge. He just loves to sit up in the film room all the time, just kind of learning the game as best he can. He’s going to turn out really well. I believe in he’s a really good kid and just once those things start to come to him, he’ll be a really good football player.”

Kenneth Horsey

“Kiyaunta is a great kid, great kid, a big kid,” he laughed. “He’s very passionate. He’s willing to put in the work. He’s very coachable. He’s ready to listen to anything. If we have any positive criticisms or anything like that, and even if we have to dump on them at times, he’s very accepting of that because he knows he’s not a finished product. He knows at the end of the day, high school is just the beginning. There’s always room for progression, there’s always room to grow and he understands that. He’s ready to put in that work and I love to see him work because he’s working on himself every day.”