Face-planting typically isn’t a way to make an impression with a college coach.
But if you know Will Godfrey, you know one obstacle or setback can’t stop the New Hope High School catcher. Besides, Godfrey has been a part of the New Hope High baseball program for so long that he knows your reaction to an embarrassing incident can turn an apparent negative into a positive.
While the fall in a timed 60-yard dash at a baseball showcase event at Meridian C.C. was the negative, the positive result of that spill came Friday when Godfrey signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead.
“(Mississippi Delta C.C. coach Michael Avalon) told me he thought there was no way I was going to get up and run after that,” said Godfrey, who said he skinned his hands on the fall but quickly recovered and picked himself up. “I did, though, and he said that is when it clicked that he wanted me.”
Godfrey is coming off a standout junior season in which he earned Class 5A All-State honors from the Mississippi Association of Coaches. The award came after Godfrey hit .293 and had 27 hits and 14 RBIs in his first season as a starter for New Hope (25-7), which lost to Oxford in three games in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State title series.
Godfrey had one of the biggest blows of 2015 in that series when he hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to beat Oxford 1-0 in Game 2 of the North State championship series. Oxford defeated New Hope in Game 3 to end the Trojans’ hopes of winning a third-straight state title.
But Godfrey emerged as a junior, playing a key role behind the plate by working with a pitching staff that had an ERA of 1.85. He threw out eight of 24 runners who attempted to steal and had five errors in 211 total chances.
Godfrey also showed he could hold his own at the plate, scoring 13 runs and adding four doubles, a triple, and the home run. He also stole five bases.
New Hope coach Lee Boyd said the 5-foot-9, 155-pound Godfrey has worked hard to make himself a quality catcher. He said has a “live arm” and good speed and is someone who won’t let something like a lack of size or a fall on a track keep him from realizing a goal.
Boyd said he Avalon is a good friend, so he knew Mississippi Delta C.C. was interested in Godfrey. Still, he wasn’t sure how Godfrey’s recruiting was going to play out, especially after hearing he fell during one of the timed heats in the 60-yard dash.
“That could have been embarrassing moment,” Boyd said. “If he quit or laid down he wouldn’t have impressed anybody. I am not saying that pushed coach Avalon over the edge, but I think it played a big role in him getting a scholarship offer.”
Godfrey, who played travel baseball with the East Coast Sox of the East Coast Baseball organization last summer, said he attended showcase events at Northeast Mississippi C.C., Meridian C.C., Mississippi Delta C.C., and Itawamba C.C. He said he felt Mississippi Delta C.C. wanted him more than the other schools, so that gave the school an advantage. He felt comfortable on his visit, so he decided to give Avalon a verbal commitment. He said Avalon told him he will get a chance to compete for playing time at catcher, at middle infield, and in the outfield.
Boyd has watched Godfrey develop from a junior varsity player into a key contributor on the varsity squad. Godfrey appeared in 15 games and had only one at-bat as a sophomore before getting a chance to start last season. This season, Boyd envisions Godfrey building on his junior campaign and playing an even bigger role and being a bigger leader.
“He is as good a catcher that we have had since I have been here,” Boyd said. “Will works hard in the weight room and is always hitting on his own. He is small for a college catcher, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in speed. He runs well and is a pretty smart baserunner.”
Boyd said Godfrey’s home run to left field against Oxford in Game 2 of the North State title series is a memory he will “never forget.” He said it was “unbelievable” to see a player with Godfrey’s size have a moment like that, but he said Godfrey is one of the hardest workers on the team, so it really wasn’t surprising to see Godfrey deliver in the clutch. He believes Godfrey will take the same work ethic to Moorhead and make an impression at Mississippi Delta. After all, Boyd said Godfrey sets the tone in practice and in games by trying to block every pitch in the dirt, even when the count is 0-0 and there isn’t anyone on base.
“If Will would have been 6-2 he would have gotten several offers,” Boyd said. “With his size, I think it caused some schools to think about it, but I don’t see any reason he can’t go there and contribute.”
Godfrey feels the same way. After all, he knows his size likely won’t compare with the majority of his new teammates, but he has worked hard in the weight room in the offseason to add 10-15 pounds to help prepare him for his senior season at New Hope High. He feels another strong season and offseason will put him in position to make an impression in a more conventional way once he gets to Mississippi Delta C.C.
“I have been working since freshman year,” Godfrey said. “I have thought about the possibility of signing a scholarship (for a long time). I just watched (former New Hope players like) Will Golsan and Taylor (Stafford) and all of them. I just watched them as they grew and watched them practice and realized I wanted to do that and have that success like they did.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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