Goodson not ready

The journey is continuing on for star running back Michael Goodson.

From his fast paced recruiting process that heated up with offers coming in every direction, to his commitment and eventual de-commitment from Oklahoma State, to the Army All-American Game this weekend where people were hoping for a final decision between Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, and Southern Cal – the story remains the same.

Goodson, the talented four-star running back, is not ready just yet.

"Mike just felt like he's down to three schools equally with Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Southern Cal," Goodson's father, Mike Goodson, said. "I told him that people were upset and a little disappointed about it, but that doesn't matter. I told him that this is his decision not everyone else's."

"I thought he was going to decide, his name was up next, then nothing was happening on the field. I called down and I was told Mike wasn't ready to go yet."

Rumors fly around in the heavily reported media world of recruiting and it hasn't gone ignored by the Goodson family. In fact, Goodson's father has heard all the talk and finds himself quite confused.

"I saw where people were saying that I was in control of this process or something, but I have nothing to do with any of this," Goodson's father said. "I'm just trying to get my son through the recruiting process the best we know how. That's it. It's up to Mike in the end, not me."

"He likes USC, he likes Texas A&M, and he likes OSU. It's a tough decision for him and we're doing the best we can."

The talk didn't stop there. As fellow Lone Star runner Emmanuel Moody announced on live television that his choice would be the Trojans, many believed that it was then that Goodson decided that he needed to think some more.

Then more talk circled that the running back situation at each school was throwing up a major road block to his decision.

Again, Goodson's father says that all of the talk is nothing but just rumors. Rumors that have baffled both father and son.

"I heard he committed to Texas A&M, and that was so far from the truth," Goodson's father said. "And I don't think he was worried about Emmanuel and where he went to school. He and Emmanuel along with Stafon Johnson got along real well this week and really liked each other."

"I don't think it's about him not wanting to compete because he believes that he can compete with anybody. If he was ready to go today, he would have gone. All of that other stuff is very untrue."

While a decision timeframe is not nailed down, the Goodson family will sit down this week and talk with each of the coaches from his final three schools to help the commitment finally come out.

Goodson's father explained that he is not about to rush his son through the process.

"I told him that 'you've got until Feb. 1 to decide and that's when you'll sign,'" he said. "'If you want to decide tomorrow, that's fine.' I just want him to feel comfortable. He'll talk with coaches at OSU, A&M, and USC and then he'll sit down to make up his mind."

"My son is not trying to play some sort of game here. He really is just trying to find the best school out there for him and we support him in whatever he chooses."

One thing that is certain is that there is certainly a lot of pressure building up on the young football talent.

"I don't want people to have the perception that he's not a good kid," he said. "Mike just wants a chance to make a fair decision. He doesn't want to make a pressured decision. It was tough for him to de-commit in the first place, but he wanted to be fair to OSU but not kick them out of the race."

"Now he has three good schools to choose from and he's going to do the best he can with it. He's not doing any of this on purpose to play a game."

Goodson is rated as the No. 5 rated player in the state of Texas and the No. 8 rated running back in the nation.