Auburn football: 5-star defensive end takes unofficial visit to Auburn

Many people have spoken highly of new Auburn football defensive line coach Nick Eason on the recruiting trail and the momentum continued as one of the top prospects for 2023 found his way to the Plains this week.

Peter Woods took an unofficial visit with his Thompson High School teammate Tony Mitchell this week, which marks the first visit for either prospect since Bryan Harsin and his staff arrived on the Plains. Woods hinted at a return to the Plains on his Twitter yesterday as his visit wrapped up:

Woods is a 5-star defensive end out of Alabaster, AL and currently plays for Thompson High School. Woods is currently the #2 overall player in the 2023 class and the #2 defensive linemen in the 2023 class and is the #1 player in the state of Alabama.

Last season, Woods injured his leg and missed over half of the season but returned to lead Thompson to the 7A state championship. In two years for Thompson High, Woods has racked up 84 total tackles, 23 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks.

Gabe Brooks from 247Sports released a scouting report on Woods and had this to say about the talented kid out of Alabaster:

"“Stout defensive line prospect with potential for personnel flexibility across multiple schemes. Good height and enough frame space to add more mass. Flashes impressive suddenness and functional athleticism relative to size and age. Displays consistent disengaging ability to shed vs. run. Flashes some pass-rush nuance beyond his years. Athletic enough to be a threat from the backside. Strong at the point of attack and arrives at the ball with conviction. Seems like an extremely high-floor prospect with plenty of long-term potential as well. Potential to become a multi-year impact high-major starter with early-round NFL Draft ceiling.”"

The recruitment of Woods is far from over, but Alabama, Florida State, Florida, Auburn, & Michigan look to be the favorites for the talented defensive end. Alabama, Florida, UCF, and Auburn are the most recent schools to receive an unofficial visit from the 5-star. If the Tigers pulled this commitment off, then Woods would be the highest-rated recruit in the history of Auburn football recruiting.

Nick Eason and the Auburn football staff hope to get Woods on campus for an official visit next year and Woods will most likely return to the Plains this fall for a game. Eason and this staff have been flexing their muscle on the recruiting trail, but now the challenge is going to be turning this momentum into commitments. Stay tuned to this recruitment because Woods may be the #1 prospect on the Tigers 2023 recruiting board.