Kiyaunta Goodwin has officially signed with Kentucky

It’s finally official: Kiyaunta Goodwin has signed with Kentucky. After affirming his pledge to Kentucky yesterday, the five-star tackle finally put pen to paper this afternoon. Here is a photo of the moment from his high school coach Jason Hawkins:

It’s official…….Congats to Kentucky and Kiyaunta Goodwin @CHS__Pirates @WPMQ993 @UKCoachStoops @UKFootball pic.twitter.com/MaRYBsMXdT

— Jason Hawkins (@Talk_With_Hawk) December 16, 2021

Goodwin’s name was not on the list of signees distributed to reporters prior to Mark Stoops’ press conference today at Kroger Field. Stoops couldn’t address Goodwin’s situation directly since he wasn’t signed at the time, but of course, the question was asked.

“[Kentucky Football SIDs] Tony [Neely] and Susan [Lax] just informed me that was going to be the first question,” Stoops said, laughing before making sure his phone was right next to him on the podium.

“We continue to work. Recruiting is a never-ending process. Regardless of a specific person that you may be asking about, there are others we’re working on as well so it’s really never-ending.”

Stoops checked his phone repeatedly during the press conference, picking it up at one point to answer a text message. After Goodwin’s coach sent out his tweet, Stoops’ phone lit up again and he broke into a smile.

“I can’t say,” Stoops said when asked if he had received good news. “You see that movie, ‘I see nothing!’ That’s a Youngstown thing.”

Later on, Stoops referenced a “big present” Kentucky needs to wrap up before moving on to Citrus Bowl prep. As the press conference was drawing to an end, he looked at Susan Lax and requested everyone stay five more minutes — presumably for the fax to be cleared by compliance. About ten minutes later, he finally got the papers in his hand.

“I am proud to wrap up the 2022 Signing Class by announcing Kiyaunta Goodwin to the class,” Stoops said. “It is official from my understanding. We are happy to welcome Kiyaunta, the big fella, into our organization officially.”

“As I talked with Kiyaunta last night, I said, ‘Welcome to the program, however, it feels like you’ve been a part of it for nearly a year now or more. We’ve recruited and known Kiyaunta since he was in eighth grade or ninth grade. So, we’ve known him for a long time, built strong relationships with him and the people close to him. A terrific young man, unbelievable football player. We’re excited to add him to our program.”

Goodwin: “You should probably trust your gut the first time”

Yesterday’s events proved that this has been a long, hard recruitment for both Goodwin and the Kentucky staff. Mel Tucker and the Michigan State staff continued to push for a flip, even after Goodwin announced he was sticking with Kentucky.

“It was stressful, figuring out what the best place is; a lot of long nights thinking, a lot of sleepless nights,” Goodwin said shortly after revealing his final decision. “Some nights I could see myself going to Kentucky, but other nights I could see myself going to Michigan State. Having the chance to talk to these coaches, get a full vibe of it, I felt like with no doubt that Kentucky was the best place for me.”

Last night, Goodwin also confirmed he will enroll early once playing in the All-American Game on Jan. 8 in San Antonio, Texas.

“I’m very excited,” he said of enrolling at Kentucky in January. “I can’t wait to get to college and be able to start playing games and help Kentucky start winning more.”