Raymond Woodie III Ready To Experience Notre Dame For Himself

Notre Dame offered 2019 athlete Raymond Woodie III‍ in June of 2017, and Autry Denson has been on him ever since. The persistence has paid off as the four-star prospect will be in South Bend March 2nd-4th. 

“Ever since they offered me, we have been in good communication,” Woodie told Irish Sports Daily. “I have been speaking with Coach Denson a lot, and we’ve built a great relationship. I’ve heard a lot of great things about the school, and I want to see it for myself.” 

The conversations with Denson have intrigued the Florida State University School (Fla.) standout because they aren’t just about football. 

“We talk about football, but we also talk about life, and that’s what makes him different,” explained Woodie. “He’s not one of those coaches that just talks about football. He realizes football isn’t forever and there are other things in life outside of football.” 

Woodie’s father coaches linebackers at Florida State, but the last year has been a whirlwind. Woodie is part of Willie Taggart’s core staff and has been with him at Western Kentucky, South Florida and Oregon, which means the 6-foot-1, 180-pounder has moved across the country twice in the last year. 

“It helps me because I’m in a lot of different settings and I've had to adjust quickly,” stated Woodie. “I’ve gotten to travel, and it makes my people skills better because I’ve had to meet so many different people.” 

Woodie holds offers from programs like Duke, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Penn State, Purdue, Tennessee, USC and Vanderbilt, but there is some debate on where he ends up at the next level. 

“They see me as a defensive back,” Woodie said of Notre Dame’s projection. “Most schools are recruiting me as a defensive back. There are a couple recruiting me as a receiver, but it’s mostly as a defensive back.” 

While the Irish will host Woodie in March, he also would like to visit a few more programs this spring. 

“I might get to Louisville and Penn State this spring,” he explained. “I just went to Auburn a couple of weeks ago. I want to get to Arkansas, Ole Miss and probably Florida.” 

On those visits, Woodie will be looking at a few different aspects to help narrow his list down. 

“My family is big on academics, so I want to find out if it’s a good academic school,” explained Woodie. “I want to see how the coaches interact with each other and if it’s a family atmosphere. I want to see how the players are with each other. I want to see if there’s a chance for early playing time too.” 

Once he has narrowed it down, Woodie will take his official visits. As of now, he’s planning on making those trips in the fall. 

“I’ve thought about it a little bit,” said Woodie. “I’m going to sign early. I was leaning towards taking them early, but now I am thinking about taking some right before December to experience game atmospheres.”