The speed caught the eye first.
A football in his hands, Maxwell Woods spent Friday nights and several important Saturdays last fall making opposing defenders look clumsy.
The Chanhassen senior routinely blew past defensive ends and linebackers who thought they had the angle to cut him off, only to learn they were dealing with no ordinary velocity.
It wasn't just on offense that Woods blazed a path. Blessed with the quick-twitch muscle fibers that lend themselves to speed and explosion, Woods was also a shutdown cornerback on defense, able to make up ground quickly in pass coverage and chase down opposing players a half-field away.
Woods was the linchpin to Chanhassen's 13-0 season and run to the Class 5A state championship. He had 2,106 yards rushing and receiving and scored 27 touchdowns on runs, receptions and kick returns.
Not enough? Woods originally made his reputation on the basketball court, where he's known to break down defenses off the dribble and get to the rim with regularity. He averaged 21.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and eight assists per game.
His versatility and success rate led to this: Woods, two-way superstar on a football state championship team and standout basketball guard, is the Star Tribune's All-Metro Sports Awards Male Athlete of the Year for 2024.
It's not his first award. He made himself pretty obvious during the football season.
Woods also was selected Star Tribune Metro Player of the Year, received the Minnesota Mr. Football Award from the Minnesota Football Coaches Association, was the Associated Press Player of the Year and was recognized as the 2023-24 Gatorade Minnesota Player of the Year.
Especially remarkable about Woods is that his numbers don't impress the way his skills wow the naked eye. He stands 5-10 and weighs 175 pounds. His publicized time in the 40-yard dash is 4.55 seconds.
Those statistics likely limited his college football offers to Football Championship Subdivision-level programs. Woods signed with two-time FCS champion South Dakota State in December after flipping from his original commitment to North Dakota State.
"Maxwell is as competitive a player as I have been around in 22 years of coaching, and his work ethic matches," Chanhassen coach Cullen Nelson told the Star Tribune.
