Jelani Woods: Indianapolis Colts Rookie Files
Reaching the NFL is a difficult challenge for anyone.
Most players who make it have spent their entire lives dedicated to one day playing professional football. They spend countless hours working on their craft to master the position they are playing.
Now imagine how it would feel to get to the college ranks and, all of a sudden, you are asked to play a position you have never played before. For some, the task can be too overwhelming. For others, it is the move they need to take them to the next level.
This is “Rookie Files,” a series on Horseshoe Huddle that gives you the backstory of every rookie for the Indianapolis Colts. Going player by player, we look at their journeys to the NFL and what makes each one unique while also detailing how they help the Colts. Next up is Jelani Woods, who went from a high-end prospect in high school at one position to being drafted into the NFL at another.
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Family Matters
Woods was born on October 9, 1998, in Ellenwood, Georgia, to Greg and Shaheerah Woods. Woods also has two brothers, Javaric (called Jay) and Jaleel. While Jelani is the middle child, he has acted as the big brother for most of his life.
Jay Woods has a moderate mental disability that affects his mental and physical functions. Daily tasks we take for granted are a challenge to Jay, and he has difficulty remembering and retaining information.
From a young age, Jelani, who is ten years younger than Jay, has done his best to step up and help take care of his older brother. As Jelani came to high school age, he took on even more responsibility with Jay so his parents could continue to provide for the family. This included helping Jay with his morning routine of getting up, eating breakfast, brushing his teeth, and sending him off as he was taken to the adult day center for the day.
“It put me more in a mature way,” Jelani said to Oklahoman.com “I had to grow up faster.”
Taking on a bigger role in caring for his brother is something that his parents never asked him to do. Jelani felt compelled to help out and wanted to help out because of the love he has for his brother.
“Whatever he does, he’s gonna give it his all,” Jelani’s father Greg said. “He’s gonna be a team player.”
Jelani is still super close with Jay and the rest of his family. He may have had to grow up quickly, but it helped turn him into the man he is today.
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A Rising Quarterback Prospect
Woods has always been big. For as long as he can remember, he has towered over his classmates and those playing on the football field with him. Growing up, many times the biggest and strongest player on the football field is the one playing quarterback.
And that is where Jelani started his football career. But he did not play quarterback because he was the biggest, fastest, and strongest, it is because he was actually pretty good at the position.
Woods attended Cedar Grove High School and played for head coach Jermaine Smith. Woods got his chance to start on varsity his sophomore year, throwing for 1,489 yards and 16 touchdowns as he led his team to the second round of the playoffs. He continued to improve his junior year with 1,992 yards passing and 20 touchdowns as Cedar Grove finished with an 11-2-1 record on the way to an appearance in the state semifinals.
His senior year is when Woods came on the scene as a legit quarterback prospect. Throwing for 2,316 yards and 26 touchdowns, Woods led Cedar Grove to a 13-2 record and the school’s first state championship. Cedar Grove beat out Greater Atlanta Christian in the title game, who was led by current Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills.
Woods was named the Montlick and Associates Region 5 Athlete of the Year, a first-team all-region 5 3A selection, and an all-state honorable mention for his play his senior season. He had become a rising prospect in the state of Georgia, ranked as the No. 20 dual-threat quarterback prospect in the nation according to Rivals.com. The three-star prospect had received offers from the likes of Oklahoma State, Michigan, Louisville, and South Carolina.
After considering his options which included playing Division I basketball, football won out in the end, and Woods committed to Oklahoma State. He was headed to the Cowboys to be their future quarterback. However, that would soon change once he arrived on campus.
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Time for a Change
Woods enrolled early at Oklahoma State and redshirted his freshman year with the Cowboys. He had been working with the quarterbacks, refining his game to play at the college level.
As bowl season began to approach, the Cowboys had one final game to play against the Oklahoma Sooners. As they prepared for the big showdown, head coach Mike Gundy and the rest of the Cowboys’ coaching staff needed someone to replicate All-American tight end Mark Andrews, who is now an All-Pro with the Baltimore Ravens.
They needed someone with size and speed that could replicate the 6’5” Andrews and be a red zone threat. What better way than to put their 6’7” redshirt dual-threat quarterback in there as a replica to Andrews? What they didn’t expect was for Woods to perform the way that he did.
“Our last game of season, Bedlam rivalry week we play Oklahoma,” Woods recalled. “During that time, they had Mark Andrews, so they wanted me to impersonate Mark Andrews for the week and I ended up pretty much killing our starting defense.”
Woods torched the Cowboys’ defense that week. He was seemingly unguardable, catching passes all over the field and grabbing touchdowns in practice. Coaches took immediate notice of what Woods was doing and knew he had a brighter future here than at quarterback.
“The next morning, they ended up calling me and asking me to switch to tight end and if I’d have any problem with it,” Woods said. “I ended up switching that same day and then going into bowl season I started getting my reps in at tight end.”
The team player that he is, Woods had no problems making the switch. While he had never played tight end in his life, he trusted his athletic ability and his experience at the quarterback position. He already knew the offense, he just needed to learn the ins and outs of the tight end position.
“Going from quarterback from tight end, all you really had to do was learn the technical side of it, the technique and stuff,” Woods explained. “So, like mentally, it was very easy. I got through that smooth and then I just had to learn the technique and develop that over time pretty much.”
Going into his redshirt freshman season, the strides Woods had made at tight end were noticeable. While he only had seven catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns, he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention. Woods earned those honors once again his sophomore season, catching 16 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. His blocking ability his sophomore year helped open things up for running back Chuba Hubbard to lead the FBS in rushing yards.
After his junior year, in which he had eight catches for 129 yards and a touchdown, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention once again, Woods graduated with a degree in management. He faced a crossroads at this point, deciding on whether he wanted to play out his senior season at Oklahoma State, declare for the NFL Draft, or try to boost his draft stock elsewhere. While he loved his Cowboy teammates, Woods needed to go to a place he could be a more featured part of the offense.
Woods entered the transfer portal and landed at the University of Virginia. It was a chance to play closer to home and in an offense that would make him more of a priority in the passing game. It was a match made in heaven from the start.
Woods burst onto the scene in the ACC, hauling in 44 catches for 598 yards and eight touchdowns. He had more production in his one year with the Cavaliers than in three seasons combined with the Cowboys. He was named a First-Team All-ACC selection after leading all ACC tight ends in receiving yards and touchdowns and ranked fourth in the country in touchdown receptions among tight ends.
His breakout season led Woods to be invited to the 2022 East-West Shrine Bowl, where he could continue to showcase his talents in front of NFL coaches. Those coaches included Marcus Brady and Klayton Adams, the Colts’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, respectively. They were Woods’ coaches for the game, and it seemed like an immediate fit.
“You get a lot of extra film work, just the different components that comes with them being your coaches on your side,” Woods explained. “So, with Coach Klayton (Adams), he was our offensive coordinator so of course learning the Colts offense was pretty easy also. Then, being with him and then being with the quarterback coach, he was actually our head coach. Being with them helped a lot. We got a really good connection.”
The Colts loved Woods’ intelligence and what he brought physically. He had all the intangibles to be a star at the NFL level. So, on April 29, the Colts selected Woods with the No. 73 pick in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
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How Woods Helps the Colts
Woods is the highest tight end prospect the Colts have drafted since 2012, and it is easy to see why. Woods’ 6’7” stature is the tallest in a tight end room that features a 6’5” Mo Alie-Cox and a 6’5” Drew Ogletree. At 253 pounds, he is a thick tight end that is not afraid to get inline and block.
What stands out about Woods is his speed for how big he is. Woods ran a 4.61 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, a blistering pace for someone of that size. He possesses great agility with the ability to move quickly in and out of his cuts. With that size and speed, Woods can be a mismatch for any linebacker or safety that tries to guard him over the middle.
At the beginning of Colts training camp, Woods struggled to have an impact. Like any rookie, mistakes were made as he sometimes ran the wrong route, had some drops, and looked lost at times.
But things began to turn around after Woods hauled in a touchdown in his first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. It was a confidence booster for Woods, showing he belonged and could make plays in the NFL. Woods piggybacked off the touchdown grab to finish training camp strong, making more catches and eliminating drops throughout practice.
Woods enters the 2022 season as TE3 on the Colts roster behind Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson. The Colts believe Woods has sky-high potential, but they want to take things slow with Woods and allow him to develop as he gets used to the NFL game. The Colts will throw more at him and get him more involved as the season goes along, both as a pass catcher and as a blocker.
One thing about Woods is that he will always do what is best for the team. He has shown that by caring for his brother as well as switching positions in college. He has always done the right thing and trusted that things will work out.
And there is a good chance things will work out in a big way for Woods in Indy.
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