2023 OL Alex Woods commits to SMU

2023 Port Saint Lucie (Fla.) Treasure Coast offensive lineman Alex Woods was on SMU’s campus for an official visit last week. The visit to Dallas impressed him in such a big way that on Saturday, he dialed up SMU and committed.

“First, I want to give glory to God as he strengthens me,” Woods wrote in his tweet. “Thank you to all the coaches that have been recruiting me and everyone that has been with me throughout the recruiting process. Thank you to my family for always being there for me and always guiding me in the right path.

“Last, but not least, thank you to my coaches at Treasure Coast for encouraging, teaching and believing in me. I am blessed to announced that I’m 1,000% COMMITTED to Southern Methodist University!”

Coming off the visit, you could tell the 6-3, 270-pounder bonded with the SMU staff. Appalachian State, Marshall, Liberty, Iowa State, Troy, Coastal Carolina and others were in the mix.

“That SMU visit was amazing,” Woods told On The Pony Express. “Everything I saw, the city was wonderful. Talking to coach Justice and meeting everyone on the staff was really nice. They really welcomed me with open arms. I got used to the environment. Coach Justice coached my brother at FAU and knowing how good of a coach he is, I really noticed that and I got to connect with him on another level besides knowing me from my brother. I loved it.”

SMU offensive line coach Garin Justice has a bond with Woods after coaching his brother, Antonyo, at FAU. That bond deepened after conversations about on and off the field.

“When we were talking, they gave me a little powerpoint, a PDF, something that stood out with me and him, we were talking about Life After Ball,” Alex Woods said. “He was explaining to me that some schools will be like, ‘Yea, we’ll help you get a job after football, after your four years here,’ but he really told me how everybody at SMU, it’s almost like a family there. It really helped me notice that SMU has a real solid family foundation and he said he loves it up there.

“When we talked about ball and development, he showed me some clips here and there. He showed me some of my brother’s clips from FAU before and after he coached him, you can tell coach Justice is really good with the development stage and getting players to the best of their abilities.”

SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee caught his eye in a big way.

“Coach Lashlee is awesome. He’s a great guy,” Woods said. “The time I had to talk to him and speak with him, I can tell he’s really about SMU and he’s about making this program better and he’s about his players. He’s really about the community overall. SMU is high on my board.”

Alex Woods is commitment No. 12 in 2023

The Mustangs have 11 other commitments in the class of 2023. Lucas (Tex.) Lovejoy wide receiver Jaxson Lavender started things off before Frisco (Tex.) linebacker Brandon Miyazono and Dallas (Tex.) South Oak Cliff wide receiver Randy Reece jumped on board. In May, athlete Abdul Muhammad joined Reece as SOC teammates committed to SMU.

2023 McKinney (Tex.) quarterback Keldric Luster committed to SMU, he announced last month. Shortly after, Houston (Tex.) Jersey Village offensive lineman Reagan Gill and Seminole (Tex.) offensive lineman Rikter Connally committed.

Katy (Tex.) Paetow linebacker Alex Kilgore, DeSoto (Tex.) defensive back Jaden Milliner-Jones, San Antonio (Tex.) Central defensive lineman Braeden Flowers and Austin (Tex.) Vandegrift defensive lineman Daemian Wimberly committed to the Mustangs in late June.

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