Redshirt senior defensive back Ed Woods has become the latest Arizona State football player to enter the transfer portal. And unlike the previous four games, head coach Kenny Dillingham admits this one surprised him.
Woods, 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, was expected to be a starter at one of the cornerback positions. He started 13 games, four of them last season. He recorded 33 tackles, three tackles for loss, one interception, four breakups, and two forced fumbles.
His single-game record of six tackles came in back-to-back games against Washington State and the University of Washington. His interception was against No. 6 Oregon.
Woods was not on the field for the Sun Devils' practice Monday, the 13th of 15 spring practices. on his X account on Monday.Woods reposted another X post reporting that he had entered the portal.
When asked about Woods' apparent departure, Dillingham said, “I didn't know that for sure.” “Ed is a good player. If he goes into the portal, I have a lot of respect for Ed. I really want Ed to be successful in life. Hopefully it's here and Hopefully I can help him get to where he wants to be.''If he's not here, it's a loss for us.''
“That's a position where we have to get players. To be honest, that's not what I expected. Up until this point, it was kind of expected. That's going to be a curve ball. ”And in order to replace it, one change has to be made to the plan. ”
The Sun Devils are deep in the secondary, especially the safeties, so Dillingham said he might slide one of the safeties and play a corner. ASU acquired several Division I cornerback transfers in Javan Robinson (Washington State) and Laterance Welch (LSU). True freshman Rodney Vimage is also likely to thrive at the position this spring.
Dillingham said he will work with the defensive coaches and consider all options.
The portal is open until April 30, and Woods becomes the fifth ASU player to depart since the portal opened last Tuesday. The others are quarterback Jayden Rashada, wide receiver Elijah Badger, tight end Bryce Pierre and defensive back RJ Regan.
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Monday's practice ended with senior Maysen Williams returning an interception for a touchdown. The pass was thrown by Sam Leavitt, who Dillingham said Saturday would be the starting quarterback if the season started this week. Zavion Alford had an interception early in the session, but it was the defense that took control.
“It was a great play,” Dillingham said of Williams' play. “I'm an offensive guy by nature. I try to put our offense in the worst possible situation in two-minute drills. We're down eight points with a minute left, we're on.” Minus-10, like, putting us in situations like this and really trying to push us, so it was really good for our defense to get a lot of points today. . ”
