Goodman enjoying the process

The Houston Cougars are well on their way to putting together a 2011 class that will rival if not exceed the tremendous 2010 class that has just landed on Cullen Blvd. With ten commitments on board, head coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff continue to search for the top talent in the state to bring into the fold.

Last Saturday the Cougars held their first camp of the summer and had a good turnout including some standouts who were extended offers after the camp was over. Beaumont Westbrook defensive end Ben Goodman was one of the players who came in and stood out. He too was one of the players that a scholarship offer was extended to. Although Goodman is listed in the Rivals database as a defensive end, the Cougars like him for their linebacker position in defensive coordinator Brian Stewart's new 3-4 scheme.

Goodman worked out as a linebacker at Saturday's camp and showed the ability to compete standing up. It is a position he felt comfortable with and sees as a good option for college and beyond.

"The camp was pretty nice actually," said the 6-foot-3 235 pound defender. "I got to come in early for the junior day they had there and see everything before the camp. It was my first time to the campus. I liked it, it was very nice. I worked out with the linebackers at the camp and it felt pretty good. Houston likes me as the weak side linebacker. At first I didn't know if I wanted to play as a linebacker or not but I went over there and worked the position yesterday and it really doesn't matter to me as much. A lot of the teams in the NFL are going to the 3-4, so maybe playing in that in college could be an advantage."

Goodman has quietly been racking up offers over in Beaumont and with the addition of Houston now has an even ten.

"I've actually got ten offers now," he said. "I now have offers from Houston, Tulsa, Cal, Miami of Ohio, Tulane, Kansas, La. Tech and some smaller schools too like Lamar, SFA and North Texas. I might have a couple more from out of state schools, but I can't remember them off the top of my head right now. I've been talking to Ole Miss a lot lately too, they want me to come to one of their camps but I don't think I am going to go."

Although Goodman already has a plethora of options of which to choose from, he is thinking for now that he might wait a little longer before making a decision.

"I think I'm going to wait until next season," he said. "I'm going to enjoy the process a little. The only thing that really matters as far as where I choose is climate. I don't want to go play somewhere cold."

Now that school is over, Goodman is looking forward to the opportunity to work out more. He might just be done as far as camps are concerned.

"I'm glad school is out," he said. "Now I can focus more on working out every morning up at the school. I went to the TCU camp that was down in Pearland the other day and then I did the Houston camp too. I don't think I am going to do any more camps though."

Goodman racked up 69 tackles last season, ten of them for a loss, and had seven sacks and one interception as well. Good enough for a first team selection on the 21-5A all-district team. Goodman was also voted by the Rivals recruiting analysts to the All-combine second team for his performance at the Army National Combine back in January.