4-star OT Evan Goodwin commits to SMU

2026 Bauxite (Ark.) offensive tackle Evan Goodwin has committed to SMU, the four-star prospect told On The Pony Express on Friday. He’s the latest to jump into what is a class rising up the ranks well inside the Top 25 now.

Goodwin is ranked as the nation’s No. 248 overall prospect, No. 18 OL in the country, and No. 3 player from Arkansas according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Goodwin was thrilled with how SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and offensive line coach Garin Justice explained its plan for him with football and outside of football.

“In the end, SMU laid out a detailed plan and vision outside and beyond football. How education and internships would work with my schedule and how connected SMU alumni are,” Goodwin told On3. “The mentorship possibilities that are within blocks of campus or even on campus casually was impressive. An SMU education is something I could never afford on my own. Being able to use football to secure a future is what this process is all about.

“I am forever grateful to Coach Lashlee and Justice for this opportunity.”

The hardest part is turning down programs like Oklahoma State, Missouri, Mississippi State and others.

“This was definitely not an easy decision for me,” he said. “I love the people and campuses at each of my top four schools. Each of them offered their own advantages to me and I’m confident that all four would’ve been great places for me to be. The worst part of the recruiting process is having to chose one school. You work for years building relationships, not just with coaches, but with everyone in the football building along with professors and students on campus.”

SMU’s official visit knocked it out of the park with the 6-7, 325-pounder. The Mustangs hosted him for the Pony Express Weekend on June 6.

“That was some weekend… the hype just kept building each day,” Goodwin said previously after the official visit. “The best part was the other 26s there. On most visits you have your host player and you go out at night, meet others on the team at your position then come back. So you’re really split offense and defense during the visit. But Cole had all of us hanging out as a group in addition to or after our hosts.  We had a great time. Maybe caused a little trouble in the city.”

“This official visit opened my eyes to what family means,” Goodwin added. “Schools do ‘family,’ but SMU does it differently. Cole [Leinart], Dakota [Dickson], all the guys are fantastic. It’s been nothing but, ‘sign the rock,’ the entire weekend. They actually live and breathe family.”

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Not only did the commits hit home, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee and his Arkansas roots did as well.

“Coach Lashlee is an Arkansas guy,” Goodwin said. “He knows where I’m from not just as a place on the map. He’s been there and knows it. That makes me feel comfortable. But I like just how happy they all seem. Joking and laughing all the time. No pressure. Football is supposed to be fun. They win a lot of games and have fun doing it. If you don’t love it and the people you’re around, you just can’t do it at a high level.”

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While offensive line coach Garin Justice is someone Goodwin trusts to develop him, he also loves the Life After Ball aspect of SMU.

“The best part of the weekend was learning more about the school, degree programs and life after ball,” he said. “A SMU degree is something I never could pay for. Just overwhelmed at all the opportunities that are on campus daily. Some programs bring in graduates as guest speakers or for alumni dinners. SMU has them randomly at practice or walking around campus on a Tuesday. Just being able to shake hands at practice with someone who could mentor me that is a successful business leader. Also internship possibilities were huge. All the business that surrounds campus means its right there when you have the time in your schedule to go work. It’s not something that’s just a few weeks in the summer. A degree is great, but how do you do the job that piece of paper says I’m supposed to know? That gap of learning and doing is a big focus for me.  All of us want to go pro, but some won’t. Now what?

“But the goal is the NFL and SMU showed they have the resources for that as well. Coach Justice is a tactical film nerd like me and really works on the fundamentals. Dallas also offers a ton of development opportunities outside the program for extra work.”

Goodwin joins an offensive line class to form a trio of highly-touted prospects in Drew Evers and Pupungatoa Katoa.