Clemson Tigers Defensive Star Seen as One of College Football's Impact Players

A Clemson Tigers defensive star is going to make a name for himself this season.

Clemson defensive lineman Peter Woods (11) before the game with NC State at Memorial Stadium Saturday, Sep 21, 2024 in Clemson, South Carolina, USA. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers look to have one of the most talented rosters in college football, with the summer quickly approaching.

For the first time, head coach Dabo Swinney dipped into the transfer portal, looking to address a few of the holes on the roster.

On top of that talent, the Tigers are bringing back a ton of impact players from their 2024 team that won the ACC and earned a spot in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

Both sides of the ball are loaded with stars and impact players, with Swinney and his staff doing an excellent job of retaining talent. While plenty of schools around the country were ravaged by players departing in the transfer portal, they convinced players to stick around long-term.

One of the players who is coming back to Clemson for the 2025 season is defensive tackle Peter Woods.

Why Peter Woods is so Well Respected

A former five-star recruit, Woods was a highly-touted player coming out of high school. As a freshman, he didn’t have as many opportunities to showcase that talent, filling in at defensive end with injuries ravaging the unit.

In 12 games, he recorded 28 total tackles, three tackles for loss with one forced fumble.

As a sophomore, he took his production to another level.

Despite playing one less game, his numbers skyrocketed as his role within the defensive line rotation grew and he was back at his more natural defensive tackle spot.

He had only two more combined tackles with 28, but was a game wrecker in the middle with nine tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks and another forced fumble.

Heading into his third year, he is still on the rise.

So much so, Bryan Fischer of Sports Illustrated believes that Woods is going to be one of the most impactful players in college football this year.

“Woods is capable of lining up at nearly every spot on the defensive line and can bring it from pretty much everywhere when he wants to get after the quarterback or shut down a running lane. He benefits from some talent around him, but is the No. 1 obstacle for Clemson’s opponents to stop on every play,” he wrote.

Joining him on the list along the defensive line is Caleb Banks of the Florida Gators.

It is going to be incredible difficult to slow down Woods with him being flanked by T.J. Parker and transfer Will Heldt from the Purdue Boilermakers.

If he performs up to his capabilities, the star defensive tackle is going to have a chance to live up to the lofty expectations placed on him as a top pick in a recent NFL mock draft.