Not everything has been easy for Kosciusko’s Ethan Wood, though he comes from a football family.
Last year, Wood entered the season running his third different offense in three years as the Whippets’ quarterback.
But the senior signal caller is finally getting a chance to just relax and play football.
Second-year Head Coach Casey Orr said he is glad to have Wood directing his offense this season.
“He is a guy that has a lot of experience with a lot of young guys around him. He has played a lot of football. He’s one of those guys we will have to look to for leadership on the football field,” Orr said. “He started as a sophomore in the flexbone and as a junior we ran more of a traditional offense. We threw the ball a lot more and asked him to read defenses. Sometimes he looked really good at it, and sometimes he looked like a kid trying to figure it out.”
Wood is certainly an impressive-looking figure when he steps on the field or toes the rubber on a pitching mound at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds.
Athletics run in the family. Wood’s father is the athletics director at Holmes Community College and his older brother plays on the Holmes football team on the offensive line.
“He’s had a lot of different offenses thrown at him over the years. But he’s a kid that just understands the game and understands what we are trying to do. He’s the kind of kid that you can draw something on the board and he can go out and do it,” said the head coach. “As far as football knowledge, he has a high football IQ. The biggest problem we had last year was keeping him upright, and that will be a challenge again this year with a really young football team.”
Wood said he has learned to adapt to the new offenses.
Robbie Robertson / The Star-Herald
Kosciusko's Ethan Wood returns at quarterback for the Whippets this season.
“I thought it went well last year and we adapted well as a team. It was my third offense in three years, so it wasn’t a new thing having to learn a new offense. The coaches made it as simple as possible for us and did a good job of explaining everything,” Wood said. “I think it’s going to be a lot better this year. It’s good going into the year knowing where to put the ball instead of trying to learn something new every year.”
Aside from playing quarterback, Wood is also a long snapper. Wood said his dad snapped in college at Memphis and his older brother is also a long snapper.
Orr said that while Wood has the necessary skills, the coach prefers not to have his quarterback snap.
“He is actually an elite long snapper,” Orr said. “He doesn’t snap for us because I just can’t bring myself to let my quarterback snap. But it’s something he could easily do in college if that’s what he wanted to do.”
Wood is also a standout in baseball for the Whippets, leading the team to the second round of the Class 4A playoffs. He was voted as the district’s most valuable player this past season.
“He’s our No. 1 on the mound in baseball. I think the biggest thing I liked about him was his competitive mentality on the bump. I thought he battled and was really consistent for them,” said Orr. “Of course it helps when you throw in the upper 80s. You weren’t worried about what you were going to get when he was on the mound.”
Wood will have his choice of sports to play in college. Wood said Holmes has offered him in football as a long snapper and in baseball, as well. He said he has also had interest in baseball from East Central and Northeast Mississippi as well.
“I don’t really have a favorite sport,” Wood said. “I just play whatever is in season. I really like them both. I guess it just depends on where I get my best offer. But I haven’t made that decision yet.”
Orr said there is one thing about Wood that is never in question and that’s his character.
“He’s cream-of-the-crop when it comes to character. He’s top-of-the-line there. He’s a yes sir, no sir. He’s going to be where he is supposed to be, when he is supposed to be there, doing what he is supposed to be doing to the best of his ability,” according to the coach. “If I had a daughter, I would let him take her out and I don’t know that I can give him a better compliment than that. He’s what you want out of your quarterback.”
Wood said he realizes he has to be a leader for the Whippets this season.
“I think you have to be a leader as a quarterback,” Wood said. “I have to step up more this year. I’m not a real social guy, so I have to step out of my comfort zone and be more of a leader. It’s not really in my nature, but I know it’s something I have to do.”
Wood said he has not decided on a major in college yet, though he scored a 23 on the ACT and has a 3.9 GPA and ranks in the top 15 of his class at Kosciusko.
