Running back Tyler Goodson is headed to the University of Iowa. The 5-foot-10, 192-pound Georgia native announced his commitment today after narrowing his options down to Iowa, Wake Forest, and West Virginia in recent weeks. Goodson, who made an official visit with the Hawkeyes back in April, had several factors that weighed into his decision.
“I felt at home the moment I arrived in Iowa City,” Goodson told HawkeyeReport.com. “It’s a special place and they offered everything that I was looking for and so much more.”
“If you follow me on social media, you know that an organization close to my heart is Happy Feat, so when I learned about the relationship with the University of Iowa and the Children’s Hospital, I immediately connected with that."
“There were many things on my list, but some key factors for me were integrity on the coaching staff, genuine interest in me as a player and a person, academic balance, good football where my skill set fits the offensive scheme, and a strong offensive line. Iowa offered that and even more."
"My connection to the school and the staff was almost instant," said Goodson. "I knew the weekend of my official visit that it would most likely be my home."
A dynamic running back with good ball skills, Goodson had 1,437 yards rushing, 305 yards receiving, and 25 touchdowns for North Gwinnett during their run to a state title his junior year. At Iowa, the coaching staff sees him in the mold of Akrum Wadley with the ability to score on any play whether it is running the ball, catching the ball, or in the return game.
"I think my playing style is perfect for this offense," Goodson said. "It will allow me to show my versatility as an all-purpose back because I also have great hands, can catch out of the backfield, or line up in the slot."
"Coaches and fans both have compared me a lot to Akrum Wadley and they feel I am a great replacement for him since our skill sets are so similar," said Goodson. "Iowa is always known to have one of the best offensive lines in the country and with the new 2019 offensive line commits and my running game, I feel I will be a great asset to the offense."
That could be as soon as 2019 as the three-star prospect hopes to make an impact as a true freshman when he arrives, starting out on special teams and then earning carries in the backfield.
"I have a great chance to come in and play early with hard work," said Goodson. "Coach Ferentz and Coach Foster said they would like to use me on special teams because they learned from my high school coaches that I can run kickoff return too."
A three-star prospect, Goodson drew scholarship offers from Iowa, West Virginia, Wake Forest, Nebraska, Iowa State, Michigan State, Boston College, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas State, Kentucky, Syracuse, Washington State, Cincinnati, Central Florida, Marshall, and Memphis, among others, during the recruiting process.
Overall, the Georgia native is commitment No. 14 for the Hawkeyes as he joins Ezra Miller, Logan Lee, Tyler Endres, Noah Fenske, Jack Campbell, Sebastian Castro, Jestin Jacobs, Desmond Hutson, Jake Karchinski, Alex Padilla, Jalen Hunt, Dane Belton, and Justin Britt in Iowa's recruiting class of 2019.
See highlights from Goodson’s junior year at North Gwinnett in the video below.
