Freshman Phenom: Early-Enrollee PJ Woodland Turning Heads During LSU Spring Practice

The true freshman cornerback is emerging as a starter for the Tigers, shining during spring ball.

The LSU cornerback room remains a position group that has all eyes on them during spring practice under coach Corey Raymond.

Raymond, an architect to "DBU" in Baton Rouge, has a group with both returning talent and fresh faces as they begin a new era in Death Valley.

One of the new faces is early-enrollee PJ Woodland. The youngster has already started turning heads after skyrocketing up the depth chart during his first few months on campus.

Woodland, a Mississippi native who committed to the Tigers last fall, took first-team reps on Thursday during light 11-on-11 drills on the opposite side of sophomore cornerback Ashton Stamps.

It's no surprise that Woodland is impressing so early. Ask defensive coordinator Blake Baker who summed it up best.

“Competitiveness. PJ Woodland is a competitor,” Baker said of Woodland on Thursday.“ He’s feisty, he’s physical, and he can run. More than anything, for a freshman, we’ve thrown him out there with the ones some and thrown him out there against our top receivers and he competes. That’s where it starts, but he has the physical tools. He has long levers, he’s physical and he can run, so I’ve been impressed with him. It wasn’t easy. Those first three days before spring break I guarantee you he was saying ‘what in the world did I do coming here early?’ but he’s been really impressive these last few days.”

Woodland will continue putting on size after checking in at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds, but the physicality and intangibles are certainly there. He's feisty as Baker said and continues taking that next step in a cornerback room that has players pushing for first team reps.

For most of spring practice, it's been Ashton Stamps and Javien Toviano who have handled the starting reps, but now, Woodland is making a name for himself and earning first-team reps of his own alongside Stamps. Toviano took second-team reps on Thursday.

It's a different scheme than a season ago. LSU will work in a press coverage set for the most part under Baker and cornerbacks coach Corey Raymond where it allows the Tigers to be more physical.

“It’s based on personnel,” Baker said of playing press man. “If you got two guys you can put out there on an island it makes life a lot easier as a defensive coordinator. It comes down to who you have personnel wise, then really trying to present the same picture to the quarterback and the defensive coordinator pre-snap and giving those guys an opportunity to not have to sit there and play press man every single snap because it does get tiring. We’re going to play a lot of man, but I also know we’re going to do what’s best for our guys back there as well.”

Now, all eyes remain on Woodland as he continues flying up the depth chart as an early-enrollee in Baton Rouge with the Spring Game vastly approaching on April 13th.