Top 2021 DL Brayden Wood Previews Notre Dame Visit

Notre Dame really wanted to get Brayden Wood‍ to its season-opener against Michigan earlier this month, the repeated emails to the 2021 Colorado defensive end's coach said as much.

“I couldn’t get there because we play on Friday nights,” the 6-foot-3, 250-pound sophomore explained.

But this week, Wood’s Fairview High School squad plays on Thursday, giving him the chance to get out to South Bend to see the Irish’s primetime matchup against Stanford on Saturday.

“It’s pretty good timing with two Top 10 teams and I’d love to see campus, so I might as well go,” said Wood.

His interest in Notre Dame is already legit and he’s excited to see and learn more about Notre Dame.

“It’s not just football,” he said. “It’s academics for me, so what they’re known for, not even on the field, but the school in general. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the coaches and the program and the campus and the school, everything in general.

“I want to see the campus. I want to see a day in the life of an athlete, what that would be like, especially during school. Of course, I want to see the facilities and the stadium of course and meet all of the coaches.”

The Longmont, Colo., native already has a couple potential majors in mind.

“I’ll probably follow what a lot of my family did and study either Communications or Business,” he said.

Wood has early offers from Colorado State, Texas Tech and Syracuse.

“Obviously, not a lot of people play their freshman year, so for them to see how good of an athlete you are at such a young age puts a lot of trust in you and puts a lot of pressure on you,” he acknowledged. “Obviously, they can yank that in a heartbeat. For them to believe in me, honestly means a lot to me.

“It does put a red X on me just because people are going to be jealous. People are going to be wanting that opportunity, so they’ll be coming at me even more.”

Wood has already noticed the extra attention from opponents with double and triple-teams this fall.

In addition to the Irish, Wood is also receiving interest from schools like Clemson, Northwestern, Baylor, Michigan, Kansas State and Arizona State.

“I’m a pretty versatile player,” he said. “I can play end, I can play three-tech and I can also drop back if necessary. I’m all over the field. I’m starting on kickoff, defense, offense. I’m not really getting taken out of the ballgame.

“Another thing is my leadership. I’m one of our captains. Honestly, as a sophomore, it says a lot. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on that, saying they love that.”

Wood doesn’t have a positional preference.

“It doesn’t really matter to me, wherever they see me and wherever I fit the best as long as I get to play,” he said.

This will be his first unofficial visit this fall, but has a few other potential trips in mind.

“I’m going to see Clemson play North Carolina State and then I’ll probably just go see a CU or CSU game with some buddies since it’s right in the backyard,” he said.

Wood wants to find a home away from home and he does plan on going away for college.

“I’m really looking to get out of state. I want to see a new part of the world. I want to feel like I’m at home. I want to know the coaches want me for me, not just my athleticism. Of course, number one is academics. I want to get a good education somewhere I know I’m going to be set for life after football.”