Editorโs note: The Star is counting down the top high school football players in Tucson. Up next: Canyon del Oro lineman SaโKylee Woodard.
Name: SaโKylee Woodard
Rundown: Woodard is a 6-foot-3-inch, 285-pound junior offensive lineman and defensive tackle CDO.
Who he is: Woodard made the varsity team as a freshman in 2020 and played four games during the condensed โ and eventually canceled โ season.
โHaving to go through that, it taught me discipline and (how to handle) adversity,โ Woodard said. โBut the four games I was able to play in, I was very grateful because I got what most didnโt. I took advantage of it and Iโm just very grateful.โ
Since then?
โIโve grown so much since my freshman year in so many ways, given I was only able to play four games my first year,โ he said. โBut then I was able to get a full season last year. Iโm in the best form right now.โ
Woodard was a force as a sophomore, helping CDO post a 7-5 record that included a playoff win over Lake Havasu. Woodard team with 18 “pancake blocks” during his sophomore campaign, according to Maxpreps.com.
โIt was my first real season, so I got to really feel like a varsity football player,โ Woodard said. โBut this year, itโs all gas and no brakes. Being around my guys, I can tell that weโre ready this year. Iโm ready.โ
CDO opens its season on Sept. 2 at home against Walden Grove.
Proof heโs good: When Woodard was a freshman at CDO, he was certain his future was on the defensive line.
โGoing into high school, I thought I was the meanest and dirtiest defensive tackle โ and I was only going to play defense,โ he said.
But things changed.
โIf I were to choose one position, it would be on offense, because I like seeing the holes for my running backs to run through โ and put people on their back,โ he said.
CDO coach Dustin Peace isnโt sure what side of the ball Woodard will play on when he plays collegiately.
โThatโs a trick question. I donโt know,โ he said. โIโve been toying with that back-and-forth. I think heโs gravitating towards the offensive side, but thatโs based on what the team needs, because we need him to play offense. โฆ Heโs more impactful for us putting points on the board, when he can control the line of scrimmage and get our playmakers an opportunity to do that.
โWhen he gets to the next level, he has an opportunity to be an either-or guy, but itโs all up to him. One school may want him for this, while the other wants him for that.โ
The UA is recruiting Woodard as an offensive lineman. The Wildcats offered Woodard a scholarship following his freshman season.
โIโm very appreciative of the scholarship they offered me my freshman year, because they took a chance on me first, and that shows me they care and see the potential, so I commend them for that,โ Woodard said of the Wildcats. โThen Arizona as a whole, growing up and watching them being good, then being bad, then good again โ thereโs never been consistency. I really believe that the U of A with Coach Jedd Fisch is going to be consistent and heโs going to build something that the U of A hasnโt had in years.โ
He said it: โHeโs gotta show his dominance, because any other high school football kid going up against a kid like that, he should be dominating consistently. He dominated last year, but didnโt do it consistently โ and a lot of it had to do with his level of conditioning and maturity. But now heโs gotta show that next step and dominate. We take off when he takes off and shows that kind of attitude. โฆ Now heโs gotta be more of a bully.โ โ Peace
