Tag: Peyton Woodyard

Relationships landed freshman S Peyton Woodyard in Eugene, says Tosh Lupoi

Oregon Ducks defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi said strong relationships helped land S Peyton Woodyard out of the transfer portal.

The Oregon Ducks’ 2024 recruiting class was signed, sealed, and delivered, going down in school history as the best that was ever put together in Eugene.

And then another massive addition came.

Following the conclusion of spring ball, former Alabama Crimson Tide freshman safety Peyton Woodyard entered the transfer portal. He did so with a “do not contact” tag, and quickly ended up in Eugene with the Ducks.

Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi says that it’s the relationships build between staff and player that helped that process take place so quickly.

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“We had a great past relationship,” Lupoi said on Thursday. “Coming from St. John Bosco, that’s also Matayo Uigalelei’s school. We’ve got a great relationship with that coaching staff a lot of respect there for Jason Negro and Chris King there and Coach Lowe. They do a hell of a job.”

As a former 4-star recruit who was rated as the No. 116 overall player in the 2024 class, the Ducks tried hard to land him out of high school. Instead, Woodyard chose Alabama but was forced to reconsider things after the legendary Nick Saban announced his retirement.

He stuck it out with former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer for the spring season but ultimately knew that Tuscaloosa was not where his heart was.

“We felt like we ended at number two in the process there in the recruitment,” Lupoi said. “I’m assuming he went through spring and, for whatever reason, felt like his heart wasn’t there. And when the transfer portal opened, he went into that portal. We obviously reached out to his coaches in school and wanted to reinforce that he has a home here.”

Now, Woodyard ends up back on the West Coast close to his home, and playing alongside his former high school teammate, Uiagalelei, with whom he won a state championship with at St. John Bosco.

The depth chart is relatively stacked at the safety position, with guys like Kobe Savage, Tysheem Johnson, and Brandon Johnson projected as the starters in 2024. But Woodyard has the talent to contribute, and he could contribute as soon as this year if all goes well.

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Alabama transfer Peyton Woodyard reveals new jersey number with Oregon Ducks

Peyton Woodyard is officially in Eugene.

While Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks made a major splash in the transfer portal early this offseason during the first transfer window, one of the biggest additions came more recently during the spring window.

That’s when they landed a commitment from former Alabama Crimson Tide freshman safety Peyton Woodyard.

As a highly-rated member of the 2024 recruiting class, Woodyard is yet to take any college snaps, but he was the No. 116 overall player in his class and now is one of the headliners of the Ducks’ freshman group.

On Monday, Woodyard took to social media to give some energy to the Duck fanbase, unveiling his jersey number with his new squad.

Woodyard, who will be wearing No. 12 at Oregon, is one of several incoming transfers to recently touch down in Eugene, joining new Ducks Brandon Johnson and Derrick Harmon.

While we didn’t get to see him during spring ball, all Oregon fans are incredibly excited to see what this freshman can do in his first year as a Duck.

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Oregon Ducks land commitment from Alabama S transfer Peyton Woodyard

The Oregon Ducks landed a commitment from Alabama safety transfer Peyton Woodyard, an elite member of the 2024 recruiting class.

While Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks didn’t have a lot of needs to fill in the spring transfer portal window, we know from experience that they aren’t ever going to turn down top talent that wants to come to Eugene. That was the case with former Alabama Crimson Tide safety Peyton Woodyard, a true freshman from the 2024 class who committed to the Ducks after entering the portal last week.

Woodyard was a 4-star prospect in the class of 2024, rated by 247Sports as the No. 115 overall player, and the No. 8 safety in the class. He enrolled early at Alabama, but after the departure of legendary coach Nick Saban, Woodyard gave Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide a few months to win him over and decided that he wanted a change of scenery.

The Ducks swooped in and were able to get Woodyard, who entered the portal with a “do not contact” tag, meaning that he likely had a good idea about where he wanted to go when making the decision.

Going forward, Woodyard will join an incredibly talented and young safety room in Eugene, where Aaron Flowers, the No. 102 player and No. 7 safety in the class of 2024, put on a show at the annual spring game. The two should be dynamic together going forward in Eugene.

Report: Alabama transfer S Peyton Woodward to take Oregon visit

Alabama transfer Peyton Woodward is set to visit Oregon this coming weekend, per report.

The spring transfer portal has been quiet for the Oregon Ducks. At least, the Ducks have been quiet relative to their habits in past portal windows. One exception could be Peyton Woodward, a safety who joined the Alabama Crimson Tide in the class of 2024.

Woodyard entered the portal on Monday with a “do-not-contact tag” at the tail end of his first spring football season. A do-not-contact tag typically means the player already has their next school picked out, and as Pete Nakos reported Tuesday morning, Oregon is the favorite to land Woodyard.

The Ducks put a lot of recruiting capital into Woodyard during his initial high school recruitment, hosting him for an unofficial visit in April 2022. Now that he’s in the portal, Woodyard is expected to visit the Ducks again this upcoming weekend, according to a report from Matt Zenitz. Woodyard was a 4-star safety recruit and ranked by 247Sports as the No. 20 S in the class of 2024.

If Woodyard commits, he’ll be one in a crowd of elite defensive backs Oregon has brought in this offseason. In the winter transfer portal, the Ducks brought in safety Kobe Savage and cornerback Jabbar Muhammad, both of whom are expected to start in the fall. And in the 2024 high school class, Oregon signed four 4-star DB recruits.

Oregon’s depth of experience in their secondary means Woodyard, wouldn’t see much of the field in his freshmen year if he were to join up with the Ducks, but the competition in the Oregon DB group would be a great way to develop. Both of Oregon’s starting deep safeties will be out of eligibility after the 2024 season, so the Ducks will need to lean on their young talent to fill those holes.

Former Ohio State football target has entered the transfer portal

Could another former member of the Crimson Tide be headed to Columbus?

During the recruitment of [autotag]Peyton Woodyard[/autotag], Ohio State football was always seen as a potential landing spot for him.

Ultimately the California safety signed with Alabama, but like many others before him, has decided to move on from the Crimson Tide following the retirement of Nick Saban.

The Buckeyes have already benefited from the change, as they added safety Caleb Downs, quarterback Julian Sayin and center Seth McLaughlin. Could another be on the way?

It’s hard to say at this moment, as Woodyard has entered the portal with a do not contact tag, meaning that he most likely already knows where he is headed next.

Could it be Columbus? It could be, but he also was once a Georgia commitment and also highly considered staying home and playing for USC. It is now a wait-and-see with Woodyard and the Buckeyes.

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Ducks could be major contender to land Alabama transfer S Peyton Woodyard

The Oregon Ducks could be adding a big-time safety transfer in Alabama’s Peyton Woodyard.

We knew that in this spring transfer portal window, the Oregon Ducks were in a position where they didn’t have any major needs to fill, but would be aggressive in pursuing certain players if they could help the team immediately, and became available.

That became a possibility on Monday, with former Alabama Crimson Tide safety Peyton Woodyard entering the transfer portal. Woodyard is going to be a true freshman in 2024, and he is from Bellflower, California, having played high school ball with Matayo Uiagalelei at St. John Bosco.

Woodyard was a 4-star recruit in the class of 2024, rated as the No. 115 overall player and No. 8 safety in the nation.

Before committing to Alabama, Woodyard placed the Ducks among his top schools, and took an unofficial visit to Oregon as well. This is certainly a player to watch for the Ducks in the portal, coming at a position where they could bolster their roster with more talent.

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Former 4-star, Alabama safety enters transfer portal with ‘do not contact’ tag

Former four-star recruit and Alabama safety Peyton Woodyard has entered the transfer portal with a “do not contact” tag.

The Alabama Crimson Tide football program took a hit to its defensive back room on Monday. According to On3’s Pete Nakos, former four-star recruit and freshman safety Peyton Woodyard is expected to enter the transfer portal.

Woodyard arrived in Tuscaloosa following early signing day. He had a strong spring and had an impressive showing at Alabama’s A-Day spring game.

An interesting thing to note is that Woodyard has a “do not contact” tag. Meaning he likely knows which program he will play for to begin his college career. Whatever the case may be, he was expected to be a vital part of Alabama’s secondary moving forward. He was going to help add depth to the Crimson Tide’s secondary. Now, it will be interesting to see where he ends up.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow the latest regarding the Alabama football program and its involvement in the transfer portal.

Predicting 5 early signees that will contribute as true freshmen

There is plenty of talent in Alabama’s 2024 recruiting class. Roll Tide Wire predicts five of Alabama’s early signees that will contribute as true freshmen next season.

Alabama seems always to have several players who  step up and make immediate impacts as true freshmen. In some cases, there are several that earn starting roles. In 2023, former five-stars Kadyn Proctor and Caleb Downs both started as true freshmen.

Alabama has one of the highest-ranked recruiting classes in the country for the 2024 recruiting class. There is talent to go around at every position. The Alabama coaching staff has done an excellent job of filling in holes at positions that will see turnover in the offseason.

Roll Tide Wire predicts five Alabama early signees that will contribute as true freshmen during the 2024-2025 season.

Notre Dame in final group for elite California defensive back

The Irish will soon know if he joins the 2024 class

The Irish now have 25 players committed to their 2023 recruiting class but that doesn’t mean they might not add one or two more. It all really depends on who declares early for the NFL Draft or transfers.

What it doesn’t impact is the 2024 recruiting cycle, where Marcus Freeman is off to a hot start with seven commits, one of the best early classes in the country. The group has a very good early mix on offense and defense but there could be a massive addition brewing in California in safety Peyton Woodyard. The defensive back released this top 7 school and the Irish made the cut along with Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon and USC.

We will know soon if the Irish will add Woodyard to their 2024 class, as he is expected to make an announcement on January 7th at the All-American game.

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St. John Bosco 5-star safety Peyton Woodyard flips from Georgia to Alabama

Yesterday Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide successfully flipped one of the top defensive recruits in the Bulldogs’ class of 2024

Georgia may be the two-time reigning college champions on the field, but Alabama is still giving them a run for their money in the recruiting race. Yesterday Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide successfully flipped one of the top defensive recruits in the Bulldogs’ class of 2024.

Here’s how St. John Bosco’s five-star safety Peyton Woodyard announced that he was changing his commitment from Georgia to Alabama.

Woodyard (6-foot-2, 188 pounds) is ranked No. 6 at safety, No. 9 overall in California and No. 81 nationally, going by the 247Sports composite.

Woodyard explained his decision, telling Hayes Fawcett at On3 that Saban has done a great job coaching up defensive backs.

“Coach Saban has done a great job with DBs and it’s evident and that’s something that definitely played a role in me picking alabama. Specifically the safety position, from Minkah Fitzpatrick, Brian Branch to Eddie Jackson. I feel no one does it better than Bama.”

Georgia’s class of 2024 is still No. 1 in the nation in the recruiting rankings. However, their lead over No. 2 Ohio State has dwindled to 23 points. Meanwhile, Alabama has risen to No. 4.

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