South Carolina transfer Monkell Goodwine on playing for Nick Saban: 'It was an honor'
Monkell Goodwine thought he was on his way to just another meeting. But it was unlike anything he could’ve imagined.
Just days after Alabama’s loss in the Rose Bowl, head coach Nick Saban held a team meeting. Unlike years past where he would go over end-of-season agenda items, this was different. He told his players he was retiring from football.
“We were thinking it was going to be just like a regular routine meeting or something like that. But coach Saban just announced it,” Goodwine said. “After that, it was just crazy, it was shocking to everybody. We didn’t know he was going to be doing it this year. Thought he was at least going to do another year. It was a huge shock.”
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By this point, Goodwine had already entered the transfer portal and committed to play at South Carolina. But it was still hard for him to wrap his head around the idea that the coach who recruited him out of high school was calling it a career.
“He was a businessman at heart, so you never could catch him smiling. But at the end of the day, playing for coach Saban was an honor,” Goodwine said. “I loved playing for that man. Everyday, I looked up to him and watched him do what he do. So it was just an honor to be with him.”
During his three seasons with the Crimson Tide, Goodwine never saw a ton of game action. He only played in five games throughout his career there. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have any fond memories of playing for Saban.
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“I remember I was with the twos one day, we was just running through some plays, and I was at the end. He told me to squeeze down, I forgot what it was called to this day, but he told me to squeeze, but I didn’t do it right,” Goodwine recalled. “So he yelled at me. It was embarrassing but it was a cool moment for me because I really got coach Saban talking to me. But at the end of the day, that was one of the moments where I really got chewed out and that was bad.”
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As Goodwine begins a new chapter in his life with the Gamecocks, he’s still fond of the good times he had in Tuscaloosa. To play for arguably the greatest college football coach of all time was something he’s looking forward to telling stories about for years to come.
“I’d describe it as one of the greatest experiences of my life,” Goodwine said. “Just going from high school to going to the coach Saban experience, it was unreal. Getting to see him talk every day, a lot of people would love to be in those shoes to see him talk, hear him out. It was inspiring. So I just felt like all the things I learned so far was just from him. It was an honor.”
In 17 seasons at Alabama, Saban finished with a 206-29 win-loss record and won six national championships. He went 2-1 against the Gamecocks during his time with the Tide.
