Evan Goodwin has been familiar with Ohio State for a long time. Very recently, the Buckeyes returned the favor.
The four-star 2026 offensive tackle was one of the first players offered by new Ohio State offensive line coach Tyler Bowen, who’s made recruiting a strong emphasis in his first few weeks on the job. Bowen texted Goodwin on Monday to set up a short call, and extended a scholarship offer.
“I was shocked, really,” Goodwin told Eleven Warriors of the offer. “Going from a kid who thought he was going to play Divison II when I was in ninth grade to getting offered by the defending national champions is pretty crazy.”
Lets Go!
— Evan Goodwin (@goodwin2026) February 17, 2025
After a great call with @TylerBowen and @OhioStateFB I have been offered by the National Champs! @parkerwereb8 @ryandaytime#GoBucks#OLine #OffensiveLine pic.twitter.com/0R0UKeGady
Bowen and Goodwin had no prior relationship from his time at Virginia Tech, as the Hokies were not one of the Arkansas standout’s many Division I offers. But it didn’t take long to develop a strong rapport with OSU’s new leader of the offensive trenches.
“I had never really talked to Ohio State before he got there,” Goodwin said. “We had a conversation for about 30 minutes and we just talked. Turned out we were pretty similar. We both grew up as farm kids, which sounds pretty stereotypical, but we had a similar situation. It was really easy to get a conversation flowing.”
Goodwin has followed Ohio State closely over the past couple of seasons, especially when watching former OSU offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.
“I’ve really followed Ohio State for years at this point. The person I really tried to model my game after was Paris Johnson,” Goodwin said. “I loved watching his pro day and his film from Ohio State. I’ve probably watched like 10 hours of it. Going to a place where he went and modeling my game after him and a couple other tackles, that would be cool.”
The relationship between the Buckeyes and Goodwin is relatively new for both parties, but it’s accelerating quickly. Goodwin has scheduled a spring visit with OSU for March 27, where he’ll watch practice and hopefully have a better understanding of the Buckeyes’ program.
“I really want to see coach Bowen’s coaching style,” Goodwin said. “I haven’t gotten to watch much film on him alone, so I want to be a fly on the wall and listen to him coach and watch him coach. I also want to see how he runs his room. More than that, I want to see what the campus is like.”
Ohio State also hired three analysts with offensive line coaching experience this week in Marcus Johnson, Charlie Dickey and Wendy Laurent. Goodwin has a prior relationship with Dickey, so that hiring certainly won’t hurt OSU’s chances.
Let's Go!! Coach Dickey and his family are amazing!
— Evan Goodwin (@goodwin2026) February 20, 2025
As Goodwin himself mentioned, he didn’t have much of an inkling he’d be such a coveted prospect following his freshman season. But the Bauxite, Arkansas resident lived in the gym from sophomore year on and challenged himself, which eventually paid off with a 6-foot-7, 325-pound frame.
“I took more pride in myself and realized I could go bigger than Division II if I put in the effort,” Goodwin said. “I just wanted to start working. When I really wanted to start gaining weight, I was 260 a year-and-a-half ago. I just got in the gym, took my creatine and stayed on top of all my vitamins and planned all meals around mass gaining. I wanted to do it in a clean way to keep my body fat percentage low and just went from there.”
Goodwin currently starts at left tackle for his high school, but has experience at each position on the offensive line. Per 247Sports’ composite rankings, he’s considered the No. 339 prospect and No. 29 offensive tackle in the 2026 class.
“Pass blocking is one of my strong suits,” Goodwin said. “That’s what I’ve done for the past three years. In two years as a starter, I had 1,800 snaps and a little over 1,200 of them were just straight pass dropbacks. I also have the ability to get out in space, I’ve always taken pride in getting athletic and quick to move. I feel like my outside zone blocking, pulling and screens have been some of my strong suits for a while.”
In addition to Ohio State, Goodwin says Missouri, Mississippi State, Notre Dame and Wisconsin have been in contact with him the most. He cautioned he doesn’t have an official top five nor a commitment date set at this time, but says he’d like to be committed before the start of his senior season in high school.
“Family, football culture and locker room culture are all huge things for me,” Goodwin said of his biggest factors in his recruitment. “And academics. Football ends and you want to be able to do something with the degree you got. I can’t just go to college for underwater basket weaving, I need a degree that counts.”
