Watch the Sooners train for the fall season in this highlight reel of practice footage from August 10, 2021.
Filmed by Collin McDaniel and Justin Jayne
Edited by Collin McDaniel
Mike Woods was bored when COVID-19 besieged the United States in 2020, so he started looking for ways to pass time.
As it is for many, YouTube, which he watched regularly growing up, became the solution to his entertainment hole. But Woods wasn’t just viewing videos anymore — he started making them with the camera he’d acquired following a recent interest in photography.
Speaking to the media Wednesday for the first time since transferring to OU from Arkansas on April 23, Woods provided insight on his use of the world’s largest video sharing platform. The former Razorbacks receiver has over 4,810 subscribers on his “WoodVille” YouTube channel, which he began in June 2020. It’s a unique creative pathway that helped him build his personal brand significantly at Arkansas.
Woods appears primed to be a formidable deep threat for Oklahoma in 2021, after catching 32 passes for 619 yards and five touchdowns last fall while ranking second in the Southeastern Conference with 19.34 yards per catch. Simultaneously, he’ll use his on-field platform at OU to enhance his off-field commentary, which ranges from advice for other players to windows of his personal life.
“That's definitely something I plan to keep doing,” Woods said of his YouTube channel. “I'm not doing it right now because I'm in fall camp, I'm a little busy. Definitely during the season and going forward, I'll definitely be looking to do some more of that.”
Woods’ last video — published June 6, three days shy of one year since he began his channel — took fans inside his official visit to Oklahoma, where he met up with head coach Lincoln Riley and outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons. Before his trip to Norman, he’d endured a wild mid-April stretch in which he caught a touchdown pass during Arkansas’ April 17 spring game, declared his departure April 20 and then committed to the Sooners three days later.
“It was very, very hectic,” Woods said. “I had many teams reaching out to me, and honestly, I wanted to end it a little earlier than I did, but my mom wanted me to go ahead and meet with a few more people. … It was a pretty easy decision for me seeing what Coach Riley does with transfers, quarterbacks and receivers and as a whole offense.”
Woods partly became envious of playing for Riley, noticing offseason training partner and former Sooners receiver CeeDee Lamb's success in Norman. During Big 12 Media Days in July, Riley called Woods explosive and said the addition made sense based on Oklahoma’s receiving needs.
Aside from freshman All-American Marvin Mims, the Sooners’ wideouts produced lackluster results in 2020. Riley has since dismissed Trejan Bridges, whose No. 8 jersey Woods now wears, for his involvement in an alleged robbery.
Woods’ experience in multiple offensive schemes at Arkansas — with coaches Chad Morris and Joe Craddock in 2019, then Sam Pittman and Kendal Briles in 2020 — should only help his understanding of Riley’s playbook. He also noted through five practices he feels good about his growing rapport with quarterback Spencer Rattler, who he and many others consider the best passer in college football.
Arkansas transfer WR Mike Woods looks the part pic.twitter.com/rcLn57Drie
— Jason Kersey (@jasonkersey) August 10, 2021
Here’s a look at Arkansas transfer WR Mike Woods (@TheMikeWoods). #Sooners pic.twitter.com/Lai0Hd85ts
— Nate Feken (@TheGreat_Nate) August 10, 2021
First look at Arkansas transfer receiver Mike Woods: #Sooners pic.twitter.com/VtutisZfQM
— Austin Curtright (@AustinCurtright) August 10, 2021
“I've definitely developed a great chemistry with (Woods) throughout these past couple weeks he's been here,” Rattler said last Thursday at OU’s local media day. “He's a lengthy, tall, bigger receiver, so it gives me options to put the ball up, and what stands out to me is how he has long arms. He can go get the ball, and you could throw it up high (and) he’ll go get it and he's got good top end speed and sharp cuts, all that stuff.
“He's a complete receiver and we’ve got to keep developing that chemistry. It's not fully there yet, but it'll be there before the season for sure.”
By the time Rattler and Woods first connect in a game, perhaps the latter will have reinvigorated his videography exploits. Should he choose to, he could now monetize his productions thanks to new name, image and likeness powers, which took effect July 1. He has already joined Cameo, where he’s offering fans personalized video messages for $30.
Woods’ transfer to OU does raise questions about his personal brand’s translation amid a star-studded roster headlined by Rattler, outside linebacker Nik Bonitto and others. He doesn’t seem worried about it though.
“I mean, yeah, if you're thinking about that (it’s concerning), but honestly, I'm more focused on being a football player,” Woods said. “That was just something I wanted to do to show my personality off and … build my brand, so that wasn't really too much on my mind. I'm more focused on being a football player. I made the best football decision for myself.”
Indeed, Woods appears fixated on helping OU to its national championship aspirations while asserting himself among other receivers on the prestigious Biletnikoff Award preseason watch list. He declined comment Thursday on his past experience in the SEC, which the Sooners will join by 2025, in favor of focusing on the Big 12 this fall.
Like he splits previous conference experience from present conference opportunity, Woods approaches his football career and YouTube channel as autonomous entities. Even so, it wouldn’t surprise to see his creativity behind the camera translate to the field a little.
“I try to keep the YouTube separate from football,” Woods said. “Obviously, it's kind of a part of my YouTube channel because I'm a football player, but I try to keep it completely separate and just focus out there.
“But (I) definitely try to put a little bit more creativity into my routes.”
