Troy’s Killer B’s ready to roll

By Drew Champlin

Published: August 26, 2008

TROY — It was just a scrimmage with the third team defense against the first team offense, but it set the tone for what would happen more than two years later.

The way Troy linebackers Boris Lee and Bear Woods remember it, they were youngsters, leading the charge against the top offense, led by quarterback Omar Haugabook, the eventual Sun Belt Player of the Year. The defense won — at least in that setting.

This was in 2006, the first year of Troy’s new fast-paced spread offense. Woods played sparingly the previous fall and Lee enrolled that semester as a grayshirt.

“They couldn’t score on us because we knew what to do,” Woods said. “Right after that scrimmage, we were already talking about how we couldn’t wait to play together.”

It’s been two years, and the two have different stories, but the duo, now juniors, go into Troy’s season opener at Middle Tennessee Thursday as the Trojans’ top two linebackers.

And they’ve been by each other’s side both on and off the field.

“Not just ability but sheer instincts,” Troy head coach Larry Blakeney said. “Both of them are on top of their game, and I hope we can keep them well.

“Those two guys are the heart and soul of our defense.”

It was easy for Lee, though grade issues forced him to delay enrollment a semester. He immediately found his way on the field, earning a starting spot as a freshman and getting all-conference honors as a sophomore last year.

It wasn’t quite as easy for Woods, who grows his hair long so he can cut it and donate it to Locks For Love. He came to Troy as a walk-on quarterback from MacClenny, Fla., but it didn’t take coaches long enough to figure out he wasn’t a college quarterback.

But he had a role somewhere.

Coaches first suggested fullback, but Woods, who doubled as a hard-hitting safety in high school, wanted to play linebacker.

He played as a backup in 2005, but redshirted in 2006 while Lee was making waves. Meanwhile, Woods was paying out-of-state tuition for four semesters while still trying to prove he belonged as a walk-on.

After finally getting awarded that scholarship, he backed up Lee last year at middle linebacker (Mike), but moved to an outside spot (Will) during the spring, replacing three-year starter Marcus Richardson.

It was there that, without a shadow of a doubt, Woods earned a starting position. Definitely not the first walk-on to earn a scholarship, Woods fits the mold of former Trojan defenders Brannon Condren, Frankie Lloyd and Ryan Babb — all former walk-ons who helped lead Troy to a conference title and bowl win in 2006.

“Most of them never hit the field, but you’ve got some of those hidden gems out there, and Bear’s turned out to be one of those,” safety Tavares Williams said.

Lee always knew Woods had it in him. When he first took the field, he learned how to be a leader from Woods, hearing him bark out the calls that Lee now yells during the games to set up the defense.

In a two-game stretch last year, Lee didn’t record a tackle, though he was still the leading tackler on the year. In one of those games, at FIU, Woods led the way with six tackles.

“He would come in and pick up the slack like it was nothing,” Lee said. “If I was a coach, I’d feel like it was his time to get out there.”

So now that the two have two years to lead the defense, it was time for a catchy nickname.

Woods’ father, a big Miami Dolphins fan like Bear himself, suggested the Killer B’s.

“I think it’s an old Dolphins nickname, from their defense,” Woods said.

At that point, Lee, a Dallas Cowboys fan, interrupted with an “I don’t like the Dolphins.”

Lee said Woods reminds him of AJ Hawk, an NFL linebacker with the Green Bay Packers that has long hair.

Lee’s hair is cut close to the skin, while Woods’ goes well past his shoulders now.

But Lee’s transformation has come in his body, where he’s gained 30 pounds since last year after playing at under 200 pounds because sore tonsils prevented him from keeping food down.

“He’s put on a few pounds, I guess of solid muscle,” Woods said. “I always joked about him having bird legs and looking like a little receiver. He’s a stout guy. He looks like a different player in pads.”

Off the field, the two aren’t roommates, but Lee spent most of training camp staying at Woods’ apartment with his roommates, safety Sam Sellers and defensive end John Mark Patrick.

Normally, the four would play Mario Kart 64 on the Nintendo 64 video game system, opting for the older gaming systems instead of the newer, next-generation systems.

“You cannot beat Mario Kart,” Woods said. “Go ahead and tell him whose the best, Boris.”

Said Lee, “Boris Lee is the best. Nah, he’s always picking the fastest dude. I always pick the slowest big men on the game.”

The two also exhibit musical talents. Lee and Patrick sing the blues, while Woods plays guitar.

There isn’t a name for this band.

Killer B’s, maybe?