- Indiana
STATE CHAMPS! SCOUT TEAM: Indiana football recruiting notebook — Bluegrass State calls back one of its own, as Kiyaunta Goodwin goes UK
Homeward bound it is.
The No. 1 player in the state’s junior class, Charlestown behemoth Kiyaunta Goodwin, committed to Kentucky over the weekend. Goodwin (6-foot-7, 305 pounds), a Top 10 prospect in the nation at offensive tackle, moved to the Hoosier State last summer from the Louisville area.
The up-and-coming Wildcats under Mark Stoops got the nod over perennial powerhouses Alabama, Ohio State and Clemson. Michigan State was his fifth choice. Last fall, he registered 26 pancake blocks.
247Sports Midwest Recruiting Director Allen Trieu sees NFL potential in Goodwin’s game.
“We’re talking a true force of nature, a physical specimen that reshaped his body in high school, lost a bunch of weight, got leaner and got quicker,” he said. “The word on him is great burst off the snap, great motor and great focus. His footwork and his gate are very fluid. He has a tremendous ceiling and the chance to one day be a franchise blindside blocker (in the NFL).”
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Another lineman off the board
New Prairie junior offensive tackle Hunter Whitenack visited Illinois two weekends ago and the committed to the Fighting Illini on Monday. The workhorse 6-6, 320-pounder picked Illinois over Cincinnati, Central Michigan, Western Michigan, Ball State and Tulane. Whitenack has considerable upside at the next level, displaying flawless fundamentals and an ironclad work ethic.
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Feeling in a Cream & Crimson kind of mood
Brand new Bloomington South sophomore safety Daeh McCullough (6-2, 195) committed to Indiana University last week, deciding to stay put in his freshly-minted B Town stomping grounds for his college pigskin while becoming the program’s most highly-valued recruit in history. He’s the second recruit for Coach Tom Allen’s Class of ’23.
McCullough’s big brother, Dalen, is a linebacker committed to Ohio State and the No. 2 overall prospect in Hoosierland.
The McCullough brothers landed in Bloomington in February with their dad, Deland, who accepted the job as IU associate head coach after being an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs the past few years. Last season, the McCulloughs led their previous high school team to the state finals in Kansas.
Daeh selected IU and his dad over Michigan, Maryland, Penn State, Mississippi State, Florida, Boston College, Arkansas, Kentucky, Arizona State and Utah.
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The offers keep pouring in
• Roncalli sophomore offensive lineman Trevor Lauck collected his second Big Ten offer from Rutgers. Purdue was his first.
• Leo junior defensive end Demetrius “DJ” Allen got his third Big Ten offer from Nebraska. Iowa and Rutgers were the first two programs to put offers on the table.
• Andrean sophomore linebacker Drayk Bowen bagged bids from Texas and Ole Miss. Bowen is tabbed the No. 1 prospect in the state’s Class of ’23.
