Michigan landed their first WR of the 2024 recruiting class on Sunday in Channing Goodwin out of Providence Day School, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Let's get to know our newest Wolverine

 

GURU RATINGS

RATINGS BY SITE
247: 6'1/180	On3: 6'1/175	Rivals: 6'1/175	ESPN: 6'1/190
4*, 90, #241 Ovr #38 WR, #7 NC	3*, 87, NR Ovr #136 WR, #27 NC	3*, 5.7, NR Ovr #94 WR, #13 NC	3*, 78, #238 SE #67 WR, #16 NC
4.07	3.53	3.74	3.73
COMPOSITE RANKINGS
247 Composite	On3 Consensus	MGoBlog
3*, 0.8845, #511 Ovr #72 WR, #15 NC	3*, 88.77, #436 Ovr #77 WR, #14 NC	3.5*, #541/787 Ovr #66/84 WRs since 1990
3.85	3.88	3.78

An interesting dynamic here with the ratings, 247 on the high end with Goodwin inside the top 250, ESPN and Rivals in harmony around 3.75, while On3 is waaaay down at 3.53. I don't know exactly what the driving force is here in the divergence between the ratings, but it will be interesting to see if this gap closes some over Goodwin's senior season, or if it will remain wide. We should also note that there is no dispute about Goodwin's measurements between these sites. Pulling it together in a consensus format has Goodwin as a high 3*, but still towards the back of our database of WR recruits since 1990. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: A trusty chain-mover]

 

SCOUTING 

Goodwin has less scouting out there at the time of this writing than I would like, but there is enough to work with. EJ Holland of On3 gave some quick takes on Goodwin after the commitment that serve as a decent way to get acclimated with the player ($): 

I’ve seen Goodwin live four times and feel like I have a pretty good grasp of his game. Look, Goodwin isn’t going to wow you with a 40 time or freakish athletic ability, but he’s the most consistent pass catcher on the board. Goodwin always seems to get open and is especially reliable over the middle.

...

Goodwin will likely be limited in the rankings because he’s a high floor, low ceiling prospect, but I know Michigan fans will be glad to have him on the roster a few years for now. If it’s third-and-four, I want the ball going to Goodwin. I know he’ll make the tough grab.

Never bad things to hear about a WR you're planning to take. Let's look for a more meat-on-the-bones scouting report and for this we turn to New Rivals and Lucas Reimink, who had a scouting report of Goodwin published way back in the fall: 

Goodwin uses his good releases to effectively get off the LOS and transition into his route quickly. ... Once he gets off the LOS, he uses his solid acceleration to move through his route smoothly. 

Reimink sees an area for improvement with Goodwin's route-running in particular: 

His route running is quite raw however; as he typically rounds his breaks instead of planting his foot in the ground and intentionally trying to create as much separation as possible. He has all the tools to be a good route runner but needs to develop in his actual ability to do so. 

Route running is always something that can be polished up in college, with better coaching and more experience. How about the rest of Goodwin's profile as a receiver?: 

He can also effectively identify the holes in a zone and prepare himself as a presentable target for the QB to find. Once the ball is in the air, he uses his good body control to adjust to the throw and uses his good hands to catch the ball, no matter if it’s high or low on his body ... While he’s not that big, he can also go up and high point the ball in a jump ball type situation with his good body control and solid leaping ability.  

Reimink did lament Goodwin's slight frame when it comes to taking contact for a catch, but generally praised Goodwin's ability to leap, find the ball, and go get it. This aligns with some of what Steve Lorenz of 247 Sports mentioned in a YouTube conversation with Steve Wiltfong published on Sunday (transcript of comments typed up by yours truly): 

There were some real strides made in the athleticism with him, what I love about him, he's 6'1" but he's not afraid to go up and make a contested catch. You have to have good hands, you have to be able to get up in the air, but the thing with him is he plays a very fearless brand of ball when it's 1-on-1. I think he turns a lot of 50/50s into 60/40s and 65/35s.

Goodwin's HS coach Chad Grier was interviewed by EJ Holland and gave some quotes about Goodwin in relation to his teammate, fellow Michigan target Jordan Shipp ($): 

People always try to compare Shipp and Channing, but they are so different in their games. Going into last year, Channing was more twitchy. He ran different kinds of routes than Shipp would run. Shipp got more explosive. They’ve traded skillsets and are adding to each other. 

And some nice quotes about Goodwin overall: 

Channing is a model guy. He’s the guy you want. He’s incredibly dependable. He’s going to play hurt. He’s tough, strong, fast and smart. There are no chinks in the armor with Channing. We situationally asked him to play safety for us, and he ended up being a starter and playing both ways the whole game. 

The Lorenz interview also mentioned a quote from Grier where the coach was wondering how many miles per game Goodwin runs playing on both sides of the football every night. Seems like all the intangibles check out with the kid! To close this out, I want to circle back to Reimink, who talked about Goodwin's YAC abilities:

Once he catches the ball, he is an effective YAC guy, because he uses his good agility to make defenders miss at the second and third levels of the defense. He’s difficult to tackle in space because he can also break arm tackles with his solid physical strength, in addition to being able to juke out most DB’s 1 on 1.

A decent amount to like! 

OFFERS

Goodwin was largely a regional recruit, outside of the Michigan interest. His finalists were all Atlantic coast schools beyond the Wolverines, concentrated exclusively in the Carolinas and Virginia. Those seven were Michigan, UNC, South Carolina, NCST, Wake Forest, VT, and UVA. Goodwin also held offers from Pittsburgh, GT, Mizzou, Maryland, Charlotte, ECU, CC, Kentucky, Boston College, WVU, Kentucky, and randomly, Bowling Green. 

HIGH SCHOOL 

Goodwin hails from Providence Day School, which is also the high school of Jadyn Davis. As a result, the legwork for most of this section was already done by Seth in his Hello for Davis back in late March. Below is a C&P of that information: 

(Providence Day) is another one of those privates that sprung as  Southern public school systems lost their relevant anti-busing court cases. To its credit, the school does not ignore the history of their founding. They were in the New York Times in late 2020 for an incident where a freshman was dismissed after his mother raised hell about the students reading August Wilson's Fences, which is a play about a working class former Negro Leagues ballplayer whose understandable distrust of white institutions damages his kids' opportunities in them. The Denzel Washington version is on Paramount+ and I'd recommend it, even if the nuanced question of a parent victim's culpability in generational trauma may be a bit ambitious for a classroom of 14-year-olds (and an irony too on the nose for the New York Times). Anyway it's a really good school.

The program plays in North Carolina's second-highest classification and lost just one game—to rival Charlotte Christian … by a point(!) … on a last-second 47-yard field goal(!!) … by a kid named Tripp Woody(!!!)—last year. Michigan is also recruiting Micah Gilbert, the kid who Braylon'd Charlotte Christian back from a 20-point deficit to beat their stacked rival on a Tripp Woody walker. Tripp Woody is a 2024 as well…just saying. 

Also this loss was of course avenged 55-13 in the state championship.

STATS 

MaxPreps has Goodwin down for 68 catches over 13 games, gaining 962 receiving yards and 15 TDs. His touchdown count led the team, while he was second in YPC behind Shipp. On defense, Goodwin recorded 34 total tackles and led the team with 6 INTs(!!). He returned three kickoffs for 68 yards and nine punts for 123 yards. A do-it-all kid. 

FAKE 40 TIME 

Have not been able to find a 40 time for Goodwin yet, but I can't imagine it would be anything to go crazy about given the scouting we covered. 

VIDEO 

Junior highlights: 

More available on his Hudl page. 

ETC 

Also a baseball player. Teammate of Jadyn Davis and Jordan Shipp in this class, in addition to 5* OT David Sanders in the 2025 class. Father Jonathan played center at Michigan from 1998-2001, meaning he was a teammate of Steve Frazier, whose kid Blake is in the class with Channing, proving again that having former players reproduce effective football players is an underrated long-term recruiting tactic. Jonathan Goodwin was a Pro Bowler in 2010 and was the starting C for the Saints' 2009-10 Super Bowl team before retiring in 2014. 

 

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE 

Goodwin is a nice safe take, reminding me to some degree of Semaj Morgan last class, who was also the first WR in the class. Morgan was also a legacy, a guy to help build your class and recruit his peers, and also a safe yet unsexy slot type option. As a more recent comp, I don't think Ronnie Bell is a crazy one, though obviously Goodwin is a much more highly touted recruit. Ronnie was a bit more leapy, but both were not elite speed guys, instead being agile and good after the catch and are doing it at very similar sizes (right around 6'0" and pretty skinny). They are both probably better in the slot though could line up outside, both return punts, were multi-sport athletes in HS, and are useful options to have on 3rd down when it's time to move the chains.

Goodwin will get to campus in the fall of 2024 and the WR depth chart will be an interesting one. Cornelius Johnson will be out the door, Roman Wilson could come back with a COVID-shirt but may be out the door too. Darius Clemons, Fred Moore, Karmello English, and Peyton O'Leary will be the leading names on the outside (not counting any transfers), while Tyler Morris and Semaj Morgan will be the leading names in the slot. We strongly recommend tempering expectations for true freshman WRs but there should be a quick path to playing time for Goodwin by 2025 or 2026 if he hits it big, presumably redshirting or playing sparingly in Year #1, then all bets are off after that. 

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS 

Goodwin is the first WR in the 2024 class, with the expectation that Michigan will eventually take 3-4. I'Marion Stewart (4*) from Illinois has long been a kid that Michigan is in very good standing with and that's one where you'd like to see the Wolverines close sooner rather than later. Jordan Shipp is another option who seems like a take if he is willing to jump on board, but that battle is not completely won yet. If you could get both Shipp and Stewart + Goodwin, you're already at 3 and then would just be looking at one more. Gatlin Bair out of Idaho is really a 2026 given the two-year Mormon mission, so I don't think he affects your numbers for this class, but is a take all the way due to his outrageous speed. Beyond that names like 3* Mekhai White (VA), 3* Joshua Jackson (LA) and pie-in-the-sky 5* Ryan Wingo (MO) are players Michigan is thinking about. 

THE CLASS AS IT STANDS

OFFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
QB	Jadyn Davis	NC	4.7⬇	Smooth, accurate field general
RB	Jordan Marshall	OH	4.4⬆	Accelerates South-North
WR	Channing Goodwin	NC	3.8	Chain-moving son of Jon
TE	Brady Prieskorn	MI	4.5⬆	Colston Loveland Midwest
TE	Hogan Hansen	WA	4.1	Colston Loveland West
LT	Andrew Sprague	MO	4.3⬆⬆	Basketballin' grow-a-Long
RT	Blake Frazier	TX	4.1⬆	Athletic son of Steve
RG	Luke Hamilton	OH	4.0	Midwestern mauler
LG	Ben Roebuck	OH	3.9⬇⬇	Bigger Midwestern mauler
C	Jake Guarnera	FL	3.8	Mauler but center
DEFENSE
Pos	Player	State	Stars	In a nutshell
DT	Ted Hammond	OH	4.0⬆	Cincy build-a-bear
DT	Manuel Beigel	CT	3.6⬇	Lengthy German via Choate
SDE	Jerod Smith	CT	3.9⬇⬇	Low-pads, high-motor big twin
MLB	Mason Curtis	TN	4.2⬆	Long athlete moving up
S	Jacob Oden	MI	4.2	Tall son of coach