Evan Goodwin

Physical Profile

Elite positional length: 6-7 is 95th-percentile height for a college tackle, and the wingspan that comes with it is the single most bankable trait in his profile. He carries 315-325 pounds without obvious bad weight, which is notable at his age — most 6-7 high schoolers this heavy look soft through the midsection and he does not. Combine testing has graded above average relative to his mass, meaning the frame is not a lumbering one. The caveat is standard for the archetype: a tall tackle has a higher center of gravity and a longer path from snap to set point, so leverage and pad level are permanent maintenance items, not one-off fixes. Wrestling background is a real plus here — it shows up as hand awareness, balance recovery and comfort in a leverage fight.

Play Style

A high school left tackle who plays with a wide base and long-armed control, letting rushers run themselves upfield and past the pocket rather than punching and resetting. In the run game he's a drive-and-finish blocker who is at his best on down blocks and combinations where he can get his hands inside and use his mass; he's a willing puller and climber but is still learning to arrive under control and take good angles in space. The tape is dominant in stretches — against Arkansas high school competition his length was simply an unfair advantage — and inconsistent in others, with rushers occasionally getting into his chest when he sets tall or oversets to the edge. His transfer from Pulaski Academy to Bauxite means his senior film comes against a different level of competition, which is worth weighting when reading the evaluation.

Strengths

• Length as a pass-protection weapon — at 6-7 with matching arms he simply casts a wider shadow than edge rushers can work around, allowing him to reach and stall speed rushers before they can turn the corner. Against high school competition this alone erased most edge threats.
• Finishing temperament in the run game — plays through the whistle and looks to bury defenders rather than just wall them off, and flashes genuine pop as a puller or when climbing to the second level. That's a coachable-attitude trait scouts can't install.
• Athleticism relative to mass — above-average combine testing at 320-plus pounds, plus a wrestling background that shows in his balance and hand-fighting. He is a mover, not a mauler-only body, which is what separates a 0.90 composite from a 0.85 at this size.

Areas to Improve

• Point-of-attack power and hand placement — he wins with reach and effort more than with a violent, accurate first punch. His hands land wide and late at times, which invites hand-swipe and long-arm counters from college edge players who won't be intimidated by his length.
• Functional athleticism in pads — his testing athleticism doesn't yet fully translate to live football movement. Bending, sinking his hips and redirecting against inside counters all need work, and at 6-7 the anchor has to be built from the ground up in a college strength program before he can hold up against SEC/Power-conference-caliber bull rushers.

College Projection

247's Gabe Brooks pegged the projection correctly: a high school left tackle who most likely lands at right tackle in college, with interior guard flexibility as a roster fallback. Expect a redshirt or developmental first year at SMU — this is a body that needs 12-18 months of strength work and technical rebuilding before it's ready for live snaps, not a plug-and-play freshman. Realistic timeline is a rotational/swing role in Year 2 and a starting right tackle job in Years 3-4. At SMU in the ACC he faces a slightly softer week-to-week edge-rush gauntlet than he would have at Missouri or Mississippi State, which is a developmental positive for a project of this type.

NFL Outlook

Genuine Day 2-3 traits if the development curve holds. NFL teams are structurally short on 6-7 tackles who can move, and length plus testing athleticism plus finish is exactly the profile that gets drafted on projection. That said, the outcome hinges entirely on whether he develops a violent, accurate punch and a functional anchor — without those, tall college tackles get exposed at the next level and the projection slides inside to guard, where his length is far less valuable. Fair current read: a legitimate draftable prospect with 3-4 years of runway, not a projected early-round lock.

Best Fit

A gap/power or duo-heavy run scheme that lets him block down and combo with a guard, paired with an offense that uses quick game and play-action to protect a young tackle from extended isolated pass sets. He needs a program with a proven offensive-line development staff and a patient redshirt culture — his ceiling is a coaching outcome more than a talent outcome. SMU fits reasonably: an offense that gets the ball out on time, a conference that eases him in, and a roster spot where he can sit a year without pressure.