Eason compares freshman Peter Woods to all-time Clemson greats

Peter Woods looks the part, but Nick Eason said the proof is in the pudding.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Mon Mar 13 13:20:12 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – It didn’t take long for freshman defensive lineman Peter Woods to make a statement in camp, and his position coach is already comparing Woods’ talent level to some of the best to ever come through Clemson.

Woods is the former 5-star prospect from Alabama who enrolled at Clemson in January. Woods finished his high school career with 260 tackles, 72 tackles for loss, and 29.5 sacks. He recorded 90 tackles, 23 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a senior despite being double-teamed the entire season.

According to reports, Wood was not only disruptive during Saturday’s stadium scrimmage, he was almost unblockable.

“Peter Woods has the twitchiness and the power and the quickness of some dominant NFL defensive linemen that I’ve been around,” defensive tackles coach Nick Eason said of Woods Friday.

Woods led Alabaster (AL) Thompson to four straight 7A State Championships from 2019-22 as his team compiled a 50-5 record in that span. However, Eason then said that Woods still has to prove it on the collegiate level.

“I’m not going to crown him the best ever or the best of this or nothing, because the proof’s in the pudding. Obviously, he’s got to play this year,” Eason said. “But I will say that he has the talent level to obviously be an All-American, one of the best that’s ever come through Clemson, in that list of great defensive linemen – the Michael Dean Perrys and the Trevor Pryces and the Grady Jarretts and Dexter Lawrence, and the list goes on and on.

“You think about great defensive tackles at Clemson, he has the tools to become that. Is he there yet? No. But does he have the tools to become a great defensive lineman and one of the best that’s ever come through here? Absolutely. But there’s a lot of work to be put in. But I can tell you this, that he’s very focused and that’s what he wants to do. So, that’s kind of how I see him.”

Defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin was asked what stands out about Woods.

“What doesn’t?” Goodwin said. “I mean, he’s special. He’s one of those that just rolls in. I mean, you just know he’s different. Just his explosiveness, and some of these recruiting sites knock him for not being tall enough, but he’s very much tall enough.”

Goodwin then said there is a lot to like about the freshman.

“He’s an amazing young man off the field,” Goodwin said. “Comes from a great family, great program, four state championships in the state of Alabama. So, he’s a winner. Works extremely hard. He’s powerful, explosive. He can play on the edge, play inside, he can play all the techniques up front, and he’s just super heavy-handed, explosive, violent. The list goes on and on. We could be here all day talking about him. But really excited to get him in the mix.”