Alabama Safety Peyton Woodyard Visiting Oregon This Weekend
Alabama Crimson Tide safety Peyton Woodyard will visit the Oregon Ducks this weekend, a source tells ScoopDuck. The news was first reported by Matt Zenitz of 247Sports.
Woodyard signed with the Crimson Tide as a four-star (93.60 per On3 Industry ranking) recruit in the class of 2024 out of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco High School. The same system ranked him the No. 128 player nationally, the No. 7 safety and the No. 10 prospect in California.
The 6-foot, 200-pound defensive back was previously committed to the Georgia Bulldogs before flipping to Alabama prior to the start of the 2023 high school season in August. Woodyard was one of three California natives the Tide signed in the 2024 class along with cornerback Zabien Brown (Mater Dei) and quarterback Julian Sayin (Carlsbad). Sayin has since transferred to Ohio State.
Woodyard enrolled early at the University of Alabama in December and practiced with the team during their college football playoff run, which ended with a 27-20 loss in the Rose Bowl to the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines. The Southern California product was also an Adidas All-American selection and participated in All-Star festivities in San Antonio, Texas after enrolling with the Tide.
During his high school recruitment, Woodyard took multiple trips to Oregon, but the Ducks were not viewed as a serious contender.
Dan Lanning, Tosh Lupoi and Rashad Wadood are very familiar with St. John Bosco, as the coaches signed Braves defensive end Matayo Uiagalelei as one of the headliners in their 2023 recruiting class.
The Ducks currently have a number of scholarship safeties (Tysheem Johnson, Kobe Savage, Tyler Turner, Aaron Flowers and Kingston Lopa among others) on the roster as they exit spring practice with Kodi DeCambra reportedly entering the transfer portal over the weekend.
The team is expected to add Duke transfer Brandon Johnson, who’s projected to play a nickel/star role, in the summer. Oregon will be the first school Woodyard visits since entering the transfer portal on Monday.
