2022 3* S Caleb Wooden Commits to Auburn

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It’s a family affair

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Wooden: ‘You can just tell when a place is home’

 

Bryan Matthews • AuburnSports

Senior Editor

AUBURN | There’s something special about earning an offer from a top SEC school and that’s exactly what 

Caleb Wooden did last month.

 

He was a standout at an Auburn camp June 10, returned a couple of weeks later for an unofficial visit and the offer came June 28. Ten days later, Wooden officially joined the Tigers’ commit class.

“I met the whole coaching staff and they told me how I really turned their heads at the camp and it just felt like family,” said Wooden, who is the younger brother of Auburn defensive lineman Colby Wooden. “My brother is there. You can just feel when a place is home.”

Wooden said he actually committed Monday but waited until early Thursday morning, 6:02 a.m. CT to be exact, to announce his decision. He was on his way to a workout for Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he’s a standout safety.

In five games last season, Wooden had 36 tackles and three interceptions according to max preps.

“I feel as if I can go anywhere in the country and ball,” Wooden said. “I could play anywhere in the secondary — slot, corner, safety — but I’ll probably play free safety at Auburn.”

Wooden said the relationship he forged with first-year defensive coordinator Derek Mason at camp and on his return visit was a key in his recruitment. He also got a lot of positive feedback from his brother on the new staff.

“He likes it. He said they push them harder than the old coaching staff,” Wooden said. “The environment is different. That’s another thing I liked about it because I want to go somewhere they’re going to push me to be the best. I don’t want to go somewhere that’s just settling for average. He told me the workouts are more intense and the coaching staff is a better feel. They’re all about business."

Wooden, who chose Auburn over about a dozen offers including West Virginia, Georgia Tech and Louisville, is the third commitment in as many days joining kicker 

Alex McPherson and tight end 

Micah Riley-Ducker.

 

The trio has doubled AU’s commit list from three to six this week.

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That last quote!!! I’m getting giddy about the season. Keep the compliments about the new coaching staff coming!

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27 minutes ago, WFE12 said:

Wooden: ‘You can just tell when a place is home’

 

Bryan Matthews • AuburnSports

Senior Editor

AUBURN | There’s something special about earning an offer from a top SEC school and that’s exactly what 

Caleb Wooden did last month.

 

He was a standout at an Auburn camp June 10, returned a couple of weeks later for an unofficial visit and the offer came June 28. Ten days later, Wooden officially joined the Tigers’ commit class.

“I met the whole coaching staff and they told me how I really turned their heads at the camp and it just felt like family,” said Wooden, who is the younger brother of Auburn defensive lineman Colby Wooden. “My brother is there. You can just feel when a place is home.”

Wooden said he actually committed Monday but waited until early Thursday morning, 6:02 a.m. CT to be exact, to announce his decision. He was on his way to a workout for Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Ga., where he’s a standout safety.

In five games last season, Wooden had 36 tackles and three interceptions according to max preps.

“I feel as if I can go anywhere in the country and ball,” Wooden said. “I could play anywhere in the secondary — slot, corner, safety — but I’ll probably play free safety at Auburn.”

Wooden said the relationship he forged with first-year defensive coordinator Derek Mason at camp and on his return visit was a key in his recruitment. He also got a lot of positive feedback from his brother on the new staff.

“He likes it. He said they push them harder than the old coaching staff,” Wooden said. “The environment is different. That’s another thing I liked about it because I want to go somewhere they’re going to push me to be the best. I don’t want to go somewhere that’s just settling for average. He told me the workouts are more intense and the coaching staff is a better feel. They’re all about business."

Wooden, who chose Auburn over about a dozen offers including West Virginia, Georgia Tech and Louisville, is the third commitment in as many days joining kicker 

Alex McPherson and tight end 

Micah Riley-Ducker.

 

The trio has doubled AU’s commit list from three to six this week.

This is what I liked the most in this post:

 

“He likes it. He said they push them harder than the old coaching staff,” Wooden said. “The environment is different. That’s another thing I liked about it because I want to go somewhere they’re going to push me to be the best. I don’t want to go somewhere that’s just settling for average. He told me the workouts are more intense and the coaching staff is a better feel. They’re all about business."

This is what I keep hearing about the push to be the best you can be. This is the attitude that wins games when the players buy into it.

Edited July 8, 2021 by AuburnNTexas

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4 hours ago, WFE12 said:

“He likes it. He said they push them harder than the old coaching staff,” Wooden said

TELLING

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Just now, DAG said:

TELLING

Very

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3 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

This is what I liked the most in this post:

 

“He likes it. He said they push them harder than the old coaching staff,” Wooden said. “The environment is different. That’s another thing I liked about it because I want to go somewhere they’re going to push me to be the best. I don’t want to go somewhere that’s just settling for average. He told me the workouts are more intense and the coaching staff is a better feel. They’re all about business."

This is what I keep hearing about the push to be the best you can be. This is the attitude that wins games when the players buy into it.

This is why I am not stressing about recruiting rankings right now. A culture is not built over night.

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WDE and just another commit due to the McPhearson Effect.

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Big Cat Weekend 'solidifies' Wooden's commitment

Brian Stultz • AuburnSports

Staff

AUBURN | Any doubt that Caleb Wooden might have had about his commitment to Auburn went away this weekend during his visit for Big Cat Weekend. In fact, it made it stronger.

“It solidified it,” Wooden said on Sunday. “I already knew it was family, because my brother goes here. I know the coaching staff. Coach Mason is my dude.”

The three-star safety and younger brother of current Auburn defensive lineman, Colby, announced his intentions to play for the Tigers on July 8 and is now joining efforts with Holden Geriner in helping form the rest of the 2022 signing class for the new staff. There’s also the focus he has on his senior season at Archer High School where he admits there are still areas in his game where he needs to improve. In fact, he lists them out like a to-do list for the next several months.

Wooden plans on enrolling at Auburn in January. (Rivals.com)

“Man coverage. Looking back at the quarterback. Sometimes, when I tackle, I can be a little high. Backpedal can be a little lower. And just the fundamentals, making sure my footwork is intact.”

When speaking with Wooden’s high school coach, Andy Dyer, recently, he recalled a story about Wooden slacking a bit at a recent 7-on-7 tournament, earning a half-pep talk, half-rear end chewing from the coach. Wooden remembered it concisely, smiling when asked about what Dyer had to say to him.

"He said, and I quote, ‘Your ass hasn't got off the hash yet.’ Because we were in cover two. He said, ‘You want to be a leader of this team, you need to show why you are a leader of this team. Pick it up and get your head in the game.’ And so, yeah, I took that personally. I was all right.

“Because if he's telling me something, then I know my teammates are watching me so, yeah, I picked it up and I went out and did what I did.”

What he did was record three interceptions on the next few possessions. There was no need for Dyer to say another word.

Auburn’s offer to Wooden came in June after, in his words, he ‘balled out” at a camp on campus. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to win out for his commitment over Georgia Tech, West Virginia, Louisville and a slew of other programs. Needing only three credits to earn his diploma, his plan is to graduate early and enroll in January to get a jump start on his collegiate career.

He’s certain this is the place for him, especially after Big Cat Weekend.

“This right here, just let me know this is where I want to be for the next three or four years.”

Edited July 28, 2021 by Paladin

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17 minutes ago, Paladin said:

earning a half-pep talk, half-rear end chewing from the coach. Wooden remembered it concisely, smiling when asked about what Dyer had to say to him.

"He said, and I quote, ‘Your ass hasn't got off the hash yet.’ Because we were in cover two. He said, ‘You want to be a leader of this team, you need to show why you are a leader of this team. Pick it up and get your head in the game.’ And so, yeah, I took that personally. I was all right.

 

Coachability is paramount to any player's success

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3 years later, Caleb Wooden experiences his own official visit

by Keith Niebuhr

114 minutes ago

When Auburn defensive lineman Colby Wooden officially visited Auburn back in December of 2018, he was joined by his mother, Nicole, and his younger brother, Caleb.

“I was like, 'In a couple years, this will be me. I’m not sure what school, but it’ll be me,'” Caleb Wooden recalled.

He was right … and as fate would have it, Auburn would become his school, too. Caleb Wooden, a 3-star safety from Lawrenceville (Ga.) Archer, committed to the Tigers in July and last weekend he finally got to take his own official visit. It was everything he hoped it would be, and then some.

“It was good. I had a good time,” Wooden said. “It really reaffirmed my commitment. I’m 100 percent to Auburn. It was unique (when compared to his brother’s official to Auburn). But at the same time they were very similar. It was better this time, because I got to experience it. I was in the hotel a lot during (Colby’s official).”

Auburn defensive tackle Marquis Burks was Wooden’s player-host.

“We just talked about life and about football and about the plans we had,” Wooden said. “The best part (of the weekend) was the game. The atmosphere was crazy. I know the outcome wasn’t what we wanted but the atmosphere was crazy.”

Wooden wasn’t the only one who enjoyed the official. So did his mother, who soon will have two sons playing for Auburn.

“She loved it,” Wooden said. “She didn’t have any complaints. She’s proud.”

During the recruitment process, Wooden has bonded with Auburn running back commit Damari Alston, who also is from the Atlanta area.

“He’s a good person,” Wooden said. "I’ve known him from before this Auburn stuff because he used to be around my school in like the ninth grade. I met him way before this but now we’ve become close.”

Wooden, the No. 76 recruit in the state of Georgia for the industry generated 247Sports Composite, hopes to improve his ranking with a big senior season. And thus far, Wooden is having a terrific fall. He has 33 tackles and three interceptions (with a pick-six) on the season, despite missing a couple games with a neck injury.

People have taken notice.

“Actually, a coach from Tennessee called (Monday),” Wooden said. “I said, ‘Nah, I’m good.’”

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42 minutes ago, Paladin said:

 

That’s some serious production from a safety. Can’t wait to see him in orange and blue. 

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Caleb Wooden ready to play alongside big brother at his 'dream school'

By JASON CALDWELL 16 minutes ago

AUBURN, Alabama–Watching his older brother Colby Wooden play football at Auburn the last three seasons had only intensified the feelings of wanting to play for the Tigers for defensive back Caleb Wooden. A fan of the program and wanting to someday wear the orange and blue, the Archer (Georgia) High standout earned an offer from the Tigers over the summer and committed pretty soon after that.

On Sunday he made the move to the Plains to begin his own experience at Auburn, something he says he has to pinch himself to believe is real.

“Ever since I was a kid Auburn has been my dream school,” Wooden says. “I remember watching Cam Newton when I was six years old. Now that I’m actually going to the university it’s crazy. I’m ready to start, ready to begin my own journey and write my name in the books at Auburn.”

He won’t be on that journey alone after his brother announced his intentions to return for the 2022 season. Having the chance to be in the same locker room and on the the same team with his older brother is something that Caleb Wooden says is another dream come true.

“It’s a really big deal,” Wooden says. “It’s an opportunity of a lifetime that you get to play with your brother, especially on this level. The fact that he chose to come back meant a lot to me. It showed that he is really dedicated to Auburn and he cares too, he wants to play with me also.

"Watching my brother, he was one of the best high school prospects coming out of the South. Seeing him transfer that to college and transform himself as a college athlete has motivated me because that’s what I’m trying to get to. He is literally the shining example right there for me.”

With his brother at Auburn it gave Caleb Wooden plenty of opportunities to watch the Tigers in action. He kept an especially close eye on the secondary and he liked what he saw from Derek Mason and Zac Etheridge as they coached the guys up this past season.

“I saw hard coaching,” Wooden says. “I saw tough love. I also saw them teaching the right stuff. I remember on my official visit I was in film with them. They were going over stuff, and just listening to him and seeing the stuff that he said and actually happened the next day when they played, I was like ‘wow, the man knows his stuff.’

“I enjoy watching Smoke Monday play because I see myself a little bit in him as a deep center fielder. What Mason and Etheridge are teaching them and applying lets me know I’m in the right place.”

With Monday gone from the safety position along with one-year transfer Bydarrius Knighten, there is an opportunity for early playing time next season for a newcomer or newcomers. Wooden says that is his goal as he gets ready for his own chapter with the Tigers.

“I’m going in there with my head down to work,” Wooden says. “I want to put weight on, put muscle on, and see what happens.

“I want to become a starter,” he adds. “I want to be a Freshman All-American. I just want to make plays and help Auburn achieve the ultimate goal, which is winning the national championship.”