Married life suits UVa’s Woods

To most, it would have seemed unfair.

The raindrops that fell from the sky ruined the initial outdoor plans at The Gardens on the University of Virginia campus for what would be the greatest day in Brandon Woods’ young life.

Luckily, Woods and his bride-to-be had contingency plans in place.

During Virginia’s bye week on Sept. 26, while many of the Cavaliers watched football with teammates, Woods held a ceremony to publicly marry his high school sweetheart, Khama Deleston, at Charlottesville’s Mount Zion First African Baptist Church, where former UVa running back Cedric Peerman occasionally preached last year as an ordained minister.

Woods had been married legally for three or four weeks, but planned the wedding during the season’s lone off week with the approval of Virginia coach Al Groh.

“We definitely talked about it and he knew I was making the right decision .... it was a personal life decision on a bye week,” Woods explained. “It was during the football season but on a day of not having practice. That was much easier.

“And he gave me a couple of tips on being a married man.”

His teammates have also been supportive, something that was also the case when former linebacker Jon Copper was married while still performing as a student-athlete.

“My teammates, they love it,” Woods joked. “I’ve been dating her for a while. She is my high school sweetheart from back in North Carolina.

“So they were happy for me and supporting me and a couple of guys showed up [at the wedding], so that was great.”

Watching Copper and how he handled the transition helped Woods.

“Copper has always been a mentor for me,” he said. “We talked about being a married man, and as a Christian man what it takes being married.

“So that was a great deal for me, too.”

While his wife is in the Air Force, she asked to be assigned to VMI in Lexington to put the couple closer together.

One week after taking their vows, the couple had something else to be excited about. Woods enjoyed one his most memorable games as a Cavalier during a 16-3 victory over North Carolina.

Starting in place of fellow safety Rodney McLeod, who was injured, Woods was on the field for 61 plays, only one of which came on special teams.

He registered three tackles and was called to blitz Tar Heel quarterback T.J. Yates on a key play.

The blow left Yates on his back.

“My heart was racing. My eyes got big,” Woods said. “It was an opportunity to take a shot and get in on the quarterback, and it was a great feeling.”

It was easily the most extensive work for Woods this season — the fifth-year senior from Durham, N.C., was on the field for just eight defensive plays and 26 snaps on special teams in the opening three games.

The production was lacking, as Woods had managed just one assisted tackle entering what could be his final contest in his home state.

For the former starter, it was a humbling experience not to have an active role, but one that Woods embraced.

“Obviously that’s challenging circumstances for a player,” Groh said. “Brandon has always been a player that’s put a great deal into it. Things weren’t going as well as he would like, he would always want to say, ‘Coach, can I come in and go over this video with you or talk about what I need to do?’

“His game has always been very important to him. He handled it admirably, and that’s why I was [excited] he played very well the other day. He’s from Durham and it was a nice thing for him to play well and for his team to get a win.”

More importantly, Woods likes to feel that he helped lift Virginia to its first win of the season during one of the most dominating defensive performances under coach Groh.

For Woods, it looked like the defense had returned to its form from 2007. That season Virginia won nine games.

“We kind of got an idea of what kind of defense we can be: running to the ball, being physical and, as a unit, all guys going hard to the ball every play,” Woods said. “We can be real good. We just have to have that mentality to win every week [and] be physical every week.”

As for a honeymoon?

Woods, longing to end his playing career in a postseason game, said it could wait.