East Meck player 'sleeps' in his socks

Every now and then, a player who has been virtually unnoticed through his junior year will make a sudden splash as a senior, seemingly coming out of nowhere. It happens every fall, and it just might happen to Tony Goodwin.

Goodwin is a rising senior at East Mecklenburg High, where he played right offensive tackle a year ago. He was solid but not spectacular, and the bigger schools haven’t really noticed him yet.

They may soon.

Goodwin has the size everyone looks for at 6-foot-6, and at 280 pounds, should be able to add weight — 30 pounds or so — in the future.

“He could be the sleeper of this whole area,” said East Meck coach Greg Hill. “He’s got great size, long arms and he’s very intelligent.”

As a junior, Goodwin graded out at 81 percent in his blocking. He also had 18 knockdown blocks. At a Shrine Bowl Combine, he ran the 40-yard dash in 5.3 seconds — a respectable mark for a guy his size — in his socks.

“He didn’t have the right shoes on,” Hill said, laughing.

But his key stat, says Hill, is this one: In the past two years, Goodwin has not allowed a sack.

--Stan Olson