Notre Dame Football Recruiting
JT Woods has Big Goals On and Off the Field
April 8, 2017
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Notre Dame defensive coordinator Mike Elko hit the ground running when he inked with the Irish program in December. The attention to detail on the recruiting trail is leaving no stone unturned and finding athletes in every corner of the country.
2018 Steele (Texas) safety JT Woods is a player Elko recently reached out to and the 6-foot-3, 175-pounder noticed something different in Elko’s approach right off the bat.
“I have just been making general conversation with Coach Elko over Twitter,” Woods told Irish Sports Daily. “We are building a relationship right now. He’s obviously a coach that cares about his players if he is actually trying to build a relationship with me. You don’t always find that with coaches.”
The three-star prospect holds offers from Army, Baylor, Brown, Columbia, Houston, and Navy. Woods says the offers motivate him to work ever harder as he see’s each offer as an opportunity.
“It’s humbling for me,” explained Woods. “I know the next level isn’t going to be easy. I am going to have to work even harder than I do now so that I can be successful. If anything, I don’t ever get big-headed, and I don’t ever see myself as making it. My mindset is always about bettering myself so that I can be successful over the next four years of my life.”
Offers from Brown and Columbia are telling, and Woods takes pride in holding the chance to attend an Ivy League school.
“My parents set it in my me and my sister's head that academics were going to be a priority at a young age,” stated Woods. “It’s never been a choice to come home with a B or stuff like that.”
“The biggest thing that stands out is the education I will be getting,” he stated. “I want a good education, but a good educational environment and one I can thrive in.
“From a football standpoint, I don’t look at wins and losses as much as coaches. I want to see how the coaches build their players as men and develop their character. They always say ‘The next four years of your life will determine the next 40.’”
Woods is a mature kid with high goals, but one goal sticks out above the rest.
“I want to major in Molecular Biology,” Woods said. “I would like to use that major to create medicines to cure diseases and stuff like that – hopefully, I can cure cancer. That’s always been something I think I can accomplish.”
On the field, Woods is currently improving his game when he can work around his track schedule. The Texas native is currently No. 2 in Texas in the 110m hurdles.
“I am working on my footwork and my hips,” Woods explained. “Defensive backs footwork and hips can never be good enough. I have been hitting the ladders and the hip workouts hard.
“I need to get my weight up too. Getting strong and hitting the weight room harder than I did before is something I am focused on. I have a lot to prove.”
Notre Dame is a school Woods would love to visit and time will tell when it comes the interest from the Irish staff. Woods does have three visits planned, and one is to one of Notre Dame’s biggest rivals.
“I plan on going to Stanford this summer,” said Woods. “I am going to Texas Tech and Baylor. Those are the next three I have planned out right now, but we will see what schools invite me to visit. I want to visit a lot of schools to get a feel for what is around me.”
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2018 Steele (Texas) safety JT Woods is a player Elko recently reached out to and the 6-foot-3, 175-pounder noticed something different in Elko’s approach right off the bat.
“I have just been making general conversation with Coach Elko over Twitter,” Woods told Irish Sports Daily. “We are building a relationship right now. He’s obviously a coach that cares about his players if he is actually trying to build a relationship with me. You don’t always find that with coaches.”
The three-star prospect holds offers from Army, Baylor, Brown, Columbia, Houston, and Navy. Woods says the offers motivate him to work ever harder as he see’s each offer as an opportunity.
“It’s humbling for me,” explained Woods. “I know the next level isn’t going to be easy. I am going to have to work even harder than I do now so that I can be successful. If anything, I don’t ever get big-headed, and I don’t ever see myself as making it. My mindset is always about bettering myself so that I can be successful over the next four years of my life.”
Offers from Brown and Columbia are telling, and Woods takes pride in holding the chance to attend an Ivy League school.
“My parents set it in my me and my sister's head that academics were going to be a priority at a young age,” stated Woods. “It’s never been a choice to come home with a B or stuff like that.”
I want to see how the coaches build their players as men and develop their character.
When it comes to criteria in a program, it comes as no shock Woods holds academics in high regard. “The biggest thing that stands out is the education I will be getting,” he stated. “I want a good education, but a good educational environment and one I can thrive in.
“From a football standpoint, I don’t look at wins and losses as much as coaches. I want to see how the coaches build their players as men and develop their character. They always say ‘The next four years of your life will determine the next 40.’”
Woods is a mature kid with high goals, but one goal sticks out above the rest.
“I want to major in Molecular Biology,” Woods said. “I would like to use that major to create medicines to cure diseases and stuff like that – hopefully, I can cure cancer. That’s always been something I think I can accomplish.”
On the field, Woods is currently improving his game when he can work around his track schedule. The Texas native is currently No. 2 in Texas in the 110m hurdles.
“I am working on my footwork and my hips,” Woods explained. “Defensive backs footwork and hips can never be good enough. I have been hitting the ladders and the hip workouts hard.
“I need to get my weight up too. Getting strong and hitting the weight room harder than I did before is something I am focused on. I have a lot to prove.”
Notre Dame is a school Woods would love to visit and time will tell when it comes the interest from the Irish staff. Woods does have three visits planned, and one is to one of Notre Dame’s biggest rivals.
“I plan on going to Stanford this summer,” said Woods. “I am going to Texas Tech and Baylor. Those are the next three I have planned out right now, but we will see what schools invite me to visit. I want to visit a lot of schools to get a feel for what is around me.”
If you enjoyed this article, please share it with the Social Media buttons below.
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