Joe Hermitt/PennLive

BY Aaron Kasinitz | akasinitz@pennlive.com

MIDDLETOWN, Del. — Chris Godwin once threw a perfect 50-yard spiral from one knee.

Anthony DelPercio swears it happened. The Middletown High School senior said Godwin plopped down before a practice a few years ago, reared back his right arm and heaved a laser that left his teammates awestruck.

Mark DelPercio, Middletown’s coach, can confirm his son’s account. And he has dozens of his own tales about Godwin, the lanky kid who developed into one of the most accomplished Penn State receivers in recent memory.

The DelPercios watched Godwin flush windmill dunks during pickup basketball games, bounce off 11 defenders to return a kickoff for a touchdown and pull a massive tire farther than an 275-pound, all-state lineman.

Those moments explain why many in Middletown gush about Godwin’s fearlessness and jaw-dropping athleticism.

They also illustrate the talents that landed him at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis this week, where he’ll aim to take the next step in his football journey.

But there’s a side to the 6-foot-1 wideout those stories don’t show, Anthony DelPercio said. It’s a side that leads Godwin to clamor for family game nights at the DelPercio home — Godwin has been dating Mariah DelPercio, Mark’s daughter, for six years — and pull on a large hoodie during trips to the local Walmart in hopes he won’t be recognized.

“That’s Chris,” Lisa Godwin, Chris’ mother, said with a laugh. “He is as low-key as it gets.”

Whether Godwin desires it or not, a brighter spotlight could soon shine in his direction. Many analysts predict an NFL team will take him sometime between the second and fourth round of next month’s draft, and a strong performance at the combine could boost his stock.

Yet in a phone interview with PennLive and recent conversations with friends, Godwin has deflected attention, praising coaches and teammates instead.

Fierce loyalty and humility have always defined Godwin’s personality, people in Middletown say. And they insist he used those traits to vault from a tiny town in Delaware onto the doorstep of his NFL dreams.

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Photo courtesy of Mariah DelPercio

'Would you believe he's 14?'

Rod Christopher Godwin was born a city kid, around the massive crowds and big lights he now avoids.

But when Chris was 3, Lisa and Rod Godwin Sr. decided to move away from Philadelphia to allow the kids to grow up in a better environment. “Somewhere they could just run free,” as Lisa puts it nearly two decades later.

The family wound up in Middletown, which had a population of less than 7,000 in 2000, according to census data, and was known mostly for an annual peach festival. Chris Godwin said he grew to love his quaint hometown and its wide-open fields, and he doesn’t have many memories of living in Philadelphia, a city of more than 1.5 million.

Even in rural Delaware, though, things could get hectic in the Godwin home.

Chris has a half-brother and half-sister who were significantly older than him and a younger sister, Rian, who’s now an 11th-grade basketball star at Middletown. At times, the Godwins welcomed grandparents and aunts and uncles into the house, causing cramped space.

Godwin, friends and family say, had two escapes from stress: Sports and video games. His athletic prowess was the trait that quickly spread around Delaware.

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Mark DelPercio coached Godwin’s half brother, Marcus Rosser, in the mid-2000s, when Chris was just starting to play youth football.

And anytime Rod Sr. would see DelPercio at practices or around town, he’d remind the coach that 7-year-old Chris was the real budding star.

“His dad always said, ‘Hey, wait until you get to my youngest son. He’s going to be a player,’” DelPercio said.

DelPercio believed him. By the time Godwin arrived at Middletown High in 2010, he led the local Babe Ruth league in home runs, was a dominant youth football quarterback and towered over other 14-year-olds.

Middletown’s coaching staff decided to put Darius Wade, who’s now playing at Boston College, at quarterback and slide Godwin to receiver.

The move paid off immediately.

“Chris’ first game as a freshman, he scored a couple touchdowns, he had a kickoff return for a touchdown,” DelPercio said. “You just knew then. They guys holding the chains were like, ‘That No. 12 is unbelievable.’ And my assistant coach laughed and said, ‘Would you believe he’s 14?’”

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The legend ballooned from there. Godwin was an all-state selection three years in a row, who played linebacker, receiver and returner. He won Gatorade player of the Year in 2012. He led the Cavaliers to state titles in his sophomore and junior seasons.

And then there’s the stories. All the stories.

The ones about his acrobatic catches or crushing hits or dazzling returns. DelPercio remembers after Godwin weaved through the defense once, a tight end came off the field, shaking his head.

“Coach, I’m sorry,” the player said.

DelPercio was confused and asked the kid why.

“I didn’t do anything on that play,” he said, “because sometimes I sit back and I just watch Chris.”

But Godwin himself doesn’t recall any games or plays that stick out about his high school career. Instead, he insisted his success was forged during a summer workout campaign the team called “MCS” for Middletown Championship Series.

The Cavaliers’ captains would pick teams for a series of competitive weight training and conditioning drills once a week. Coaches would add up scores based off sprints and tire pulls and other exercises players performed in the thick mid-Atlantic humidity.

“It brought out the best in us,” Godwin said, “because all of us wanted to win.”

That was true, Anthony DelPercio added, everyone wanted to take home the MCS title. But Godwin’s team usually did.

“Chris is good at everything because he has that aggression,” Anthony DelPercio said. “But he’s not the type of guy who’ll hit you and stand over you. He’ll knock you out and then help you up.”

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Photo courtesy of Mariah DelPercio

'He belongs with us'

Even now, before Godwin makes trips home to the Middletown area, the DelPercios often receive a text message from Mariah, Chris' girlfriend and Anthony's older sister.

“Hey guys,” she’ll write, “Chris wants to know if we can have game night again.”

It’s a family joke at this point. Sometimes it’s Monopoly, other times it’s Taboo or cards — but Godwin always loved playing games, Mark DelPercio said.

Anthony said Chris turned down countless party invitations and never drank in high school or college. Anytime he’s in Middletown, the DelPercios said, he’ll play XBOX a few hours a day, go to the gym with Mariah, work out with Anthony, a fellow receiver, on the field and go to sleep.

He’ll wake up and repeat.

He was that relaxed at home, too, Lisa Godwin said. Godwin’s sister put it in more blunt terms.

“Oh,” Rian Godwin said. “He’s a square.”

But, Rian added, a square that loved to win and cherished the people around him — that’s why game night was so exciting to Godwin, friends said, and why Rian has vivid memories of the family dropping Chris off in State College.

Rian said she was determined to remain strong for her brother on the drive to campus, but as soon as Chris left the car, tears began to flow.

“I started bawling,” Rian said. “I’m like, ‘Are we just going to leave him here?’ He belongs with us.”

Godwin understands the feeling. He said his hometown, family and teammates in Middletown mean more to him than they might to an average college football player.

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The DelPercios hold an especially significant place in his life.

When Godwin started dating Mariah, he could go to the DelPercios house to play games or chat with family members. It became somewhat of a second home, another place where a kid who shied away from attention could become himself, Anthony DelPercio said.

“Not only coach DelPercio, but the rest of the coaching staff at Middletown, and his family, they gave me what I needed on and off the field,” Godwin said. “I can’t thank them enough.”

Godwin tried to thank everyone at Middletown once, Mark DelPercio said.

Late in the state championship in Godwin’s senior season, Middletown fell behind by a few touchdowns. A Cavaliers’ loss was sealed. But in the fourth quarter, out of the corner of his eye, DelPercio saw Godwin gather the team and, nearing tears, speak to the players around him.

“He said he wanted to thank everybody for a memorable four years, and he apologized that he couldn’t bring them to a state championship,” DelPercio said. “He said he was also going to be grateful for his time at Middletown, and he said he was where he’s at because of the things they’ve done and because of how they pushed him in practice. That’s Chris’ personality in a nutshell.”

That wouldn’t be the only time Godwin left a football program with heartbreak and gratefulness.

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'The road you head down'

Middletown has produced a handful of talented football prospects, but Godwin took things to a new level. He was an All-American, earned a three-star rating from most recruiting outlets and filled Mark DelPercio mailbox with messages from college coaches.

“I was like, ‘That’s a letter from Oregon? That’s a letter from Urban Meyer? You talk to these guys?’” Anthony DelPercio said. “For our team in general, it was a shock.”

Godwin, though, always thought Penn State was the right fit — he wanted a school with a strong academic track record and a passion for football. He committed to coach Bill O’Brien during his junior year and stuck with the Lions when James Franklin arrived to replace the NFL-bound O’Brien in 2013.

Godwin said he developed a strong relationship with Franklin and PSU wide receiver coach Josh Gattis when they recruited him to play at Vanderbilt, so he was relieved when they arrived in State College.

"I knew what those guys were about and what they wanted to do," Godwin said. "It was a no-brainer for me to stay."

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#1stClass salute @CGtwelve_

A Career in the Penn State Books! 👏

2X All-B1G WR

7th all time catches-154

4th all time yards-2,421

Well Done! pic.twitter.com/TNnaPJX0jt — Josh Gattis (@Coach_Gattis) February 14, 2017

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The rest of Godwin’s career is etched into the minds of PSU fans across the Keystone State. He hauled in 25 catches for 321 yards as a freshman, burst onto the scene as an all-Big Ten talent during his sophomore season and cemented his place as a pro prospect with a strong junior year this fall.

Off the field, his relationship with Mariah hummed along, he returned to Middletown during each Lions bye week, and his family and friends loved trekking to Beaver Stadium on Saturdays for games.

Things got even better during Godwin’s junior year. PSU kept winning, from a thrilling upset victory over Ohio State to the comeback triumph against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship.

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Joe Hermitt/PennLive

Then came the defining game. The Rose Bowl.

Godwin torched USC’s All-American cornerback Adoree Jackson for 9 catches, 187 yards and two scores. Anthony and Mark DelPercio and Lisa Godwin were all in Pasadena to watch it, but the entire country took notice as the Middletown kid pulled down spectacular grabs and ignited the Lions’ offense in an epic shootout.

“It was crazy,” Lisa Godwin said. “Even Chad Johnson was tweeting about Chris.”

But on the game’s most crucial play, Godwin ran across the middle of the field and leapt to try to snag a fourth-quarter pass that sailed over his head. He couldn’t get a hand on it. USC secured an interception and kicked a dagger of a game-winning field goal moments later.

Right then, Lisa Godwin could see the tears welling in her son’s eyes.

“We saw him after the game and he was blaming himself,” she said. “When it got intercepted, he was like, ‘I should have caught that ball.’ I was like, ‘Chris, there’s no way you could have caught it.’”

Mark DelPercio was there with Lisa and Chris Godwin. He said Chris’ emotions reminded him of how he handled his final high school game — with an appreciation for those around him and a burning desire to help them.

Godwin has an easy explanation for why he acts like that: The receiver wouldn’t be on the cusp of the NFL, he said, without the people he cherishes.

“The thing about getting to this point is it’s not easy,” Godwin said. “You have to be surrounded by great teammates and great coaches who help push you to be the best you can be. They put you on the road you head down.”

-- @AaronKazreports

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