Peter Woods on facing the Gamecocks: 'It’s gonna be competitive'

As the Tigers prepare to head to Columbia for the highly anticipated matchup against South Carolina, we heard from freshman defensive tackle Peter Woods. Watch the full video or take in a few notes of what was discussed in Tiger Town here!

The 6-2, 315 pound freshman has not had the chance to play in the rivalry yet, but he commented on some of the conversations he has had with teammates this week.

“There’s only a few guys on the team that have had the chance to go to Williams Brice Stadium and play South Carolina, but high energy fans, just overall a great atmosphere and it’s gonna be competitive. That’s just some of the things I have heard.”

Woods grew up in Alabaster, Alabama; therefore he is not as familiar with the rivalry on the same level as some of the other guys. But since enrolling at Clemson, he is feeling the excitement surrounding rivalry week.

“Of course, growing up, that was a rivalry that I paid attention to. But now that I am bleeding a lot of purple and orange, it’s kinda shifted my focus.”

Woods says that the defense’s preparation keeps them battling at the level they do each week. He noted that this week is no different facing the Gamecocks and Spencer Rattler.

“Every week, our preparation brings us confidence, and that’s where we get our confidence as a defense, just strictly from our preparation. So whenever we’re preparing, we’re preparing to a standard. So there is always gonna be a good player because we’re playing D1 college football… as long as we prepare to the standard we've set for our defense, the sky’s the limit.”

The freshman also said that this season has taught him and his teammates much about turning a tough season around. This weekend, they want to show that this team is ready and can fight.

“It taught me a lot. My dad actually had the chance to do the team chapel one day, and he talked about how sweet the story would be. One of the things he mentioned was the turnaround. That’s one of the things we put on full display– that a lot of people may have given up on us, but we didn’t.”

Woods commented on his freshman teammates and expressed how grateful he is that he came in with those guys. He also explained how tight-knit their group is.

“It is just a blessing to get to say, ‘I came in with these guys’ and we came in so tight-knit, there is just really nothing that can break us. That’s really something that carried us through the season, with the ups and downs and the highs and lows. But, when you have that relationship, you wanna do anything for your brother.”

For Woods and the rest of the team, the rivalry match is all about showing people that they can continue to turn the season around. This Clemson team also wants redemption for the 1-point loss to the Gamecocks last season at home in Death Valley.