Clemson LB Woodaz Focused on Winning the Moment

Woodaz has kept his mentality very simple. 

“Just win the moment right now. Win the meetings, win the practice, then move on,” Woodaz said.

Playing against LSU’s stacked roster, Woodaz admitted on Wednesday a slight edge that LSU may have over the Tigers: transfer talent. 

Though knowing their names and seeing past film from the players, Woodaz and the defense haven’t seen them play altogether as a unit, proving to be a test come Saturday. 

“We’ve only really seen the scheme just because they’ve brought in a lot of guys. We haven’t gotten to see their offensive line work together. Obviously they’ve got some transfers like Barion Brown from Kentucky, Bauer Sharp from Oklahoma, and then Nic Anderson also from Oklahoma. So like, we haven’t gotten to see them in this scheme, but obviously we know what they can do,” Woodaz said. 

Bringing in transfer talent, LSU also has brought back sharp returners, including Heisman contender, Garrett Nussmeier. 

“We played against Barion Brown at Kentucky. He’s really good, he’s fast, but overall, the guys they’re bringing back are good too. Their running back, Caden Durham, is legit, too, and obviously Garrett Nussmeier. Dude can make any throw that he wants, they’re good for sure,” Woodaz said.

In previous season openers, the Tigers haven’t held up defensively. Just last year, the Tigers fell to the Georgia Bulldogs 34-3. Now, under the lights on Saturday, Woodaz is focused on doing his part in making it hard for LSU's offense to get through, and that’s by stopping the run.

“I mean, stopping the run, we didn’t do that at all last year really well. That’s definitely a goal of ours. Got to stop the run and then [when] you stop the run, you earn the right to rush the passer so really all starts with winning first down,” Woodaz said. 

Going up against Cade Klubnik and his receivers at camp hasn’t been easy, Woodaz said. But, he believes the matchups have been a true testament to get him and the rest of his teammates ready for the tough games, especially for this weekend. 

“Both scrimmages were really competitive, it’s definitely promising and we know what we’re going up against. Like, the dudes on our offense are legit, so being able to compete against them... It’s definitely just going to get us better. Like, look at our receiving group, they’re legit,” Woodaz said. “Our secondary having to go up against that every single day is iron sharpens iron.”

All eyes will shift to Clemson, S.C., on Saturday, waiting to see which Tiger will strike first and walk away with a chance for a swift playoff run - and bragging rights for the real ‘Death Valley.’ 

Yet, Woodaz is only focused on what’s in front of him. 

“We’re just really focused right now. I think if we keep our heads down and keep doing the work every single day, look up and great things will happen..It’s more so like, ‘How do I prepare for LSU this week,’... And then when it’s all said and done, it’ll be all said and done,” Woodaz said. 

Kickoff between Clemson and LSU is at 7:30 p.m. with television coverage on ABC.

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