Buccaneers’ Chris Godwin: ‘Going to Penn State made me better’

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl winning wide receiver Chris Godwin says the foundation of his career was set during his time at Penn State Football 

Chris Godwin has just about everything one would want in life.

Newly married, Godwin won his first Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers’ triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV, and with Tom Brady and all 22 starters set to return in 2021, a fairly significant chance of repeating as champions.

Godwin also has the opportunity in front of him in 2021 to cash in on a mega-contract, as he’s set to play on the franchise tag this upcoming season.

For Godwin, the star wide receiver says that the foundation was set during his career at Penn State Football, he wrote as a guest columnist for Peter King’s Football Morning in America:

"Going to Penn State helped me get better. I’m the type of guy who looked to see what the best players did, and I took mental notes, and I tried to do what they did, or more. I was watching the NFL every week, measuring myself. Then, as I was making more and more plays in my sophomore year and started to really ascend on my team where I became the number one option, I’m just like, this could really happen. I finished with 1,101 yards that year. I thought that was kind of a building block to get me noticed at the next level. After my junior year, I declared for 2017 draft. I thought I was ready."

Godwin was chosen in the second-round of the 2017 NFL Draft, after offering a signature performance in the Nittany Lions‘ Rose Bowl loss to USC, where he caught a game-high nine receptions for 187 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn State Football coach James Franklin isn’t surprised to see Godwin’s success at the next level.

“Chris really is a throwback,”Franklin told FanSided ahead of the Super Bowl. “He’s a coach’s dream because he’s high production and low maintenance. He’s a quarterback’s best friend because he’s all substance and no flash.”