ND’s Wood avoids getting low

SOUTH BEND — Cornerbacks, conventional wisdom says, need to possess a
short memory. Get beat? Get over it, in a hurry. Don’t let one bad
play become two bad plays.

Lo Wood got beat — badly — last year. USC game, the Trojans clinging
to a seven-point lead midway through the fourth quarter. On a
third-and-6 from the Irish 17, Trojan superstar Robert Woods blew past
Wood and caught a TD pass from Matt Barkley. Momentum firmly on Troy’s
side, game essentially over.

Wood could have chosen to move on from the play, but instead he
chooses to remember. No, he hasn’t sulked and become Low Wood, but
rather selected to take out any frustrations on ... dumbbells.

“That’s what motivated me this whole summer,” the junior from Apopka,
Fla., said. “Probably most every day in the weight room when I’m doing
curls and I want to start and I just think about that one play, and I
think I need to do 10 more so I get stronger and it won’t happen
again.”

That rematch won’t occur until Nov. 24, but Wood seems well on his way
toward securing one of the two starting cornerback jobs being sought
this fall. Classmate Bennett Jackson figures to be a lock for one
spot, while Wood, Josh Atkinson and Cam McDaniel are the main
combatants for the other.

“Josh Atkinson is in there clearly. Cam McDaniel has done a really,
really good job,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said this week, “but if you
ask me after the first five days the guy that has impressed the most,
it’s been Lo Wood.”

Reasons? Kelly listed a few, including the 14 pounds the 5-foot-10,
192-pound Wood gained in the offseason, Wood’s ability to break on the
ball, his tackling ability and his communication skills. Wood believes
that his greatest improvement since last season has been covering deep
balls.

“If you want to play,” Wood said, “you’ve got to play the deep ball.”

Wood has played in 21 career games, the majority of his work coming on
special teams. During his time at Notre Dame, he’s played behind
Darrin Walls, Robert Blanton and Gary Gray, and he at times found
himself wondering when the training wheels would come off.

“It feels like it takes about eight years to get to that point,” Wood,
who played in 10 games last season but did not appear in three of the
final five, said with a smile.

Now, it appears, he and Jackson, a converted wide receiver, are in
line to be the frontliners.

“Me and Bennett talk about it every day,” Wood said. Basically we
can’t let anyone come in front of us and take our spots. It’s going to
take a lot — a lot of confidence and a lot of belief in us to be out
there and help the defense win.”

Last season Wood helped the defense in a dominating win over
out-manned Maryland. His 57-yard interception return for a touchdown
came three weeks after the USC loss.

“That’s a big boost,” he said. “That really helped me gain the
confidence for the rest of the season. Getting an interception, it’s a
big deal.”

The Irish schedule this season too is a big deal. It’s dotted with
potential potholes and some offenses that will be challenging. With
training camp still in the early stages however, Wood doesn’t profess
to hold a detailed knowledge of opposing personnel.

Well, sort of.

“Not really,” he said. “The only receiver I know of right now is
Robert Woods. Any other receiver, I don’t know of right now.”