Colorado football's 4-star 2025 IOL out of Nashville, Chauncey Gooden, understands the attitude one has to have while playing in the "Prime Time" spotlight: cocky, but with the goods to back it up on the field.
Gooden shared a bold message on his future during Lipscomb Academy's National Signing Day ceremony on December 4.
"Me and the bench, we don't get along," Gooden said (h/t The Tennessean). "I'm going there to get on the field. I'm going there to play, and I'm going there to be me. So whatever I got to do to push myself and work as hard as I can to get on that field, that's my plan."
Those were his words. But first-year Lipscomb head coach Jamie Graham showed that there's both sizzle and steak with Gooden.
"I said Chauncey, 393? Are you serious?," Graham recalled. "He said, 'yes sir'. I said 'you know you got to lose that, right?'. He said 'yes sir'. From that point on, Chauncey was going to do whatever he needed to do to play. And we've had goals we wanted him to meet throughout the season and I promise you, Chauncey did not miss a mark.
"Through the ups and downs of the season, even when I was out of energy, if I needed someone to talk number 55 stepped up. That's the kind of kid Colorado is getting."
With Julian Lewis coming to Colorado, Coach Prime needs to make sure the Carrolton star is properly protected. It doesn't sound like Gooden's assignments will require any extra worry.