Area304+: Illinois State Transfer Charles Woods Talks Decision to Transfer to WVU
Back in mid-April, the West Virginia coaching staff added some much-needed depth to the cornerback room as they secured Illinois State transfer, Charles Woods.
During his three seasons at Illinois State, Woods tallied 84 tackles, 27 pass deflections, and six interceptions. In 2019 he earned HERO Sports FCS Sophomore All-America honorable mention honors. Woods was also the Redbirds' primary punt returner and could bring some additional value to the special teams unit for the Mountaineers.
After announcing his intent to transfer from the FCS school, Woods received interest from Mississippi State, Minnesota, Kansas, Washington State, Utah State, and several others. A lot of things factored into making his decision to pick West Virginia but having the season the Mountaineer defense had a year ago is a good start.
"Really I felt like WVU was the right spot for me because they have the No. 1 returning pass defense in the nation. They had two great defensive backs leave the program which left the room thin and I believe I can go in there and compete to get in the rotation. I do know the expectations and standards there are high," Woods told Mountaineer Maven.
The Dallas, Texas native was also intrigued by the idea of getting to play in front of family and friends a few times a year when WVU makes their yearly trips to the Lone Star State. "What gets better than playing Big 12 football playing in my home state a few times each year?"
More importantly, his relationship with the coaching staff is already a tight one and the family-like atmosphere was extremely appealing to him.
"It feels like home. Some of the coaches I talked to were really clicking with me and I just believe WVU is the best situation for me. They are player's coaches. They care about their players they have an open-door policy for us when we need to talk about anything. I just can't wait to get there and get coach by them."
Woods will be enrolling at WVU later this month on the 17th. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
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