Mike Woods, the newest member of the Oklahoma roster, came to Oklahoma with two goals: put up big numbers and win football games.
Woods’ transfer from Arkansas to OU last spring has already caught the attention of his teammates.
“That dude, he's strong,” Sooners cornerback D.J. Graham said Tuesday. “He’s strong. He’s a physical receiver. He has strong hands.
“He doesn't do much juking in the open field; he's gonna put his head down.”
Woods laughed a little at Woods’ perception of him during a Zoom press conference Wednesday.
“My dad pretty much engrained it in me,” Woods said. “He said like, ‘Every time they get up on you, get them off of you and make them fear you,’ basically.”
Running violently into defenders is a tactic running backs like Walter Payton and Adrian Peterson used during their Hall of Fame careers. Who says a wideout can’t do it too?
“DBs don't expect that coming from a receiver,” Woods said. “They expect us to try to avoid contact from them. So instead of thinking like that, I was trying to bring a contact to them. And so it just catches them off guard, and I find success in that.”
Woods’ tactics have led to success. In his first three seasons with the Razorbacks, the 6-foot-1, 198-pound Woods — who has two years of eligibility left — caught 81 passes for 1,248 yards and 10 touchdowns. Woods is versatile, catching the deep ball and working underneath. His per-catch average of 15.4 yards shows he can go over the top or run through tackles.
It’s a trait the OU defensive backs have figured out quickly over the first five days of practice.
“You got to — if you're trying to poke the ball out — you got to go through his hands,” Graham said. “And he's gonna catch it.”
After a 2020 season in which the Sooner receiver corps underachieved, according to their head coach, Woods may be the perfect addition at the perfect time: an experienced, dynamic receiver who plays hard, plays physical and leads by example.
“Really experienced player,” Riley said. “Had some great tape. We felt like (he had) a need at receiver that we needed to address and so ended up I think, being a great fit. I've been able to see him run around some this summer, and he's an explosive kid. So we'll give him an opportunity, but I think he's got a chance to help us.”
For Woods, the opportunity couldn’t be better.
“I felt it was the best move for my career to just find another opportunity,” he said. “And as a wide receiver, you look at OU every year putting out these big numbers and every receiver wants to be in an offense like this. So it was pretty easy when they reached out to me. You see what Coach Riley does with transfers, and what his receivers are doing and also his quarterbacks. So it was a pretty easy decision.”
Woods said the success of recent wideouts like CeeDee Lamb, coupled with elite-level quarterback play that produced two Heisman winners and two No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, and seamlessly worked Jalen Hurts into the fold as a transfer from Alabama was appealing.
“When you look at that, you just, your eyes get big and you’re like, ‘Man, like, what would that be like?’ So, like I said, every college football wide receiver wants to be in an offense like that. And also you see the transitions, how smooth the transitions are for people that transfer in here. And like I said, it was a no brainer how I felt like that could help my career.”
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