Clemson LB reaction to getting championship chance: 'The dream's still alive'

Wade Woodaz says the dream is still alive for the Tigers.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Wednesday, December 04 2024

CLEMSON—It has been a trying season for junior linebacker Wade Woodaz, who has missed time with injuries. His most gruesome injury came on graduate safety R.J. Mickens’ interception against Virginia Tech, when Woodaz took three hits all in one play.

“I got banged up pretty bad. His knee hit my thigh (and), then I also got cleated, and then I got hit in my calf also. My leg (was) really bad. It was swollen, my quad was, and then the lower part of my entire leg, the entire thing all the way around it, was purple and blue. It was really gross. I couldn’t put my heel on the ground. I couldn’t straighten my leg. It was really a lose-lose because if I straighten my leg, my quad would tighten up. If I bent it, my calf would tighten up. But, I was battling to get back for the Pitt game, and it was Friday, and we were traveling, and I don’t think the plane made it any better. I just couldn’t walk,” Woodaz said. “So, that was pretty tough mentally just to go through that. I couldn’t do anything. I was just hobbling around everywhere. It was just painful. I put in the work trying to get back. I was literally here every single day from 7:30 in the morning to 9 pm trying to get back.

"I wasn’t able to get back for Pitt or The Citadel game and then I was able to run last week. (I) was able to jog a little bit on Monday and then progressively just got better moving up to the (South Carolina) game. It was a tough couple weeks though, sitting out (and) not being able to practice. I just felt hopeless. I literally couldn’t (put) my heel on the ground. So, it was brutal.”

Despite his trying season, Woodaz received an Honorable Mention for the All-ACC team. He had 67 tackles in the 10 regular season games he was able to play, including two games with double-digit tackles. Woodaz also finished the season with three sacks, three forced fumbles and an interception. His eight tackles for loss this year were also a career-high.

On Saturday when No. 17 Clemson plays No. 8 SMU in the ACC Championship game, it will mark the second ACC Championship game Woodaz has been a part of as the Tigers were also in Charlotte in his rookie season. Coming off an emotional rivalry loss and going into this Championship game, Woodaz said the Tigers will not let the Gamecocks loss linger.

“After the loss, sitting there in traffic was not fun, and then getting home, I turned on the Syracuse game, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ I literally jumped up and down. So, I’m really thankful for the opportunity that we get to go and play again. Shout out to Syracuse,” Woodaz said. “Sitting here and dwelling on the loss to South Carolina isn’t going to help us out on Saturday. Yes, we have to learn from it. We got to look at our mistakes, where we messed up. But, in the end, we have another shot. So, we got to take full advantage of it … We’re all excited to go play. The dream’s still alive … We got to move on. I would just say the entire team’s ready to get back to work.”