Photo by: SFA Athletics
Football Game Feature | From Walk-On to Preseason All-Conference
9/7/2018 1:22:00 PM | Football
A look at senior Ryan Woods’ remarkable five-year journey from a walk-on to a scholarship preseason all-conference linebacker
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Each year heading into the college football season, stories are told about non-scholarship student-athletes who had walked-on to the team but are now fortunate enough to have earned an athletic scholarship. Although stories such as these may be commonplace in college football, they never get old as it is in our innate nature to route for the underdog, the student-athlete who is given a better chance to do what they love.
Stephen F. Austin senior linebacker Ryan Woods' story is no different. However, many who gaze upon the Lumberjack football team this fall and see No. 50 roaming the heart of SFA's defense would never imagine that the player they are watching is a former walk-on. Woods looks every bit the part of a four-year scholarship player who was brought on campus to lead the middle of the Lumberjack defense. However, his path to becoming one of SFA's senior leaders is much different than what most would expect.
Named preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team this summer heading into his senior campaign, everything Woods has accomplished came with perseverance. A successful two-year letter winner at Pearland High School in Pearland, Texas, Woods enjoyed a fruitful prep career as a two-sport athlete. Competing on the baseball diamond, Woods entered his senior year of high school torn between wanting to play college baseball or college football.
Unsure and undecided on what his collegiate future would look like, Woods found himself unable to commit to any university or college for football during the fall of his senior year. "When I made the decision to play football in college it was in February right before the baseball season," Woods said. "I called all the coaches I talked to during the football season that had previously offered me and told them that I wanted to play football again, but those offers weren't there anymore. I had to go back to the drawing board and look for coaches who would accept me to walk-on and play for their program. Playing baseball was out of the question at that point and now the focus was just on trying to get to a college football program."
Enter SFA, who, in need of a linebacker, answered Woods' call and offered him a spot as a walk-on. Woods arrived in Nacogdoches in the fall of 2014 and immediately redshirted.
"Redshirting the first year was humbling but it made me love the game again because I was so close to losing the game coming out of high school," Woods shared. "Being so close but not having college football in my future and then getting that back, it got me excited about playing again. I enjoyed my redshirt year because it taught me a lot about myself and it taught me a lot about what I needed to know for playing the next season."
In 2015, after much dedication to team meetings, film studies and long hours on the practice field, Woods stepped foot on the gridiron for game action. Appearing primarily on special teams in kickoff coverage, Woods distinctly remembers his first game playing at linebacker.
"It was late in the season, the last home game and we were playing Houston Baptist," recounted Woods. "I only played on special teams and played on defense sparingly that year but every time I got in I tried to make the most of my opportunities. In this case, I get into the game and it's the first play I get in of the entire game. The quarterback is rolling out and I hone in on him and I make my bee-line to him. I lower my head and my shoulder as he lowers his head and his shoulder to brace for the hit and then all you see is flags on the ground after the hit. They go to replay and the whole nine and I get ejected on the very first play I get in. A lot of people would be excited that kind of moment happened but for me not playing a whole lot, I actually was kind of upset that it was the first play. I wish it would have happened on the third play or something."
"I had to just sit there in the locker room by myself until the end of the game," Woods continued. "When I went to embrace my parents after the game, I realized that my grandparents had driven 14 hours from Kansas City to surprise me. It was a surprise to them that they only got to see me on one play after driving 14 hours."
Although not a positive play, it is something Woods will remember for the rest of his life and he thinks of it as the beginning of his successful collegiate career. Since then, Woods has grown up as a football player, student-athlete and person. If they hadn't already, Woods' coaches now began to take interest in his presence on the field and noticed his hard work and dedication.
Woods received a scholarship following his sophomore year in the spring of 2017.
"With coach Byrd, that defensive staff and coach Lawson coming in as I was still a walk-on, that spring really gave me an opportunity to take a deep breath and prove to them that I could be a scholarship player," Woods commented. "It helped that coach Lawson did his homework coming in and saw that I had played a little bit and had a start the year before even though I wasn't on scholarship. That was important to him when it came down to what kind of player I am. After the spring following my sophomore season, coach Byrd called me into his office and had everything laid out on the desk. The first thing I could think about was my parents because everybody goes through the walk-on experience together financially. They were the first people I could think about when I heard I was getting a scholarship."
"It was very exciting," Woods added. "I had no clue. It was just the life I had been living the past few years, I didn't have high expectations or a negative connotation heading into the meeting on what it would be about. Coach Byrd is a very personable guy so it could have been for anything. Going in there and seeing that it was a scholarship you kind of have a flashback moment. It's like everything that has happened the last three years goes through your head in 30 seconds and it's finally there on a piece of paper. That's the moment you've been looking for, you saw your classmates and other guys do it your senior year of high school but now that's it's happening to you. There is no bad time for a scholarship."
Throughout his time in Nacogdoches, Woods has learned a ton and enjoyed the process. It has been very important to Woods' development as a student-athlete and person to be able to achieve what he has and come as far as he has.
"It means a whole lot," Woods said. "I put in a lot of extra work when nobody is watching and I don't tell many people about it because that is kind of my time to learn about myself and focus on myself. Putting in that extra work when nobody is watching finally paid off by getting to play. The extra film study and the other things to make you a better football player on the field, you focus on your mental game and your footwork. Then I took an extra step as a starter to watch more film and be more of a leader and be in better shape. That all came to fruition when I saw that I was preseason second-team all-conference. Other coaches across the league noticed the hard work too because they're not here whenever I'm doing my late-night stuff."
"I've learned so many life lessons from the beginning to now," contributed Woods. "Being consistent, being patient, working hard and controlling what you can control. Being accountable, if something doesn't go right in your life the first thing to do is look in the mirror. How can I fix that, how can I be better?"
This fall Woods will continue to lead by example and do the little things that have gained the attention and admiration of his coaches. There is no denying that his journey from a walk-on to a scholarship football player has already yielded plenty of dividends that will stick with Woods for the rest of his life.
-SFA-
Stephen F. Austin senior linebacker Ryan Woods' story is no different. However, many who gaze upon the Lumberjack football team this fall and see No. 50 roaming the heart of SFA's defense would never imagine that the player they are watching is a former walk-on. Woods looks every bit the part of a four-year scholarship player who was brought on campus to lead the middle of the Lumberjack defense. However, his path to becoming one of SFA's senior leaders is much different than what most would expect.
Named preseason All-Southland Conference Second Team this summer heading into his senior campaign, everything Woods has accomplished came with perseverance. A successful two-year letter winner at Pearland High School in Pearland, Texas, Woods enjoyed a fruitful prep career as a two-sport athlete. Competing on the baseball diamond, Woods entered his senior year of high school torn between wanting to play college baseball or college football.
Unsure and undecided on what his collegiate future would look like, Woods found himself unable to commit to any university or college for football during the fall of his senior year. "When I made the decision to play football in college it was in February right before the baseball season," Woods said. "I called all the coaches I talked to during the football season that had previously offered me and told them that I wanted to play football again, but those offers weren't there anymore. I had to go back to the drawing board and look for coaches who would accept me to walk-on and play for their program. Playing baseball was out of the question at that point and now the focus was just on trying to get to a college football program."
Enter SFA, who, in need of a linebacker, answered Woods' call and offered him a spot as a walk-on. Woods arrived in Nacogdoches in the fall of 2014 and immediately redshirted.
"Redshirting the first year was humbling but it made me love the game again because I was so close to losing the game coming out of high school," Woods shared. "Being so close but not having college football in my future and then getting that back, it got me excited about playing again. I enjoyed my redshirt year because it taught me a lot about myself and it taught me a lot about what I needed to know for playing the next season."
In 2015, after much dedication to team meetings, film studies and long hours on the practice field, Woods stepped foot on the gridiron for game action. Appearing primarily on special teams in kickoff coverage, Woods distinctly remembers his first game playing at linebacker.
"It was late in the season, the last home game and we were playing Houston Baptist," recounted Woods. "I only played on special teams and played on defense sparingly that year but every time I got in I tried to make the most of my opportunities. In this case, I get into the game and it's the first play I get in of the entire game. The quarterback is rolling out and I hone in on him and I make my bee-line to him. I lower my head and my shoulder as he lowers his head and his shoulder to brace for the hit and then all you see is flags on the ground after the hit. They go to replay and the whole nine and I get ejected on the very first play I get in. A lot of people would be excited that kind of moment happened but for me not playing a whole lot, I actually was kind of upset that it was the first play. I wish it would have happened on the third play or something."
"I had to just sit there in the locker room by myself until the end of the game," Woods continued. "When I went to embrace my parents after the game, I realized that my grandparents had driven 14 hours from Kansas City to surprise me. It was a surprise to them that they only got to see me on one play after driving 14 hours."
Although not a positive play, it is something Woods will remember for the rest of his life and he thinks of it as the beginning of his successful collegiate career. Since then, Woods has grown up as a football player, student-athlete and person. If they hadn't already, Woods' coaches now began to take interest in his presence on the field and noticed his hard work and dedication.
Woods received a scholarship following his sophomore year in the spring of 2017.
"With coach Byrd, that defensive staff and coach Lawson coming in as I was still a walk-on, that spring really gave me an opportunity to take a deep breath and prove to them that I could be a scholarship player," Woods commented. "It helped that coach Lawson did his homework coming in and saw that I had played a little bit and had a start the year before even though I wasn't on scholarship. That was important to him when it came down to what kind of player I am. After the spring following my sophomore season, coach Byrd called me into his office and had everything laid out on the desk. The first thing I could think about was my parents because everybody goes through the walk-on experience together financially. They were the first people I could think about when I heard I was getting a scholarship."
"It was very exciting," Woods added. "I had no clue. It was just the life I had been living the past few years, I didn't have high expectations or a negative connotation heading into the meeting on what it would be about. Coach Byrd is a very personable guy so it could have been for anything. Going in there and seeing that it was a scholarship you kind of have a flashback moment. It's like everything that has happened the last three years goes through your head in 30 seconds and it's finally there on a piece of paper. That's the moment you've been looking for, you saw your classmates and other guys do it your senior year of high school but now that's it's happening to you. There is no bad time for a scholarship."
Throughout his time in Nacogdoches, Woods has learned a ton and enjoyed the process. It has been very important to Woods' development as a student-athlete and person to be able to achieve what he has and come as far as he has.
"It means a whole lot," Woods said. "I put in a lot of extra work when nobody is watching and I don't tell many people about it because that is kind of my time to learn about myself and focus on myself. Putting in that extra work when nobody is watching finally paid off by getting to play. The extra film study and the other things to make you a better football player on the field, you focus on your mental game and your footwork. Then I took an extra step as a starter to watch more film and be more of a leader and be in better shape. That all came to fruition when I saw that I was preseason second-team all-conference. Other coaches across the league noticed the hard work too because they're not here whenever I'm doing my late-night stuff."
"I've learned so many life lessons from the beginning to now," contributed Woods. "Being consistent, being patient, working hard and controlling what you can control. Being accountable, if something doesn't go right in your life the first thing to do is look in the mirror. How can I fix that, how can I be better?"
This fall Woods will continue to lead by example and do the little things that have gained the attention and admiration of his coaches. There is no denying that his journey from a walk-on to a scholarship football player has already yielded plenty of dividends that will stick with Woods for the rest of his life.
-SFA-
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