UTEP’s WR Trey Goodman carries multiple roles on and off the field

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- During the beginning of the 2024 football season one UTEP Miner become a father on top of being a student athlete and a husband. Trey Goodman, a senior, was one of the 11 players who followed head coach Scotty Walden from Austin Peay.

Coach Walden became more than just a coach, he become a life mentor.

“There are a lot of coaches that actually don’t make mention to anything Christian or faith related a lot of times," Goodman said. "The thing that I love about coach Walden is that he doesn’t shy away from that. He is not afraid to let people know that he is a man of faith or someone who believes in Christ. Throughout my career the things that have allowed me to be the most successful are the principles and the habits that I’ve instilled through coach Walden and through our program and our team culture.”

Those life principles he's learned thus far have prepared Goodman for what was to come, like becoming a husband and a father in his senior year of college.

“If you would’ve told me four or five years ago that I would be a married man with two beautiful girls in my family that depend on me that I can provide for, I would’ve called your crazy," Goodman said. "Just to go from where I have come from to get to this position is an absolute blessing.”

Goodman and his now wife Mollie met at Austin Peay and got married in may of this year.

“While we were dating I knew that he was going to be a good dad already," Mollie said. "That’s one of the reasons we kept dating, I knew he was going to be a partner, a really good leader for our family and for our kids. I knew that I wasn’t just going to date someone for me, I was dating someone for my future kids.”

In August, Mollie gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Genesis.

“I really was excited," Trey said. "Being a father is a dream of mine that I’ve wanted for a very very long time.”

Trey was no longer just a leader in the football field, he had an even bigger responsibility at home while still balancing being a student athlete but he only saw it as an opportunity to grow.

“Being a student, being an athlete, being a father, being a husband, yes there are late nights, there are early mornings," Trey said. "Sometimes Genesis doesn’t sleep well but that’s what I'm supposed to be doing, I'm called to be a father, I'm called to serve my wife and serve my daughter.”

Although Trey's college career has come to a halt, it might not be the end of football for him.

“He’s definitely going take football as far as it’s going to take him," Mollie said. "Whether that be professional or XFL, whatever it’s going to take. Me and Gigi (Genesis) are excited to be on that journey with him. After that, yes I think that coaching is in his future. He has such a love and passion for football, I don’t see him ever stepping away from it in any capacity.”