Woods was a two-year letterman at Glenville High School in Cleveland, Ohio under the guidance of coach Ted Ginn Sr., and his most notable teammates at the time were Troy Smith, Donte Whitner and Ted Ginn Jr.

He played in the first ever U.S. Army All-American Bowl game on December 30, 2000, alongside fellow Michigan Wolverine Marlin Jackson.

He registered 92 tackles, 26 sacks, five forced fumbles and one interception during senior campaign and was Second-team USA Today High School All-America.

As a senior in 2005, played in all 12 games and made five starts at linebacker and made 24 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, three sacks, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles... Woods was signed by the New England Patriots after going undrafted in the 2006 NFL draft.

Woods was re-signed by the Patriots on November 17, 2010, one day after the team waived outside linebacker Shawn Crable.