Standout wants early playing time

St. Thomas Aquinas linebacker/defensive end Tavares Gooden will be up for All-American honors in his senior season. The 6-foot-1 and 220 pound defender is looking for a college that will allow him to show his stuff early on the field. Right now he has narrowed his list of schools to five.

“My top four schools are Miami, Louisiana State, Florida State and Florida,” Gooden said. “The fifth school will be either Oklahoma or Ohio State. Some of the schools that I’m looking at don’t favor the older players, and they let the younger guys get on the field. Miami gave D.J. Williams a chance to start early, and so did Florida with Gaffney. I had my doubts about Louisiana State because my boy Travis Daniels didn’t play in the regular season, however they did let him play in the bowl game. That showed to me that they put the best players on the field. I’m not sure about Florida State because Bryant McFadden from Hollywood hasn’t started yet. However, Travis Minor did start as a freshman.”

Gooden told FlaRecruiting.com that schools on his list are recruiting him at both linebacker and defensive end. Miami is recruiting him for linebacker. He thought that Florida State and Ohio State were recruiting him for defensive end. Does Gooden have a preference?

“I would prefer to play defensive end because of my aggressiveness,” Gooden said. “Playing against 300 pound tackles that are ranked high makes it a challenge for me.”

Gooden will make some visits this year to check out what some of game-like atmosphere’s are like.

“I want to make some visits during the season so I can get a feel for the game and climate,” Gooden said. “I want to see what some of the attendance is like. I’ll probably try and see as many Miami games as possible. If Florida State starts out with a big record, I’ll probably go see them play. If Louisiana State makes a bowl bid, I’ll go see them play also.”