Another Rookie, Another Potential All-Star for the Rush
Kevin Sheller
Tuesday April 3, 2001
Therefore, we must look closer at the roster, and discover which of those players marked “R” will become the team’s future all-stars. It doesn’t take long to notice a peculiar name on the list. Perhaps someone made a mistake. But no, it’s right here, on both copies of the Rush roster.
Pee Wee Woods.
“I was three pounds when I was born,” explains the defensive-minded WR/DB during our telephone interview. Even today he’s still on the small side. Woods is only 5’8” and 180 pounds, but he certainly doesn’t play small.
“If (the receivers) catch the ball, then I’m going to punish them,” said Woods. “They ain’t gonna want to catch the ball no more.”
Don’t let the slang fool you. Woods is intelligent, confidant, and a man of principle. I can prove it.
After Woods tried out for the Chicago Bears last season, he found himself cut after the second preseason game. He then signed on with the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL. Training camp was going well. He’d proven to the coaches that he was one of the better cornerbacks on the squad, and his chance to start was within reach. But he started to have doubts about the XFL in general.
“It was the game of football, yes. But the way they were promoting it was very unique to me. I believe they were concentrating more on the cheerleaders instead of really focusing on the game of football. Every time you’d see something on TV, you’d see the cheerleaders on there. People want to see football.”
But it wasn’t just the XFL’s lack of focus on the game that discouraged him. Woods is driven by his Christian beliefs, and to him, the XFL was violating some basic principles he lived by.
“That was going against my belief with selling sex and promoting those girls, and having them like idols out there. So young girls would see them and say, ‘I want to be like this.’ You don’t have to be like that. You can be your own person.”
Suddenly Woods wasn’t sure if the XFL was right for him. Yet one of his former teammates was on the Enforcers’ roster, including one of his cousins. It was like family. But…
“It was the day we scrimmaged the New York Hitmen. I had a real good game. The night before I went to sleep I said a little prayer for myself. The next morning I woke up and I walked up to the second floor where my coach was and I knocked on the door. I said, ‘Coach, you are going to have to release me. The XFL is not for me. I don’t want to play this game anymore.”
And just like that, Woods’ XFL career was over.
He had the opportunity to play for two CFL teams, but he grew up in the Chicago area, and he wanted to stay here. Thankfully, he got a call from Rush director of player personnel, Brent Winter, who invited Woods to the open tryout. He was signed right away, and Pee Wee quickly established his goal.
 Pee Wee lines up on offense for a goal-line drill during camp Image courtesy of Kevin Sheller |
Head coach Mike Hohensee likes the attitude Woods displayed that day. “He’s brought a little of that Oklahoma football attitude with him. He’s proud of where he’s come from and he’s trying to bring that to us and make us a better football team. He’s a fun-loving kid. He’s out here to win. He works extremely hard.”
I asked Pee Wee to describe himself as a football player.
“Aggressive. I have a tendency to gamble a little bit more because I believe my quickness and my speed can bail me out of certain situations. Sometimes that’s beneficial, and sometimes not. I have to learn how to stay more focused.”
The adjustment to the AFL is two-fold for a WR/DB. First of all, no matter how talented you are as a defensive back, you are always going to get beat.
“I love the challenge of competing against the receivers because I know Arena Football is geared for the offense to score and entertain the crowd. I know the receivers are going to try to attack me. They are going to win some (and) you are going to win some. But the object of the game is that you win more than they win.”
Second, WR/DB’s must play on both sides of the ball. Woods hasn’t played offense since high school, where he played tailback. But even tailback is a far cry from the skill required to run precise routes, and there lies Woods’ greatests weaknesses.
“Hill has helped me out a lot on offense; running the routes. Each day I’m getting better because Hill and (Cornelius) Bonner are helping me out. Because catching is not a problem.”
Overall, Pee Wee is glad to be a part of the Rush organization. He’s impressed with Hohensee (as all the players appear to be), and he’s happy to be a part of a defensive backfield that includes Derek Stingley and Chris Lawson. So while the team can be proud of their veteran talent, they are overjoyed with the class of rookies. With Pee Wee likely to start, I’m sure the Rush hope he sticks around long enough to join Loots and Stingley as another veteran great.
Roommates
Another rookie teammate, offensive specialist Cornelius Bonner, is Pee Wee’s roommate. Over the first few weeks of training camp, the two have grown very close. Bonner is turning out to be the surprise offensive star for the Rush, (scoring four TDs in his first preseason game against Arizona) while Pee Wee is making a splash at the WR/DB position with an emphasis on defense. The two are penciled in as starters, and both study the playbook and the bible together every night.
I asked Pee Wee, “Can you cover Bonner?”
“Oh yeah.”
Clovis
Pee Wee’s real name is Clovis, which is Cherokee for “King.” His father was 100% Cherokee, his mother African American. Had he not been born three pounds, his nickname might have been something like King Clovis. Or King of the Woods. I think I like Pee Wee better.
McNabb
Football is in Pee Wee’s family. One of his cousins, Donovan McNabb, is the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. During their football careers, Woods had the opportunity to compete against his cousin twice. Once, in high school, McNabb’s team won, 6-0. Then, in college, Woods’ team won “big” to even up the score.
Kevin Sheller ia founder of Arenafan Online and was the principal owner until 2004. Kevin graduated from the University of Akron with a degree in technical writing, and has been a member of the Arena Football Internet community since 1993. He has worked as a professional web programmer and is also the executive producer for a computer/video game company. The most recent Xbox title to his credit is called Hunter: The Reckoning.
