Terry Godwin joined Georgia's football program this past summer as the nation's No. 1 athlete prospect according to Rivals.com.
Godwin lined up at receiver most of his freshman season, catching Greyson Lambert's first pass in the opener against Louisiana-Monroe. Yet he also lined up at quarterback and scored on a 28-yard run against Kentucky, and he threw his first touchdown pass in Saturday's 24-17 win over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
Though Georgia's coaching torch has been passed from Mark Richt to interim Bryan McClendon to Kirby Smart in recent weeks, Godwin expects to be a prominent offensive threat regardless of the regime.
"I think coaches believe in me enough to put the ball in my hands to make a play," Godwin said after earning TaxSlayer Bowl MVP honors. "It's what they've done in the past, and I believe it's what they'll do in the future."
A 5-foot-11, 174-pounder from Hogansville, Ga., Godwin did not have near the impact as fellow Southeastern Conference freshman receivers such as Alabama's Calvin Ridley, who has more than 1,000 receiving yards, and Texas A&M's Christian Kirk, the league's freshman of the year.
Godwin did, however, give a struggling Georgia offense somewhat of a spark midway through the season with his versatility. He finished his debut year with 35 catches for 379 yards and two touchdowns, seven rushes for 37 yards and a touchdown, and 1-for-1 passing for 44 yards and a score.
Taking direct snaps could be greatly reduced if five-star quarterback Jacob Eason lives up to the hype and snatches the job from Lambert and Brice Ramsey, but McClendon said Godwin is just scratching the surface at his natural position.
"Certain guys are born to do certain things, and I really believe that Terry Godwin was born to play wide receiver," McClendon said after the bowl. "Just the natural things that he can do - movement-wise, getting open and catching the football - and for his stature, not many guys have the length that he has. He can make catches in traffic, and where he's matured the most is that he used to be so dadgum silly at times.
"Every great player understands that there is so much room to grow, and he now understands the importance of every single practice and the importance of every single play. When I first got him, I was on him all the time, but you've seen him grow in our passing game and in our running game."
Godwin's maturation this season is reflected in his numbers. He had just 125 receiving yards through the first six games but then a 78-yard performance against Missouri, another 78-yard game at Georgia Tech and then his all-around showing against the Nittany Lions.
Though he did not post the numbers to match Ridley and Kirk, Godwin will enter the 2016 season just as valuable as those two given that Malcolm Mitchell has graduated.
"I feel like I've grown a lot coming in from high school and learning the offense and just being able to deal with all the adversity that has hit," Godwin said. "Our receiver group is going to be the same. We've just got to have more young players step up and fill those big shoes."
Said McClendon: "I'm proud of Terry Godwin. We put more on him to learn, quite frankly, than any other player offensively."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.