Kiyaunta Goodwin has made his decision.
And it's bad news for Buckeye fans.
Goodwin, Ohio State's No. 1 target on the offensive line and arguably regardless of position in the 2022 class, has committed to Kentucky, he announced today.
BREAKING: 4 OT Kiyaunta Goodwin has just Committed to Kentucky!
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) April 17, 2021
The 68 305 OT and Top 55 Player in the Class of 2022 (#6 OT) chose the Wildcats over Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson, and Michigan State
He is the 3rd Highest Ranked Recruit in Kentucky History pic.twitter.com/V6PTtYnE7k
Ranked No. 54 overall, No. 7 at offensive tackle and No. 2 in the state of Indiana, the Charlestown High School prospect is a future five-star and potential first-round NFL draft pick. He had his choice of choosing among more than 60 offers, including a top five that he had whittled down to Kentucky, Ohio State, Alabama, Clemson and Michigan State.
“Kentucky has a very good offensive line,” Goodwin told Eleven Warriors shortly before he released that list. “I keep up with the offensive lines, and they surprise you. That’s one of the main reasons. With Coach (John) Schlarman, before he passed away, we had a really great relationship. When Coach (Eric Wolford) took over, the first thing he did as soon as he got the job is he called me. That shows that he was very invested in me and he took this relationship and my recruitment very serious.”
As we reported previously (a couple times actually), the Buckeyes are going to continue recruiting Goodwin. His recruitment is far from over, those close with Goodwin are adamant about, as he is still going to take his five official visits once the dead period comes to a close, which is likely to come at the beginning of June.
There should still be optimism that Goodwin can still wind up at Ohio State if those visits do open up and if he connects with the Buckeye coaches once he meets them in person for the first time – plus with any of the Buckeyes' commits who he may see during an on-campus visit.
Ohio State will continue recruiting Goodwin while simultaneously turning more focus toward offensive tackle targets Aamil Wagner, Zach Rice, Addison Nichols and Tyler Booker.
