'Unfinished Business' for Ryan McWood

OXFORD, Ohio-- Ask Ryan McWood why he decided to return to Miami Football for his seventh (yes, seventh!) year with the program, and the answer comes both quickly and in the form of a different question.

"Why not?"

The veteran linebacker was injured in the 2021 season opener at Cincinnati and didn't play another snap the rest of the year. He finally made his long-awaited return to the RedHawks' lineup Saturday night at No. 20 Kentucky and picked right up where he left off, recording a game-high 11 tackles.

"I just truly love the game of football and I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business," said McWood. "I definitely knew once I could get a seventh year back that I wanted to finish it out."

There have been plenty of highs and lows in McWood's football journey since he first showed up in Oxford, way back when Barack Obama was still president of the United States. The ups: Leading the team in tackles two years in a row, starting one of the longest active home win streaks in college football, and of course winning the 2019 MAC championship. The downs: A medical redshirt year in 2017, the COVID-shortened season in 2020, and most recently, last year's injury. Through it all, McWood has tried to stay positive, something his position coach has noticed and appreciated.

"It's a testament to his perseverance," said linebackers coach Joe Bowen, who was a graduate assistant with the program when McWood arrived as a walk-on in 2016. "Just seeing him stay the course, he's a testament for every guy in the room to look up to from a perseverance and grit standpoint.

"He is the epitome of the ultimate competitor, a guy they can look to for experience. He's been through the ups and downs, the adversity: Winning a MAC championship, getting hurt, coming back…It's incredible to have a guy in your room that everyone can look to that has that perseverance and grit and has battled through those things."

While the now-scholarshipped McWood regularly shares his perspective with younger teammates in the linebacker room, he shares something else with one particular Miami linebacker: A last name. Ryan's younger brother, Oscar McWood, is a redshirt freshman with the Red and White, and the two siblings have enjoyed the chance to be RedHawks simultaneously thanks to Ryan's career extending longer than initially planned.

"To have him here on the team is awesome," Ryan said. "It's like the blessing in disguise of all this."

The brothers from Brother Rice High in Grosse Pointe, Mich. graduated from high school five years apart, so their age difference had previously limited their shared football experience to playing catch in the back yard or battling in video games like Madden.

"I think this has been a super special thing that probably neither of them planned on ever getting a chance to do," said Bowen. "They're both very competitive, and both very hard workers. It's just a chance for Oscar to learn from Ryan. I joke with Ryan all the time that I think Oscar's going to be a better player than him…sometimes that's how it goes for the older brother. You have to pave the way for the younger brother to come in and do that.

"I think it's going to be awesome for their parents and their family to see them both out here making plays and having a ton of success this fall."

Away from the field, Ryan is finishing up his last two classes this fall to obtain a graduate certificate degree in Sport Management. "It's football and class for me at this point!", he laughed. The nearly-25-year-old McWood already owns a Bachelor's degree from Miami University, graduating with a double major in Kinesiology and Entrepreneurship, as well as a General Business minor.

According to McWood, the top-notch education Miami offers was a big reason he chose to join the RedHawks initially. "As a walk-on, I wanted to find a spot where if football didn't work out for me, I was at a great university and could finish my degree. I think the academic side is really awesome and important," he added.

Although McWood has plenty of career options to choose from with a Miami degree in hand, the linebacker who has modeled his game after NFL greats past and present like Ray Lewis, Patrick Willis, Fred Warner, Bobby Wagner, and Luke Kuechly also hopes to earn a shot at the pros himself next season. Even for someone who got his start on the gridiron at age eight and has played ever since, McWood still feels like he has plenty more football in front of him.

First, though, there's that matter of unfinished business wearing the Red and White. McWood said he hopes to be remembered at Miami as "someone who gave his all to the game and never gave up." And in the seventh-year senior's mind, the perfect end to his super-sized college career would be a super-sized accomplishment in December: Another MAC title.

"To go out on top would be a really great way to leave my mark on Miami," he said.

So, in the words of Ryan McWood…

"Why not?"

Find more Front Row Features at MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures.

See Ryan McWood and Miami Football take on Robert Morris in the 2022 home opener Saturday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. Tickets start as low as $17 ($7 for youth, $10 for groups) and are on sale now!

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