Peter Woods feeling more like himself going into second road trip

Peter Woods says he started feeling more like himself to start the Wake Forest game week.

Ariana Pensy - Correspondent - Friday, October 11 2024

CLEMSON — After suffering an injury against Appalachian State in the Tigers' home opener and missing the next two games, sophomore defensive lineman Peter Woods returned in Clemson’s game against Florida State. He says that he could have played earlier, but it was more important to put his health first.

“I feel like I probably could have got out there and probably done a little bit against Stanford, but there wasn’t really any point (because) there was a kind of big risk of me probably getting reinjured. It’s a long season and you just got to weigh out the options,” Woods said. “We got a lot of guys that we trust in the defensive end room that can just come in and get the job done whenever. So, it wasn’t really a rush. I just wanted to get back to Florida State where I felt like I could actually contribute and help and be a part of the team’s win.”

Ever since his first game as a true freshman last season, Woods has been a presence on the defensive line. While he was certainly missed in the two games he missed, Clemson showed its depth with the defensive linemen that stepped up in his absence, including Jahiem Lawson, who has nine tackles, two for a loss, as well as a pass breakup so far this season. That is part of what allowed Woods to take his time in his recovery as there was a little rust on Saturday against the Seminoles.

“In the FSU game, I definitely had to work through a couple cobwebs, and I needed that game. I needed to do that to see where I was at, and I would say Monday was one of the first times that I felt like me,” Woods said. “(So), that feels good, and that’s kind of attributed to actually going in there and playing football a little bit this past Saturday.”

Besides being an elite playmaker, Woods has been a leader ever since he stepped onto campus. While he was more a lead-by-example kind of player as a freshman, he is becoming more of a vocal leader.

For some players, this can take some time, but for Woods, it was a lot more natural despite the fact that he is one of the younger players on the team.

“I feel like it’s kind of a natural thing. I don’t really think leadership is age or a title. It’s action and responsibility. That’s what (defensive tackles coach) Coach Eason tells us all the time, and so, that’s just kind of a thing that we’ve taken across all position groups. It’s not just me,” Woods said. “It’s other guys who are my age and maybe even younger than me who take leadership roles and leadership looks different. Some guys are super vocal. Some guys are just leading by example. I feel like everybody just takes a role in different ways that they can lead and that just kind of makes everybody push up towards the top.”

Easing back into things allows Woods to be closer to 100 percent when No. 10 Clemson takes on Wake Forest this coming Saturday (noon / ESPN) to remain undefeated in the conference. Currently, the Tigers are one of five teams undefeated in the ACC—the other four being No. 6 Miami, No. 22 Pittsburgh, No. 25 SMU, and Virginia, which Clemson plays on Oct. 19 (noon / ACC Network).