Woods has best of both worlds
Derrick Woods has an interesting situation to figure out. He has family in Los Angeles and in the south and schools from both areas have offered him. Over the next few months, the Inglewood, Calif., wide receiver has to figure out which situation is best.
"My situation is it's family," Woods said. "A lot of my family lives down south but my mom and my brother stay out here.
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"The family down south doesn't get to see me play football so it would be nice to let them see me play but at the same time I don't want to go too far from home so I'm trying to figure it out."
Florida and Miami are the two latest offers for Woods, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound prospect who shined at the Los Angeles NIKE Camp last weekend.
The Southern California standout could also play defensive back and that's what makes him so appealing to numerous schools.
"When (Florida and Miami) both offered it was exciting," Woods said. "It was a big deal for me to get looked at that closely."
Arizona State, Idaho, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington have also offered Woods, who had 24 catches for 352 yards and two scores last season. He also rushed for 391 yards and six touchdowns. Woods had three interceptions on defense. His versatility makes him such an appealing prospect.
That's another quandary Woods will have to consider - whether his future will be at wide receiver or defensive back. At this point in his recruitment, Woods said he'd like a shot at both on the college level.
"I want to play both," Woods said. "At receiver, I'm explosive, I get off the ball fast and at safety I like to play rough and I like to hit so I kind of like the feeling of both."
While Florida and Miami are both intriguing offers, Woods said he's probably leaning toward staying in the Pac-10. He said USC, Oregon and Washington are recruiting him the hardest and he's definitely happy to get all the attention.
"They're all pushing me hard so that's good," Woods said.