INDIANAPOLIS – The alarm clock for Al Woods will be ringing at 5:00 a.m. this fall.

Mandatory work inside the Indiana Farm Bureau Football Center, the new home for Woods, won't start for another three hours. For Al Woods though, 5:00 a.m. is how his day has started for quite some time, dating back to his childhood, when he was the "cattle man" for his father.

This September, the player's entrance at the Colts Complex should expect an early visitor walking through that door.

"I get up about 5 and try to be at the facility no later than 5:45 in the morning and get my day started," Woods explains of his daily routine, which includes, "going over plays, watching the opponent that coming week or studying myself."

In the offseason, Woods' home and early wakeup call is for the cattle ranch he owns in Louisiana.

In the fall and winter, Woods' home for the last seven years has been in the middle of NFL defenses.

The Colts continued that journey for Woods, 29, last Friday when they signed him to a two-year deal.

Woods (6-4 and 307 pounds) comes to the Colts after three seasons in Tennessee, where he started 17 games at nose tackle.

"I like being in the middle where all the magic happens," Woods says of what he enjoys about the nose tackle position.

With Woods starting seven games last year, the Titans finished the season ranked No. 2 against the run.

The improvement Tennessee made in the trenches was a major reason for their six-win jump from 2016.

"We make offenses one-dimensional and then they have to pass the ball and then you let your great pass rushers get to work," Woods said of what the Titans were able to do against the run.

Now in Indianapolis, the Colts have turned to Woods in a possible new chapter at the nose tackle position.

David Parry, the 2015 and 2016 starter at nose tackle, is still on the roster, but the Colts have brought in some starting experience to compete.

When Woods was pondering his next NFL move, it was in Indianapolis where he was ready to get the alarm clock set right away.

"I felt like I didn't want to leave," Woods said of his free agency visit to Indy.

"I wanted to stick around and stay and that's when I made up my mind."

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