LeVar Woods
Current position | |
---|---|
Title | Special Teams Coordinator |
Team | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
Playing career | |
1998–2000 | Iowa |
2001–2004 | Arizona Cardinals |
2005 | Chicago Bears* |
2005–2006 | Detroit Lions |
2006–2007 | Tennessee Titans |
Position(s) | Linebacker |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2008–2011 | Iowa (AA) |
2012–2014 | Iowa (LB) |
2015–2017 | Iowa (TE) |
2018–present | Iowa (STC) |
LeVar Woods (born March 15, 1978) is the
High school career
Woods attended West Lyon High School in Larchwood, Iowa and was a letterman in football, basketball, and track.[2] He graduated from West Lyon High School in 1996. Woods was the Iowa 2A player of the year as a senior.
College career
Woods attended the University of Iowa, and was a letterman in football. Playing for both Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz, he was a two-year starter as an outside linebacker. He finished his spectacular college career with four sacks and 165 tackles. In 1999, he returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Northern Illinois to help clinch Ferentz's first Iowa victory. As a senior, he was an All-Big Ten Conference second-team selection, and was given the Hayden Fry Extra Heartbeat Award.
NFL career
Woods played in the
During his NFL career, Woods was named a finalist for both the
Coaching career
Early Iowa coaching career (2008–2017)
After retiring from playing, Woods and his family relocated to
In 2012, Woods was promoted to a full-time on-field assistant coach, coaching outside linebackers and assisting with special teams. Woods and middle linebackers coach Jim Reid developed an excellent linebacking trio in Christian Kirksey, Anthony Hitchens, and James Morris, each earning All-Big Ten recognition. Reid and Woods were named national Linebacker Coaches of the Year by FootballScoop following the 2013 season.[4]
In 2015, Woods switched to tight ends coach, continuing to assist with special teams. Coaching tight ends until 2017, Woods developed two and three-star prospects into starting tight ends. These players included Henry Krieger-Coble, Jake Duzey, and future All-Pro George Kittle. Woods also coached the early careers of Noah Fant and T.J. Hockensen, both future first round picks.
Iowa Special Teams coordinator (2018–present)
In 2017, Woods became special teams coordinator in addition to coaching tight ends. In 2018, Woods became Iowa's full-time special teams coordinator without coaching another position. Woods recruits the St. Louis and Phoenix metros for the Hawkeyes, and in 2017 landed one of Iowa's highest-ranked recruits ever in defensive end A.J. Epenesa.
Under Woods' guidance, Hawkeye
The Hawkeye special teams scored on several
References
- ^ "LeVar Woods Talks Offense, New Role - HawkeyeNation". April 1, 2015.
- ^ "Hawk Central - Iowa Hawkeyes News, Scores, Stats, Schedules, Videos". Hawk Central.
- ^ Leistikow, Chad. "Leistikow: The case for LeVar Woods as a future head coach and Iowa's plan to replace Charlie Jones". Hawk Central. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Barnett, Zach. "Jim Reid and LeVar Woods - 2013 Linebackers Coaches of the Year". Footballscoop. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ 2021 Iowa Football Media Guide. Published by the University of Iowa Athletic Department. [1]
- ^ Lawhon, Danny. "You've gotta see this fake field-goal touchdown for Iowa against Minnesota". Hawk Central. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Lawhon, Danny. "Iowa offense showcases its brazen fourth-down genius with another crazy fake field-goal touchdown". Hawk Central. Retrieved September 23, 2022.
- ^ Johnson, Richard (November 5, 2017). "Iowa's trick play against Ohio State has an ancient origin story". SBNation.com. Retrieved September 23, 2022.