About seven years ago, Nate Godwin walked onto the Freedom High School campus for his first day of freshman year. Now, Godwin finds himself as a starting defensive back for the University of South Florida Bulls in his senior year. Even though Godwin has become a successful college football player with more than thirty tackles on the season, he remembers his roots.

“I miss the Freedom days,” Godwin said. “I played on the football team there too, my favorite memory was my last game I ever played. We were playing Wiregrass Ranch and we whooped them. I was able to really capitalize on my career as a Patriot too.”

Reading teacher Lisa Reale knew Godwin when he was a student  at Freedom and had nothing but praise for the young man.

“Nate was always such a friendly student,” Reale reflected. “He’s always excited to see me with my kids at USF FanFest every year and take a picture. I’m happy that he’s done so well at USF!”

Godwin is really enjoying his time at USF and has made many great memories along the way.

“I have two defining moments in my career at USF,” Godwin recalled. “One was actually my first start, we played against Cincinnati. I returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, it was a great welcome for me into my career. My second was also in my freshman year when I picked off Blake Bortles. It was cool, especially now, since he was drafted in the first round and is now an NFL QB.”

Godwin explained that it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare himself for each game, however he has one pre-game staple that gets him in the mindset to take the field and leave everything out there.

“Before every game when I’m sitting in the locker room, I have my headphones and I listen to music, visualizing what I need to do on the field,” Godwin explained. “I listen to a lot of Drake, he’s my guy.”

While Godwin takes his performance on the field very seriously, he holds academics just as high on his list.

“I’m majoring in Mass Communications with a minor in Criminology and Sports Management,” Godwin said.

One piece of advice Godwin had for incoming freshman to college who want to play football is to be prepared for the commitment it takes to be successful.

“It’s a lot of work. Your scheduling is very tight. You have practice in the mornings, appointments later in the day, and classes in between. You have to adjust. It’s hard, but it’s very fun and rewarding,” Godwin said.

As for the future, Godwin is taking it one step at a time.

“I’m really trying to focus on the season,” Godwin noted. “I’m taking things one game at a time, focusing on what I need to do. Eventually, I’d like to train for the [NFL] Combine and see what happens.”