Former Penn State WR Chris Godwin talks NFL, DaeSean, and more

Chris Godwin had a breakout NFL performance this past weekend — and just a few minutes before a Monday afternoon meeting, he joined us for our weekly “Five Questions.”

Godwin — Penn State’s leading receiver a year ago and now a rookie with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — started in place of suspended wideout Mike Evans on Sunday. The Delaware native recorded five catches on 10 targets for 68 yards in a 15-10 win over the New York Jets. Four of his five grabs went for first downs.

With Evans returning, Godwin could be relegated to his normal No. 4 wideout role. But the third-round pick showed a lot of upside in the home win and throughout the offseason. He discussed Sunday’s showing, DaeSean Hamilton’s success, Hard Knocks and more.

Q: Getting out there and racking up close to 70 yards on five catches, getting No. 1 targets filling in for Mike, what was this past weekend like for you?

A: It was awesome, man. I love getting the opportunity to fill in a bigger role. It felt good. For me, any time I can go out there and make an impact on my team and contribute to a win, that’s the biggest thing for me. Thankfully, we were able to get a victory.

Q: What’s this rookie season been like for you personally?

A: It’s been challenging just adjusting to the NFL — and, obviously, our team has had the struggles that it’s had. It’s been challenging, but it’s fun too. I enjoy learning. I enjoy bettering myself, and each week has brought more of that, different adversities that you’ve really got to fight through. It’s just been trying to learn from my mistakes in previous weeks and getting stronger each week is the biggest thing I’ve learned so far.

Q: Working with guys like DeSean Jackson and Mike Evans, what have you learned from them?

A: We have so many guys on our team that are veterans, man, guys who’ve been doing it for a while at a high level. Since I’ve been here, I’ve just been trying to pick up anything I can and learn from them as much as possible and try to apply things that I can from their game to mine. It’s been real great so far.

Q: Have you kept tabs on Penn State this year? And, if so, a guy you played with a lot — DaeSean Hamilton — is having a great season. Have you been keeping up with him at all?

A: Oh, 100 percent. I’ve been watching every game, man. Those are still my boys, and I completely support them in everything that they’re doing. But especially DaeSean, I mean, he’s one of my closer friends on the team. Just being able to see him have the success that he’s been able to have this year, it’s been awesome. I couldn’t be happier for him. I’m so proud of him, getting to see him have a chance to get back to his old form. He was the one to show me the ropes when I first got there. So to watch him have that success has been awesome.

Q: Last one for you, and I’ll let you get to your meeting. What was the coolest thing about being on Hard Knocks?

A: It was interesting. It was a little weird at first because the cameras were around all the time. But when you watch the whole project come together, when they put all the episodes together, it was really cool. I hadn’t watched Hard Knocks for a couple of years before that, but I knew the type of stuff they’d put together. But when it involves you and your life and everybody that you’re experiencing things with, it takes on a different feel.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 1:48 PM with the headline "Former Penn State WR Chris Godwin talks NFL, DaeSean, and more."