Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
- Ranking Florida’s chances with targets committing in July
- Commitment Burn Barometer
- Green talks Florida commitment
- Getting to Know: Daniel Pierre Louis
- Buy, Sell, Hold: Official Visit Weekend Prospects
- Getting to Know: Onis Konanbanny
- Post-Spring/Transfer Portal Ranking of Florida position-by-position
- Getting to Know: Byron Louis
When you think of recruiting hot spots for the University of Florida, most of the time you think of the Sunshine State in particular, and the southeast in general. That’s just where a lot of the talent the Gators get comes from, which is why it was somewhat surprising to hear that the newest Gator tearing it up during spring ball hails from Shawnee, Kansas.
True freshman edge rusher Jayden Woods is not only looking to put his name out there, but he is also looking to put his town on the map.
Woods has already made his presence felt in spring workouts by impressing everyone who watched him. “This Jayden Woods has stood out,” Billy Napier said earlier in the spring when he was asked about the younger players.” He can rush. He’ll be able to run. He’s loose-hipped. He can play on special teams. Just a phenomenal human being and worker.”
Not only has Woods been getting praise from his coaches, but he is also getting it from his fellow players. Tyreak Sapp, senior edge rusher for Florida, was the first to go public about the true freshman. “Coming from, I feel like, coming from a place where he comes from (Kansas), I feel like he’s gotta have that blue-collar, blue-chip mentality because when people look at Kansas and football, it doesn’t really go hand-in-hand. He came here with a chip on his shoulder. I love the kid.”
If that isn’t enough, when asked which defensive lineman has given the offense the most trouble over the spring, Florida offensive line coach Jonathan Decoster replied, “Number 15 (Woods’ number).”
A reason that Woods has seen so much success early on is that the foundation was set while he was back at home on the Plains.
One of the premier sports performance coaches in Kansas, Joseph Potts, has been working with Woods for over a year and says he has real NFL talent. “I remember the day he hit a 41-inch vertical and the conversations I was having with colleges went from recruiting a guy that has NFL ability to recruiting a guy that could go day one or day two in the draft,” Potts said. “The athletic attributes Jayden possesses, to call them rare would be an injustice to the word rare.”
And it’s not just his raw athletic ability; people have been describing Woods as having “violent hands” with his style of play. “That’s just how they taught him to play over at Mill Valley,” Potts said. “You know that school is a perennial state title contender, so they are well-versed in molding young athletes into high-level players.” Woods had 120 tackles (101 solo), 25.5 TFLs, 18.5 sacks, 29 QB hurries, 12 pass break-ups, seven forced fumbles, and an interception over his high school career.
The rare athletic ability he shows on the field seems like another Gator legend, Jevon Kearse. “Jayden to me is the Freak 2.0,” Potts said. “I don’t know that Jayden will have that straight line speed that Kearse had, but the change of direction, the 4.2 shuttle speed, the 40-inch vertical and the 10-foot plus broad jump are likely things you see Jayden be able to do.
Obviously, the Gators will still be spending most of their time recruiting in-state and in the surrounding areas. However, if you keep hitting guys like Woods, then maybe you take a closer look at out-of-the-way areas such as Shawnee, Kansas, more often.
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