Penn State wants Will Wood, and will have to beat out a beloved figure in program history to get him.
In an interview with NSN conducted minutes after Wood had a phone call with PSU coach Matt Campbell that went roughly 40 minutes, Wood said that, while there are other schools he’s considering, Penn State and Boston College are the co-favorites.
247Sports first reported this late Wednesday night, and also reported his commitment timeline, which Wood confirmed with NSN.
“It’s fifty-fifty right now,” Wood said. “I was talking to Coach Campbell about this. Like, these are two schools I am in love with.”
Whatever decision Wood makes, he’d like to make soon.
He told NSN he wants to decide before the end of May.
Boston College, of course, is run by Bill O’Brien, who is still celebrated in State College for his role in getting the program back on its feet amid scandal and sanctions.
O’Brien is an offensive guy who has coached stars at the NFL (Tom Brady) and college (Bryce Young) level, and Wood, who stars at Xaverian Brothers High School in Westwood, Massachusetts, has played before O’Brien in person multiple times.
“I’m really close with O’Brien,” Wood said. “He’s made it clear that I’m his guy. Like he’ll give me every opportunity to come play right away. I’m going to have to earn it obviously, but he’s strongly convinced about how I am as a player, and he, since I am so close to BC, he’s been to multiple of my games. He knows people around the state really well, so he’s very convinced that he wants me. And I’ve built a great relationship. He’s very honest. He’s a guy I feel like can talk to about anything.”
O’Brien still has love for Penn State, and told Wood he “can’t be too mad about it” if PSU beats out BC.
But that might happen, and a big reason is because of Campbell and Penn State’s staff.
Wood is a big fan of Campbell’s authentic personality.
“You’re not getting any BS with him,” he said. “He’s a leader of men, you can tell, and he’s a guy like you, like all of these guys that I would love to play for. I feel I can talk to him about everything, and I’ve been able to have real, honest conversations with him. I don’t hold back, and he really appreciates it. He’s a very humble guy, but he loves football, which I love. So everything about him, he’s one of the best.”
The coach that Wood said he might be the closest with on Penn State’s staff is QB coach Jake Waters.
“He was the guy who first believed in me,” Wood said. “He’s just a laid back guy, but watching him coach, he’s a great teacher of the quarterback position.”
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Wood is also impressed by how Waters — who turned 34 last month — is eager to improve his craft.
“He’s always trying to learn,” Wood said. “Like I’ve had conversations about what I am being taught mechanically and how he can incorporate that in his own coaching, and he just makes things simpler. It seems we’re just sitting in meetings listening to him, and I have a great relationship. He’s a great guy.”
Schematically, Wade feels he fits the new PSU and former Iowa State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser’s scheme.
“I think they do a lot of similar things that I am able to do in my offense,” he said. “Obviously, they’re more diverse, more complex, but they do a lot of that RPO stuff. They’ll spread it out. They’ll get under center a little bit. They’re heavy and play action. They like to run the ball. They’re tough, physical and they’re not going to have a quarterback run the ball twenty times a game. But they want to put the ball in that in the guy’s hands when they need him to pick up plays, and I think that’s what they like about me, and that’s how I see myself fitting, being a guy. Who can work the actual game progression, play action, and take shots, create explosive (plays.) So, I really like Coach Mauser; he’s a football guy. He seems fearless out there. He’s the kind of guy I want to play for, and yeah, I think his offense fits my skill set.
A quarterback Wood patterns himself after is a guy who never played at Penn State, but who Campbell, Mouser and Waters all worked with: Brock Purdy.
“He’s not the biggest guy, the fastest guy, doesn’t have the strongest arm, but he wins because he’s a winner,” Wood said. “He has all the intangibles. He’s a leader. Super accurate. I think that’s why I’ve been so drawn to watching him and trying to model, I wouldn’t say like copy his game, but model some things he does. Being that guy who’s calm, cool, and collected never gets too high, too low. I think that’s why, like, obviously, he’s one of the best quarterbacks in the world. So he’s not one of the best talents in the world. He’s six feet tall and doesn’t have a rocket arm, but he wins, so I think that’s the guy that I’ve been most drawn to.”
Wood said Campbell showed him a text exchange between him and Purdy, discussing his film, and Purdy told his college coach that Wood has “a smooth throwing motion, a strong arm and good footwork.”
“Means a lot coming from one of the best there is,” Wood said.
Right now, Wood is a three-star, and although he doesn’t put much weight on star ratings, they do add fuel to the fire.
“It kind of pisses you off a bit,” Wood said, “and it motivates you a bit. So I won’t lie and say it doesn’t. Yeah, it’s definitely a thing. But my goal is not to be a four-star. My goal is to go play at high-level college football and win championships.”
Arkansas, Stanford and West Virginia are also in consideration, but right now, this looks like a two-horse race.
Wood has former teammates playing at both Penn State and Boston College, with PSU long snapper Andrew Dufault playing at Xaverian Brothers.
Boston College is much closer to home for Wood, with Chestnut Hill being roughly 20 minutes away from Westwood, but Wood does have family in Pennsylvania as well.
“It’s gonna be very hard for me to decide,” Wood said.
