Charles Wesley Godwin Talks WVU Football, Walk-On Attempts on SportsCenter

Everywhere Charles Wesley Godwin goes, he makes sure to talk about the West Virginia Mountaineers. And he did just while making an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Sunday.

Godwin, who will be holding a concert in Pittsburgh near Acrisure Stadium ahead of the Backyard Brawl in September, talked about growing up a WVU fan, his multiple failed attempts at being a walk-on and how he helped motivate the 2023 team.

Cheers, beers, and Mountaineers! Thanks so much to the kind folks at @SportsCenter for having me on this morning. See y’all tonight in New Haven! pic.twitter.com/Me7rmPbsfq

— Charles Wesley Godwin (@CharlesWesleyG) July 21, 2024

“I was an outside linebacker and I was a too-small, too-slow. It was never going to happen but it was great thing for me to experience a little bit of adversity and failure early in my life and it guided me towards this path that I took in music. The best thing that ever happened to me,” said Godwin.

The country music star even discussed the speech he gave the team last year after they picked to finish last in the Big 12 and offered his thoughts about the state of the program under Neal Brown.

“Testament to Coach (Neal) Brown for really reviving the culture at West Virginia football. He brought me in because I think Neal knew too, making it in music, you have to face a lot of adversity and there’s a lot of hard lessons to get to where we are in the music business,” Godwin explained.

“I was able to share my experience and some of the mentality that I’ve been able to develop over the years through all the experiences I’ve had and help those guys, pass that on to them, to be able to take that negativity they might get in their life, flip that and turn it into an asset for them.”

Of course, Godwin made sure to proudly wear a WVU shirt on national TV. Godwin even explained his relationship with Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes.

For a related story, Godwin was part of WVU’s uniform reveal ahead of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.