CLEMSON – Historically, Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods has been a winner.
In high school, the Alabaster, Ala., native helped his Thompson Warriors to four consecutive 7A State Championships, notching 29.5 sacks and 72 tackles-for-loss along the way.
“He’s been raised in Alabaster, and he started playing for us in the eighth grade,” Woods’ high school coach said of the five-star recruit in 2022. “He was just a guy that I felt like when he was mature enough physically, that he was going to be a good player.”
After playing in a state championship game as an eighth grader, Woods helped his team to a 50-5 record in his high school career, finishing as a first-team All-American and MaxPreps’ Alabama Player of the Year in 2022.
At a quick glance, it seems the first time Woods’ has experienced adversity in his football career is this season, as the Clemson Tigers have started with a 1-3 record for the first time since 2004 and an 0-2 mark in ACC-play since 2010.
Yet, through the greatness of Woods’ high school career, the decorated veteran began his senior campaign in 2022 with two consecutive losses, a start that no fans or foes anticipated. Similarly, few fans, coaches, or media outlets saw Clemson’s season beginning with three prompt defeats.
“Nobody expected us to start the season off like this,” Woods said. “This wasn’t in the coaches’ notes for the bye-week. But it’s all about how you respond. Where we’re at now just kind of takes me back to when I was in high school and everybody talks about how my team won four state championships and nobody really talks about how we started 0-2 my senior year, and the reason for that is because of how we responded.”
After a 38-7 blowout loss to the Buford Wolves and a 24-14 defeat at the hands of the Lipscomb Academy Mustangs, the Thompson Warriors went on a 11-game winning streak, cementing Woods as one of the most decorated players in school history.
The now-college-junior believes that experience will be helpful to get the Tigers get back on track.
“What do you think we’re going to do now?” Woods rhetorically asked media members on Tuesday at the Smart Media Center in Clemson. “Respond. I’ve been here before. I know (head) Coach (Dabo) Swinney has been here before, and some of our leadership has been here before. So, we’re not going to flinch.”
So far this year, Woods has recorded 22 tackles, a ½ tackle for loss with one pass breakup and no sacks. Still, the veteran is convinced that the only way to move forward personally, and as a team, is to stop looking at the past.
“Everybody’s looking forward at what we can do to be better and we owe it to ourselves,” he said. “We owe it to those seniors, our fans and and just everybody just to be better all across the board. And it all just comes down to a response. So that’s what we plan on doing.”
Clemson’s next chance to show its response will be on Oct. 4, when the Tigers travel to Chapel Hill to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, a team that has not beaten Clemson since the 0-2 ACC start in 2010.
