Jelani Woods Talks His Transition from Quarterback to Being in the Big 12 Trenches

Whether it’s booking it down the field after Tyron Johnson or bringing in a 32-yard pass, Jelani Woods has made some waves since switching from quarterback to Cowboy back.

Woods, a 6-foot-7, 251-pound redshirt freshman, has impressed many with how quick he has been able to transition from pass thrower to pass catcher. He said it wasn’t initially his idea to make the switch, but he wasn’t against it.

“The coaches basically came up with it,” Woods said. “I was running scout team weeks prior to the question being asked. Then, they brought me in one morning, and they just asked me, and I was like, ‘Yeah, I can see myself doing it.'”

Given his frame, Woods has the tools to be another OSU great at the mix between tight end and full back. The most difficult transition has obviously been blocking technique, but that’s expected.

“The blocking is going to come along slower,” OSU coach Mike Gundy said. “He was a quarterback, and all of a sudden, he’s in the trenches in the Big 12. That’s a very big jump. He’ll continue to improve, and that’s where he’s at right now. He just needs a lot of reps.

“There are only so many people that walk the face of the earth that are 6-foot-8 and weight 265 pounds that can somewhat control their body.”

Out of 10, Woods graded his blocking at “about a seven or eight,” and said it gets better week by week. But apparently at the beginning, the blocking wasn’t pretty.

“He’s improved a lot,” defensive end Jordan Brailford said. “He couldn’t block anything when he first came to tight end. Now he’s one of the best blockers we have on the offense. He’s strong, so it’s just a matter of him getting his hands right. Once he learned how to do that, he’s gotten a lot better.”

Woods attributed a lot of this quick growth to his time at quarterback, including having the soft hands he’s used to bring in his three catches this season.

“They always joke about it, but now I kinda naturally got hands,” Woods said. “As a quarterback, you kinda have hands to handle snaps, bad snaps and stuff like that. I naturally got hands, but yes, just different passes, learning how to adjust to passes, yes, I had to get adjusted to it.”

Woods said his time at quarterback also has picking up the playbook easy. He said it’s easier because he only has to learn how to be a Cowboy Back, rather than learning how to be a Cowboy Back and the playbook.

OSU quarterback Taylor Cornelius said he also sees the benefit of the season Woods spent with the quarterbacks.

“I think it was good for him, honestly, to sit in that quarterback room and learn the whole offense to begin with,” Cornelius said. “He knows what he’s doing out there. He knows how to run routes now. He kinda finds the holes and stuff like that in a defense.”

“Jelani is a weapon that we’re going to continue to use. He’s a freak out there. He’s a mismatch when you can get him the ball.”

It’s has to be tough switching from the most heralded position in football, but so far, Woods has made the most of it.

“I took a chance on it, and I’m running with it now,” Woods said. “I’m really loving it.”