Name: Riley Wood
School: Bethel University (TN)
Position: LS
Height: 5’11”
Weight: 238
What goals did you set and/or accomplish in your final collegiate season?
The main goals for my final collegiate season were to win the conference championship and national title. We came up short of those goals but we had our first winning season since winning the conference in 2018 and we beat two top 8 teams at home. So it was a pretty successful final season.
Q: How do you think you took advantage of the extra year of eligibility to increase your chances of going pro?
I believe the extra year of eligibility allowed me to improve a lot as a long snapper. I improved my downfield coverage skills as well as my consistency with my snaps on punts and field goals.
Q: What would your coaches and teammates say about the type of player you are?
I think my coaches and teammates would say I was an unselfish team player who was consistent in the work necessary to achieve our goals.
Q: When you are studying film, what are the things you focus on to improve your game?
I start by looking at my snaps to find any mistakes I can correct to improve the accuracy of each snap. I also breakdown each player that might be rushing or blocking me on a punt. During this process I focus on their tendencies and what advantages they might give me in blocking or covering downfield.
Q: What separates you from the other pro prospects at your position?
I believe my five years as a college starter with forty six games played gives me a wealth of experience and afforded me the ability to have fine tuned my accuracy on my snaps and my ability as a blocker.
Q: What is your offseason plan to train and prepare for professional opportunities?
I recently finished playing in the Dream Bowl which was a great experience. I’m also going to continue working with my snapping coach and working to improve my combine metrics in preparation for any upcoming workouts.
Q: What kind of strengths and abilities will you bring to a team that will stand out both on and off the field?
Throughout the last five years I have had a one snap at a time mentality that has allowed me to not get to high or to low after a snap which gives me the ability to quickly fix any mistakes and improve my snaps on the fly. I also feel like being a husband and father of two boys has afforded me the opportunity to develop as a leader on and off the field and become relentless in the pursuit of success because I’m doing it for them.
Q: What is your final pitch to the NFL and any other pro leagues?
I’m sure most players would tell you all the obvious things such as I started 46 games in college, made major strides in my craft every year in college, became a very accurate long snapper, and served on our teams Leadership council. However important this information is I believe what’s just as important if not more is that I did this while being married with two kids graduating early and earning my MBA degree while working a full time job this season. Proving that I have the drive and focus to do whatever it takes to achieve my goals and I would give that same drive and focus to any team that gave me the opportunity.