Good Counsel took in their first scrimmage on Monday evening as four-star Dylan Gooden flashed his ability to generate pressure off the edge. He’s still working on his pass coverage as tight end AJ Szymanski was able to create separation on a handful of routes with Gooden lined up against him, but Gooden knows it will all come together.
“I feel like I shot the gaps pretty well. I didn’t play man coverage well but I know it’ll come together eventually,” he told Inside the Black and Gold. “Because I switched positions too so I’m also trying to get that better and get situated with that.”
In the recruiting scene, Gooden was originally slated to announce his commitment back on August 9 among a top four of Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State and Virginia Tech but opted to push back his decision until at least the fall. “I just pushed it back but I don’t know when it will come,” he added. Gooden has seen three of those teams remain consistent in his recruitment.
“I can really see the schools really interested in me so it’s easy to point it out,” he added with Maryland, Rutgers and Virginia Tech still in the mix. “Rutgers especially. They text me every day so I can really feel the connection there.” The Scarlet Knights proved to be the only official visit for Gooden and his family this summer as he made his second trip to campus. Rutgers was originally the school most mentioned when it came to prime contenders in Gooden’s recruitment as he sees the positives in playing at the nearby school. “We went to the city and not just the football side, they’ve shown me everything.”
Gooden also took in an unofficial visit to Virginia Tech earlier this summer. “I’ve been talking a lot with coach [Chris] Marve.”
Maryland, meanwhile, has kept close tabs on Gooden through the spring into summer with outside linebacker coach James Thomas doing his part to break into the WCAC school. Gooden has noticed contact has picked up more recently. “It’s picked up, the connection has picked up since the summer with [James Thomas]. I’ll probably take an official in the fall.”
The last visit that Gooden took was to Maryland back on July 30 as he and his family, fresh off vacation, were able to get back around the staff and fellow 2023 commits to see a different side of the program. “It was with all the commits and stuff so that was nice.”
As for the next steps, Gooden isn’t necessarily keeping tabs on Maryland’s success this fall as he is watching his position group. “I’ll just watch the outside linebacker groups and see how they play.”
With a possible Big Ten battle shaping up heading into his senior year, Gooden has emphasized his desire to stay closer to home. “It’s my hometeam so it’s not really anything bad. It’s close to home, that’s kind of a big part of my recruiting part. Make sure I’m not too far away from my family.”
Gooden is rated a four-star prospect and a 90 overall by 247Sports, sitting as the sixth-best prospect in Maryland.
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