Colleges dazzled by 8th grade phenom who is already 6’7, 370 pounds and loves robotics
Kiyaunta Goodwin has the entire college football world seemingly lining up at his door, having already received five scholarship offers—including from the National Championship runner-up Georgia Bulldogs according to Bleacher Report.
At an astounding 6-foot-7 and 370 lbs, Goodwin has the look of an NFL offensive lineman.
The thing is, these college programs will have to wait a while as the young man has yet to finish the eighth grade. Yes.
Yep, this 13-year-old kid is still in middle school in Louisville.
–#YaleWhileBlack: White woman calls police on Black grad student for napping in dorm—
And in addition to playing football the young teen enjoys playing the bass clarinet and has said that he would like to find a high school and college with a robotics program.
“Robotics brings creating and today’s technology together, and I love all of it,” Goodwin says. “I love it so much that I know I want to do it with my life. Finding a robotics program is more important to me than finding a football team.”
He got into football thanks to his late grandmother. He struggled at first adapting to the game, both with the rules and with how much larger he was than everyone around him.
“She told him not to hurt the little kids,” Goodwin’s mother, Kimberly Durham, said. “I know he’s afraid of hurting someone because of his size, and he still holds back. Kiyaunta realizes the strength that he has, and I just don’t think he’s ready to release all of it yet.”
Goodwin is often questioned about his age—his mother, herself 6-foot-3, carries his birth certificate everywhere—and often has been asked not to shake hands so firmly with people.
“He’s a real college lineman right now,” says Raesean Bruce, Goodwin’s middle school coach. “He’s just so big, and he doesn’t know his real strength yet.”
Other schools that have offered him football scholarships are Kentucky, Louisville, and Western Kentucky. But his focus is on bigger things.
–Black Navy vet brutally beaten and called racial slurs by four white security guards–
“Football is something I love doing, but it’s also something I want to use to get more out of life,” Goodwin says. “I could be one of the first people in my family to graduate. I want to go to college and get a degree.”
