Haywood alum Gooden commits to Arkansas

JACKSON – Emmit Gooden had no plans earlier last week of committing to play football at Arkansas on Sunday, but that’s what happened.

Gooden, a former Class 4A Mr. Football and All-West Tennessee Lineman of the Year at Haywood in 2015, committed to his third Southeastern Conference program on Sunday at the end of his official visit in Fayetteville.

“I liked the atmosphere and everything there and the way the coaches were with me,” Gooden said. “It just seemed like the perfect fit for me with Coach B (Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema) and everybody there.”

Gooden committed to play at Tennessee and Mississippi State when he was still in high school before academics forced him to go through junior college football at Independence Community College in Kansas.

“I’m academically straight now,” Gooden said. “That’s one thing coaches have been making sure about with me when I’ve talked to them this spring.

“I’m on track to graduate this winter, and that’s something coaches care about because they want to get you on campus as quickly as possible.”

Gooden’s list of offers included other NCAA FBS powers such as Alabama, Oklahoma, Southern Cal and Georgia. He recently took visits to Alabama, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Gooden will play his sophomore season at Independence this fall and enroll at Arkansas in January after the national signing day for junior college athletes in December.

He’s listed at 6-feet-4-inches tall and 315 pounds, which is more weight than when he left Haywood in December of 2015. Gooden said his increased size and strength makes him flexible in Arkansas’s 3-4 defense.

“I’m able to play nose guard if I need to, or they can put me at one of the other spots up front,” Gooden said. “I can still move as fast as I could a year or two ago. I just got bigger.”

Reach Brandon Shields at bjshields@jacksonsun.com or at 731-425-9751. Follow him on Twitter @JSEditorBrandon or on Instagram at jacksonsunsports.