Woods sees elevated role as season progresses
AJ Woods is not one to look backwards. The Pitt junior cornerback has long been believed to be the fastest player on the team. He claims his fastest 40-yard dash time is a scorching 4.31.
“I’m the fastest guy on the team,” Woods told reporters without any hesitation following Pitt's practice on Tuesday.
In fact, he said he’s not even sure who the second fastest player on the team is either as his eyes are always looking forward. In the offseason, Pitt clocked him going 22.9 mph, the fastest for any single player ever in the program since the team started tracking running speeds with a monitor.
Speed has never been a problem for Woods, but he’s had some missteps on the playing field at times. Woods opened the 2020 season against Austin Peay as a starter at cornerback, but fell out of favor in the games that followed.
He regained his role as a primary starter against Virginia Tech and Florida State and closed the season on a high note. He grabbed his first career interception in the win over the Seminoles.
Woods had started this season as the team’s third, or even fourth cornerback behind starters Damarri Mathis and Marquis Williams, and battling alongside Kentucky transfer MJ Devonshire for any additional playing time.
In recent weeks, Woods has taken on an elevated role and it has caught the attention of Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi.
“A.J. Woods is playing good now,” he said of the junior cornerback. “Just got to keep getting better at that spot.”
The Maryland native played a season-high 47 snaps against Miami this past week, after playing 41 against Clemson according to Pro Football Focus. He was on the field the most for any Pitt cornerback besides Mathis against the Hurricanes.
In the past two contests with an extended role, Woods has been targeted five times and has allowed a total of two catches for 10 yards. He finished with two tackles against Miami as well.
“I think I’ve just been given the opportunity and I’ve been practicing well and the coaches trust me a little bit more and that’s about it,” Woods said of the new-found playing time. “I’ve just been doing the little things and it’s been paying off for me.”
Woods has been getting more run on the field, but the Panthers are coming off of a tough 38-34 defeat against Miami last weekend in what was not a strong overall performance for the defense.
“Just our tackling and playing our keys a little bit better,” Woods said of how the team can improve this week. "I think we do really well in coverage. I think all of our guys can cover really well, it’s just we need to react and play a little bit faster.”
Pitt will look to get back on track this weekend when the team travels to Durham to take on the Duke Blue Devils for a noon kick on the ACC Network.