When Notre Dame coaches tell potential recruits the Notre Dame brand is everywhere, they really mean it. 2017 Winter Park (Fla.) receiver Jordan Pouncey committed to Notre Dame last month and is already seeing the benefits of those Irish ties.
Pouncey has recently been training with Lo Wood Sr., the father of former Notre Dame defensive back Lo Wood, at Excel Speed Training in Florida.
This past weekend was the first chance for the two to get together and Wood was extremely impressed with what he saw from the 6-foot-2, 183-pounder.
“I train one of his teammates and I was coming out on Saturday for our defensive back training with KJ Dillon from the Texas, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix from Green Bay, so we train those guys,” explained Wood.
“I walk up and this kid is out there running routes against those guys. I am like ‘Who is that?’ Someone told me it was Jordan Pouncey and I had never met him. I was talking to him and he said he wanted to work on being a receiver. A lot of schools had been recruiting him as a defensive back, but he wants to play receiver.”
Wood knows a thing or two about receivers, so it’s likely a match that will see Pouncey benefit from down the road.
“I told him if he wanted if he wanted to be a receiver he was at the right place,” laughed Wood. “I told him I had trained a lot of receivers that have played in college, including my step-son, Isiah Myers, who played at Washington State.
“I started to teach him some different techniques I do with our NFL guys and he got caught on fast. He told me he liked it. Then I come to find out that my quarterback that we train, transferred to Winter Park, so on Sunday I look out and Pouncey is out there again with our quarterback.
“It’s just by fate. Notre Dame guys just know how to find each other.”
Wood saw his son play four seasons in South Bend and while it might not have turned out the way they hoped on the football field, there are no regrets or hard feelings. However, with Wood attending Notre Dame along with a few others from central Florida, like Ian Williams, the perception has changed.
“While Lo didn’t have the best career at Notre Dame and had his Achilles problem, but it’s all great because he got a degree,” said Wood. “He’s happy and he is out with Kevin Hart right now working on a show.
“At the same time, when Ian Williams went to Notre Dame, it wasn’t a big deal, but Lo said some of the kids in our program said it’s a big deal they went to Notre Dame. It has trickled down and now I train Dexter Williams too. It’s a big deal now.
“But Jordan was like I know Lo. Autry Denson had been on the same staff as Lo at Miami of Ohio. It’s funny how the Notre Dame connections work out. All the Notre Dame guys kind of stick together.”
Wood saw first-hand how quick of a learner Pouncey is and feels he has the potential to be very good at receiver, despite schools recruiting him as a defensive back.
“I showed him one move and he got it in one try,” stated Wood. “It was an NFL move called the ‘foot fire.’ You release inside, get back on your route, stem at the bottom on the route and stem at the top of the route, but then you swing across.
“The first time he did it, he did it a little different. The next time he did it, it was like he had been doing it forever. He has the chance to be a really good receiver once he gets trained, gets used to running precise routes and taught how to run routes. He is a really long player.”
The three-star recruit also flashed his speed for Wood during the workouts. Wood believes once Pouncey understands route concepts his speed will allow him to take his game to the next level.
“There are two things about speed,” Wood explained. “He has a good turn over, he might not be the quickest player, but he has a good turn over. That means the long legs are gaining ground fast, so he will get on top of a defensive backs toes real fast. Once he gets them on top of their toes, he will be hard to stop because his arms are so long too.”
The other thing Pouncey will benefit from is a college weight lifting program. Wood saw the difference in a college weight program in his son’s time at Notre Dame.
“When he gets to Notre Dame he is going to get bigger, stronger and faster,” he said. “Why, because of the program. When Lo got to Notre Dame he was a 162 pounds and when he left there he was 198 pounds.
“High school weight programs are just going through the motions a lot of times. Once kids get into a proper weight system, they will take off. There is no doubt that he will get stronger, faster and more powerful.”
Pouncey’s ability to be coachable was stressed many times by Wood, so Mike Denbrock can only be excited for the future of the position, as Wood believes Notre Dame got a good one.
“I am telling you that he is so coachable,” said Wood. “He caught on so fast. He is a receiver. He is an athlete. He can drop his hips too. He can drop his hips, curl and come out of his break already. I have NFL guys that struggle with that.”
ISD FREEBIE
