34 DAYS TO KICKOFF: Tanner Wood

#34 Tanner Wood Redshirt Sophomore 6-5 | 263 Conway Springs, Kan. Bio

Position: Defensive End Previous College: None Projection: Second-String Status: On Scholarship

Tanner Joe Wood (b. Nov. 11, 1994) is a talented defensive end who played on special teams and as a reserve defensive end in 2014. He will continue to develop and compete for more playing time on defense as a sophomore.

He redshirted in 2013, then played in all 13 games last season, mainly on special teams. He carded one tackle against Stephen F. Austin and UTEP, while he had half a tackle for loss against the Lumberjacks.

Wood, who I expect be a major part of the four-man rotation at defensive end this upcoming season, is a performance freak of nature. What do I mean by that? The guy goes hard every single play.

Exhibit A: In 2012, Wood set a Kansas high school state record — and the third-best single-game rushing yardage total in national high school history — with a 659-yard, nine-TD effort in Conway Springs' 84-56 win over Chaparral.

That's just insane, folks. And he didn't do it with speed, but with brute strength and raw willpower. I don't care if the competition is perhaps a little sub-par at the Class 3A level. That's an impressive feat against tackling dummies.

Wood was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior year and was an All-American honorable mention selection by Parade Magazine.

A four-year letterman under head coach Matt Biehler who led the Cardinals to a combined record of 45-5 during his high school career, Wood was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 2 player in the state of Kansas in 2012.

Wood recorded a whopping 2,709 rushing yards, 43 total touchdowns and 110 tackles during his senior season.

He was named to The Topeka Capital-Journal and VarsityKansas.com 2012 Top 11 teams, and was an All-Class 3A first team performer at running back by VarsityKansas.com and at linebacker by the Capital-Journal as a senior.

Wood was chosen to play in the 2013 Kansas Shrine Bowl after being named a first-team All-Central Plains League performer as a running back and linebacker in 2012.

An all-state pick at linebacker as a junior, he led Conway Springs to a 13-1 record and a Kansas Class 3A State championship in 2011. Wood also tallied 88 tackles and three interceptions during his junior campaign.

He also was a standout in basketball, and track and field who has the potential to become another Monty Beisel or Ben Leber for us.