ALABASTER Ala. — The Clemson Insider’s Tour of Champions traveled on Wednesday to Thompson High School, home to big-time Clemson target, Peter Woods
Woods — a 6-foot-3, 265-pound junior — ranks as the No. 4 defensive lineman in the country for the class of 2023 according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
After naming a top six, which includes Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, Auburn and Florida, Woods gave the latest on his recruitment and where things stand after a couple of January visits.
“I’ve just been thinking about making some official and unoffcial visits,” Woods said. “That will be monumental to making my decision in the spring. My idea right now is to try to go ahead and get my decision made before my senior season, but you know it’s all God’s plan. If that’s not the plan — I don’t know — then I’m not gonna force it. That’s kind of where I am right now.”
This past season, he recorded 93 tackles (27 for loss) and 14 sacks. After having a dominant junior campaign, Woods had a funny story to pass along.. He was making his highlight clip and as he was going through his film, there’s a certain time that you have to make the video.
“I’m going through my highlight film and I was like, ‘Dang, this is way too long,’” Woods recalled. “I have all these plays, all these tackles that could have ended up cutting down from about like 10 minutes to like three minutes. I think that I did get a lot of what I wanted to get on there, of course, there’s gonna be some things you leave off just for the sake of time, but I think in my highlight, you get the gist of the type of player that I am.”
Versatility is a big thing for Woods, it makes him an interchangeable presence across a defensive front.
“Explosive,” Woods said when asked to describe himself as a player. “I pride myself on being explosive, being able to beat the guy with my first step. That’s one thing and Football IQ. I’m really smart in the game, like for instance, if I’m pass-rushing, I know what kind of points to hit, how to use my angles and stuff like that. The sciences of football is something I’ve really taken to.”
Workouts have already started for Thompson High School. In fact, they started back in January. As Woods prepares for his final season of high school football, he’s working on his flexibility. He feels that aspect of his game, also helps him with his speed and his agility.
As Woods indicated, he would like to have a decision made prior to his senior season. With that being said, what are some of the biggest factors he’s ultimately going to consider when it comes time to make that decision.
“The main thing with me is just the people that I know I’m gonna be around and be involved with,” he said. “And just the people in the environment, not just the people that I’ll be directly involved with, but people who will be able to impact my life and vice versa. That’s probably number one for me and, of course, the coaches and the playstyle and all that other stuff will factor in, but that’s my number one.”
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