Kosciusko football coach Kelly Causey says that it takes a special kind of kid to play the offensive line. He said many play offensive line but very few love it.
Senior offensive lineman Paul Wood is one of those kids who loves it. Wood is he latest addition to the Star-Herald Eleven To Watch for 2019. Already named to the elite list are Antonio Harmon and Devonte’ Ellis of Kosciusko; Lanarkes Davis and Izik Stewart of Ethel; Bubba Ward and Percy Lewis of McAdams; Thomas Costilow of Winona Christian and Wykece Johnson of Central Holmes Christian School
Wood enters his senior season as the undisputed leader of the offensive linemen for the Whippets and one of the team leaders as well.
“He is definitely one of the leaders of our team,” Causey said. “He is the one who is going to break it down every time we are doing something. He has been out there every day. He’s very dedicated to the offensive line work. He wears an offensive line shirt just about every day so he is all about some offensive line. He’s a great, great kid.”
Wood will have his work cut out for him this season. Wood is coming off a devastating injury in which his ankle was “destroyed when it got rolled on” last season.
“In the second to last game, he messed his ankle up and had to have about two or three surgeries and had to have a pin put in his ankle,” Causey said. “He wasn’t cleared in the spring, so he hasn’t had a chance to get back out there. Actually, he has done a good job of keeping his upper body strength since he has been injured. He has been cleared to lift weights for a while now but the lateral movement has been an issue. It’s more precautionary at this point but he should be ready to go full speed by August.”
Wood, who is 6-foot-4 and weighs 300 pounds, said he hopes to be back at 100 percent when practice starts Aug. 5 for the Whippets. Wood missed all of the spring practice because of the injury.
“The rehab has gone really well this offseason,” Wood said. “I’m not back to 100 percent but will be by the time the season starts. I’m anxious to get back started. It was tough not to be out there this spring.”
Another challenge for Wood is picking up a new offense. The Whippets went from the flexbone to a spread offense, which brings more pass blocking with it.
“We’ve been practicing a lot this summer and working on pass blocking,” Wood said. “With pass blocking, you have to think a little more about what you are doing. With run blocking, you have to try your best to move them. With pass blocking, you have to think more about what they are doing and what you have to do to keep them from getting to the quarterback. It’s more thinking involved in it.”
Causey said Wood will not have a problem picking up the new offense.
“Even though we are going to the new offense, we are going to be more of a quick passing game but he does have a learning curve there because he missed the spring,” Causey said. “I’m not really worried about him picking it up. It’s still going to be running the football, play action and the quick passing game. We will want to run the clock. We are going to throw it more but we aren’t going to be throwing it all over the field every down.”
Causey said Wood is likely a guard but the senior could play any position on the line. Causey said he has been working with Wood at center. Wood said it didn’t matter to him what position he played on the line.
“He is a guard but we are looking at center as well,” Causey said. “With snapping to the gun, it’s a little different than being under center. But we’ll have to see what happens when we get to fall camp. It’s just hard to say. We have worked with him a little bit but that is without blocking so we will see how that looks once we start practice.”
Wood said he has gotten some interest from the junior colleges and has had visits from Northeast, Copiah-Lincoln, East Central, Holmes and Southwest. Wood’s father, Andy Wood, is the athletic director at Holmes and played college football at Memphis. Causey said Wood recently got his first offer from Northeast.
“He is getting looked at by some colleges and will because of his size,” Causey said. “I think Paul’s leadership with the offensive line is going to be a major thing for us this season. He is a kid that gives you 110 percent plus some at all times when he is on the field."
Wood is also a solid student in the classroom and has already made a 23 on the ACT and said he wants to do something in the mathematics field such as engineering.
Causey said it is not just Wood’s size that makes him stand out.
“There are a lot of times when Paul pushes himself too hard,” Causey said. “It seems like he is going to throw up every practice because he is going to give you everything he has. He is going to go; he’s wide open and that’s what you want. He is an extremely hard working kid.”
Causey said the spring was not the same without Wood anchoring the offensive line.
“He is definitely a leader, no doubt about it,” Causey said “He is the one who gets them fired up to go to practice and then one who keeps them fired up in practice. Paul is always going to be going and is always going to be encouraging his teammates to go. That’s why we are excited to get him back out there. It wasn’t quite the same without him out there this spring. He’s a huge asset for us.”
After going 3-8 last year, Wood said he hopes the Whippets get off to a quick start
“I think we have to start off fast and strong,” Wood said. “The last two years, we started off really slow and didn’t have the best few games but picked it up as the season went along. We finished off both seasons good but started off slow. We just have to start off faster this season and get some confidence early.”
Wood said when he is not playing football, he likes to spend time with his family. He also like to play Madden where he “gets a chance to be the quarterback and see how the pocket sets up.”
