EDITOR’S NOTE: Since 2002, the Times Free Press has highlighted the top 12 college football prospects among Chattanooga-area seniors with its preseason Dynamite Dozen. The countdown of this year’s list continues with No. 6.
Persistence has defined Camden Goforth’s prep football career. It also played a key role in his college recruitment and ultimate decision on where he would play at the next level.
As someone who never gives up on a blocking assignment, McMinn County’s tenacious 6-foot-4, 305-pounder respected the steadfast approach of the West Virginia University coaching staff — particularly new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. — so much that even after having made a verbal commitment to Coastal Carolina in early June, he still took a visit to Morgantown.
That visit, and the connection he felt with the Mountaineers staff, led to a change of heart and a commitment flip less than a month after having made his original pledge.
“The West Virginia coaches kept talking to me almost daily, even after I had committed to Coastal, and wanted me to come visit,” said Goforth, who shut down his recruitment after committing to the Big 12 program. “Once I got there, I just knew it was the place for me.