Clemson mid-year enrollee Peter Woods is already emerging as a potential day-one starter.
The Tigers started spring practice on Monday, and coaches and players have taken notice of Woods, who ran out with the first-team defense during tempo drills on Tuesday.
Woods, a former five-star recruit, will have to earn his spot in the fall. But if Wes Goodwin’s comments on Tuesday indicate anything, it’s that the freshman defensive tackle has the ability to play right away.
“What doesn’t stand out?” Goodwin said of Woods. “He’s special. He’s one of those guys that just rolls in, and you know he’s different. He arrives, and he’s got the fourth or fifth most muscle mass on the team.”
Officially listed at 6-foot-2, 300 pounds, the Alabaster, Alabama, native has the physical tools to compete with Tyler Davis and Ruke Orhorhoro, who is out for the spring with a shoulder injury, as an every-down tackle.
“Some of these recruiting sites knock him for not being tall enough, but he’s very much tall enough,” Goodwin added. “He’s an amazing young man off the field. He comes from a great family and from a great program — four state championships in the state of Alabama — so he’s a winner. He works extremely hard and is powerful. He is explosive. He can play on the edge. He can play inside. He can play all the techniques up front.”
Woods has also made an early impression on his teammates, including linebacker Barrett Carter, who loved what he saw after the first couple of days at practice.
“Peter Woods is as advertised. I’m sure anybody on the team will say that,” Carter said on Tuesday. “I was watching the film yesterday, and he’s just man-handling offensive linemen as an incoming freshman. He definitely has a bright future.”
With Bryan Bresee leaving for the NFL as Davis and Orhororo enter their final years, Woods’ arrival comes at a perfect time for the Tigers’ defense.