Lemanski Hall is thrilled Peter Woods is on his team

Five-star prospect Peter Woods has his coaches excited to see what he can do this fall.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sat May 06 07:00:22 GMT-04:00 2023

CLEMSON – Clemson returns to game action on Sept. 4th in the season opener at Duke, and it won’t matter if freshman defender Peter Woods is playing tackle or end, Lemanski Hall will just be glad that Woods is on his side.

Many inside the Clemson program felt that the Tigers got the best prep player in the country when Woods signed. It didn’t take Woods long – just one or two practices – to wow coaches and his teammates alike with his work ethic and freaky athletic ability.

During Clemson’s Pro Day – a day in which upperclassmen work out for NFL coaches, general managers, and scouts, Woods drew plenty of stares and whispers as he wandered around the field inside the Poe Indoor Facility.

He then responded with seven tackles, a sack, and a blocked kick in the Orange and White Game, putting his athletic ability on display for all to see. Hall, Clemson’s defensive ends coach, is just happy to see Woods in orange.

“Coach (Dabo) Swinney talks about, ‘You know it when you see it.’ I saw Peter Woods as a freshman, and I was like ‘wow,’” Hall told TigerNet. “You don’t get to see many guys like that … I’m happy he’s on our team.”

As a senior last season, Woods tallied 54 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks. He finished his career at Alabaster (AL) Thompson with 260 tackles, 72 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks.

“He’s a physical kid, he’s twitched-up,” Hall said. “He plays with tremendous effort. He had a great D-line coach coming out of high school, so the foundation for him is already there. He’s a competitor, he’s hungry. He’s all those things.”

Woods was ranked by ESPN.com as one of the nation’s top 10 players regardless of position by ESPN, the highest ranking of any member of Clemson’s 2023 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him No. 9 overall and as the best defensive tackle in the nation, and he was also listed by ESPN as the second-best player in Alabama. Woods ranked 14th in Sports Illustrated’s SI99 for 2023, and ranked No. 59 overall player by 247Sports, which also ranked him as the seventh-best player in Alabama and eighth-best defensive tackle. Woods was ranked No. 54 overall by Rivals, as well as the eighth-best player in Alabama and fifth-best defensive tackle in the nation as a 5-star prospect.

Clemson has a plethora of depth at defensive tackle heading into the fall – Ruke Orhorhoro and Tyler Davis eschewed the NFL Draft to return for another season, Payton Page and Tré Williams have NFL talent and plenty of experience, and DeMonte Capehart is starting to come into his own.

However, the Tigers are thin at defensive end and there is a chance that Woods, with his quick-twitch ability, could see time on the outside.

“Peter Woods can play anywhere he wants to on the D-line. He’s just that good,” Hall said. “Right now, he’s been playing mostly inside. But he’s going to play wherever we need him to play, and he can do it. He can play that position at a high level as well. So if we need him to play at an end position, that’s where he’ll play.”