For freshman Woods, football easy part
By Bill Koch •
bkoch@enquirer.com • August 22, 2008
A lot of athletes who have experienced success in high school begin their college careers with a sense of invincibility that comes with youth.
University of Cincinnati freshman wide receiver D.J. Woods knows better.
Last fall, Woods was practicing at Strongsville (Ohio) High School when he felt his left leg suddenly go numb.
"I couldn't feel my left leg at all," Woods said. "It was like I couldn't walk. I was in extreme pain."
Woods soon would discover that his senior season was over with five games remaining after an MRI showed a blood clot along his spinal column that had to be surgically removed.
"It was scary," Woods said. "Football is a very big part of my life. It gave me a reality shot. Now I'm focused on other options instead of football, because anything can happen at any point."
As if he hadn't learned that lesson already, he had it reinforced after he arrived at UC this summer.
A routine physical revealed that he had a low platelet count, which has forced him to be held out of contact drills during training camp while doctors tried to figure out what was going on.
It was another scary time for Woods until Wednesday when the results of a bone marrow test indicated that his condition was not as serious as it could have been and that drug treatments should be able to raise his platelet count to a level that would allow him to play in the Bearcats' season opener vs. Eastern Kentucky on Thursday.
It was the news Woods had been waiting to hear.
"The past couple of weeks have been stressful," he said. "I've been carrying this to the football field, but it's all over now."
Despite his abbreviated senior season at Strongsville, Woods, who also returned kicks and played defensive back, was an Associated Press second-team all-Ohio selection in Division I.
During his high school career, he caught 153 passes for 1,797 yards and 18 touchdowns. He also returned five kickoffs and three punts for touchdowns.
Even with the limitations that have been imposed by the uncertainty over his physical condition, it took only about a week of camp for UC coach Brian Kelly to declare that Woods was good enough to play as a true freshman.
"He came here high up on the learning curve," Kelly said. "We haven't had to teach him a whole lot other than our system. He's just a naturally gifted wide receiver. He's got all the nuances and the intricacies that you would need, where with some other guys we've had to teach a lot of that stuff to them."
But because Woods was not cleared medically to participate in full contact, he has been forced to wait for the chance to display his complete range of talents.
"It's hard because I hate being on the sidelines," Woods said before he got the test results back. "I feel like I'm missing reps when I don't go full-go, but I always make sure I'm taking mental reps."
Kelly and the rest of the coaches did their best to keep Woods' spirits high as he awaited word on his immediate football future.
"It's been tough on him," Kelly said. "He's gotten a lot of help from home. He has a strong family. His mom and dad have been really good and our players have really been positive with him, to say, hey, you're a great player, your time will come. Hang in there."
Woods very much wants that time to be now. He believes that he's ready to contribute immediately.
So do his coaches.
That's what has made the past few weeks so difficult. This is a kid who surprised some people in his hometown when he passed up a chance to go to Michigan to play for Kelly in a growing program like UC's.
Now it appears that he'll get the chance to show what he can do.
"I feel like I can make a difference early in my career," Woods said. "I'm itching to be on the field."
