The development that may have turned the University of Akron football team’s season into a success didn’t come until the third game against Savannah State.
That’s when coach Terry Bowden and offensive coordinator A.J. Milwee handed the ball to redshirt sophomore quarterback Thomas Woodson.
Woodson didn’t begin the season as a starter — that responsibility went to fellow sophomore Tra’Von Chapman, a Kent Roosevelt product who transferred into the Zips program. But Woodson took the reins when his teammate struggled in Week 3, and ended that game completing 12-of-20 passes for 207 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
“He came into that Savannah State game and just took advantage of his opportunity,” Milwee said of Woodson before the team’s departure from Akron for the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise, where the Zips (7-5 overall and 5-3 in the Mid-American Conference) will face Utah State (6-6) on Tuesday in their first bowl appearance in 10 years.
Woodson’s numbers didn’t electrify, but they were enough to earn him the start the next week, when he led the Zips to a 35-14 win at Louisiana-Lafayette.
To get there, Woodson had to overcome some obstacles, and one of those was a propensity to exceed his ideal weight, Bowden said. Woodson — who weighed more than 250 pounds at one point — was advised by his coach to lose some weight or offensive coaches didn’t know what they were going to do with the quarterback from Monroeville, Pa.
Woodson’s weight was affecting his conditioning and his ability to lead the team, Bowden said. Leadership is as much about what’s done off the field as on it, he said during a recent interview.
“Quarterback has to lead from the front, not from behind,” Bowden said. “It didn’t affect [Woodson’s] ability to throw and hand off, but it did affect his ability to lead and it did slow him down on the field. He got tired.”
Challenged by his coaches, and by Bowden in particular, Woodson — whose nickname is Sheriff Woody — dropped below 230 by the start of fall camp in August.
“Show me this is serious,” Bowden said he told Woodson. “He just kept working and kept working and then the opportunity came.”
With that opportunity has come some success, as Woodson has completed 148-of-278 passes for 2,034 yards and 12 touchdowns with 10 interceptions. He’s also rushed for 553 yards and three scores.
Former Zips starter Kyle Pohl, now one of the backups, said he was confident Woodson could do the job if he got the chance.
“If you ask anybody, they’ll tell you — he’s always been impressive,” Pohl said of Woodson.
And Pohl said he’s just as impressed by the way Woodson worked to reshape his body and future.
“For him to develop as a football player and a man, he’s really come a long way,” Pohl said. “Watching him grow has been pretty cool. I’ve always known with his arm strength — it’s something we’ve seen from the time he’s stepped on campus.”
Woodson confessed he got down on himself last season after failing to produce in two starts. That’s a valley many players have to climb out of on their way to success.
Woodson said he didn’t feel completely at ease with the Zips being his team until after they became bowl eligible with a 42-21 victory over Buffalo on Nov. 21. Until then, beginning in Week 4 against Louisiana-Lafayette, his development was more a case of evolution, not revolution, as each week he gradually got better.
“I never knew really what was going to happen. I never knew if I was going to start the next week,” Woodson said. “Ever since I kept playing, I got more comfortable. I’m just comfortable with anything now and a lot of guys respond to me now. I pretty much have to take that role, honestly. I’m fine with it now.”
The growth and the learning had to continue, however.
After Bowling Green throttled the Zips 59-10 on Oct. 17, Woodson said he spent some time reflecting on the defeat. He said he’d never absorbed a loss like that.
“I kind of really pushed myself harder,” he said. “There’s no such thing as being perfect, but I tried to be closer to it.”
And he’s still working on his game, which is something his teammates and Zips fans have to look forward to — a quarterback who takes coaching to heart.
Couple that with a developing receiver in Jerome Lane Jr. — a Firestone graduate who broke out this year with 35 catches for 750 yards (21.4 average) and eight touchdowns — and the Zips have two cornerstones to build an offense around.
“As long as we can keep the tone set around here — we’re coming back next year — we know what’s going on,” Woodson said. “We see how the program transformed. As long as we keep the level of play up to where it needs to be and set an example for everyone else, then we keep the tradition going.”
Milwee and Bowden agreed both players have a high ceiling, but they also know where everything starts offensively.
And that is at quarterback.
“He’s continuing to evolve as a quarterback,” Bowden said of Woodson. “We’ve always known that Thomas had the talent to play ball for us. He’s always had the athletic skills, the arm strength, the football instincts, the IQ of a quarterback.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.