Chris Godwin trained for the combine with Calvin Johnson, who gave him high praise
It wasn’t long ago that Chris Godwin was just a kid watching Calvin Johnson.
The future Hall of Fame selection was the premiere receiver in the NFL, and one that many young wideouts like Godwin admired.
Now, Godwin finds himself in a different spot. He’s in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine this weekend after asserting himself as Penn State’s go-to receiver the last two years.
Johnson, on the other hand, is retired. But he’s still making an impact on young receivers like Godwin, albeit in more direct fashion. Before the combine, Godwin spent time with the former All-Pro at wideout EXOS training facility in Gulf Breeze, Fla.
“He was one of the guys I really looked up to growing up,” Godwin said via the Detroit Free Press. “He’s such a humble guy but he’s a hard worker. He had so much knowledge to share with me and, just being that I looked up to him and always watched what he did and was just impressed by what he was able to do, being able to really sit down with him and be able to pick his brain, it was awesome.”
Godwin had his fair share of catches that resembled Johnson’s, especially in his final game in a Penn State uniform. His nine catches for 187 yards and two scores in the Rose Bowl propelled his already rising draft stock.
Godwin’s jump-ball ability stood out to Johnson.
“One of the things he said he liked about my game was just my ability to kind of attack the ball, and he said he liked how fluid I looked when I was running my routes,” Godwin said via the Detroit Free Press. “He said just how aggressive I was with going and playing the ball — and kind of shedding off defenders was something that he liked about my game.”
Beyond his ability on the field, Johnson offered up some high praise of Godwin’s ability off the field. In an Instagram post he shared, Johnson called Godwin “a coach’s dream.”
Godwin might not be quite the blue-chip prospect Johnson was coming out of college, but he’ll have a chance to make plenty of big-time catches at the next level.
Godwin will go through individual drills at the combine on Saturday.
