WESTFIELD, Ind. – Jelani Woods is a big football player. Standing at 6-foot-7 and weighing in at 253 pounds, the tight end is difficult to miss whether he's on or off the football field.
And this year, he's on the field. Woods missed most of training camp in 2023 and the entirety of the season due to nagging hamstring injuries, rendering the tight end unable to build upon his rookie season in which he recorded 25 receptions for 312 yards and three touchdowns.
After a year of learning about his body and how to best take care of it, Woods is back to full health and ready to get back to playing football.
"It's a milestone for me because last year I didn't really get to this point," Woods said at training camp Tuesday. "I'm just happy, just taking it a play, minute, second at a time, just enjoying the moment and just trying to do what I can do on the field."
Woods is already showing off what he's capable of in camp, doing a little bit of everything during practices – something offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter says is a point of emphasis for all tight ends.
"We're really excited to get him out there and let him play and let him – like we were talking about with the tight end position, gosh, let him try to do everything," Cooter said Saturday. "And we'll put the pads on, and we're blocking, we're running routes, we're doing different things in protection. Jelani's going to get a chance to do all of that."
The Colts' last two training camp practices have been in full pads and shoulder pads, respectively, allowing all players to show what they can do. For Woods, it's the perfect time to try to stand out.
"Mentally, I kind of understand the offense and everything like that so it's just physically getting back into blocking, running routes and just being a valuable option for the offense," he said. "Being able to make plays is something that you want to do, especially now, kind of in that crunch time type of feel."
It is indeed crunch time for the Colts, especially regarding their tight end room. Woods is one of seven tight ends on the training camp roster, and with no set man that stands above the rest, they are all competing for those roster spots. The Colts are still evaluating how many tight ends to keep, so Woods is determined to prove his value to the team. For him, that starts with staying physically healthy.
That's why he's invested in three different physical therapists, all of whom specialize in different areas, to further his understanding of his own body. A deep tissue therapist focuses on his hamstrings and groin, a bone chiropractor studies how his body moves and a therapist with the Colts "doubles down" on what the other two work on.
"(As a bigger guy) you have to put more emphasis on your body than probably a normal person or a normal athlete," Woods said.
There's no question Woods has put in the work to get back on the field, and his teammates have picked up on it. They know what he can bring to the offense, and it's not just his size.
"You see how big he is and how fast he can run," Mo Alie-Cox said. "He's definitely a mismatch problem. And when Jelani's out there, he's always making plays. But it's just that energy that he brings, his energy is contagious and when he's out there he just builds the whole room up."
Woods' energy helps those around him, and they help him in turn. The belief the tight ends have in themselves and each other is palpable, and it fuels them daily in practice.
"We all have confidence in him," Alie-Cox said. "So when we go out there, seeing him being himself, we know the sky's the limit for him."
