caleb wooden – Syndication Server

Auburn safety Caleb Wooden entering transfer portal

Wooden snatched two interceptions, created two pass break ups, and tallied 41 total tackles and a sack in three seasons on the Plains.

Auburn Tigers junior safety Caleb Wooden has opted to enter the transfer portal. The move seemingly makes sense for Wooden after a National Signing Day which saw the Auburn Tigers capture the talents of a bountiful amount of defensive back prospects.

A former three-star recruit, Wooden outperformed his projections for most of the time he spent on the Plains. The Lawrenceville, GA native never quite bloomed into a star during his three seasons at Auburn, but he was consistently able to deliver impactful results on the field, leading to plenty of snaps on a talented defense.

In three seasons on the Plains, Wooden snatched two interceptions, created two pass break ups, and tallied 41 total tackles and a sack. While the numbers aren’t eye-popping, the 6-foot-1 safety was a steady piece of DJ Durkin’s defense that will be missed next season.

With Wooden officially searching for a new team and Auburn’s other starting safety Jerrin Thompson out of eligibility, Durkin and head coach Hugh Freeze will likely search the portal for at least a pair of experienced defensive backs. As it currently stands, incoming freshmen Anquon Fagens and Eric Winters would be the favorites to earn the majority of snaps in the defensive backfield.

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What does Jerrin Thompson have to offer to Auburn’s defense?

Heading into the 2024 season, Auburn defensive back Jerrin Thompson brings a lot to Auburn’s defense and is optimistic about the secondary

The Auburn football loaded up on new talent over the course of the offseason and hopes that those players will help lead the team to success in its 2024 campaign.

One of those new faces is defensive back [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag], who is bringing a lot to the program after spending the last four years at Texas.

Being a part of the secondary, Thompson has skills that everyone with the team is impressed by, including his ability to communicate and lead by example.

“I take pride in that,” Thompson said. “That’s one thing that I feel like is my strength, is my instincts and my ability to communicate and make guys less stressed around me. I take a lot of pride in it. So just knowing that, just communicating and knowing my teammates is one thing I’m big on and how I operate.”

With a young secondary including players like [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag] and [autotag]Sylvester Smith[/autotag], Thompson is trying to help others out when they need it while also playing his best.

He admits that while wealth of experience is a concern, the talent level is there.

“Yeah, we got a lot of talent. I have not been around a secondary this young, but this talented,” Thompson said. “We got a lot of guys who are hungry. Hungry like, we got guys out here competing. We don’t know who’s gonna play. That’s how it is. It’s out there. Like I said, running day five, we’re still just stacking days.”

While with the Longhorns, Thompson reeled in 176 total tackles and five interceptions, including one at Alabama in 2023.

Thompson now looks to make a strong impact on the Plains in 2024, trying to help build the Auburn defense into a force to be reckoned with.

The Tigers open the season on Aug. 31 when they take on the Alabama A&M Bulldogs at 6:30 p.m. CST in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Auburn lands Colorado transfer safety Jahquez Robinson

Robinson saw action in seven games for Colorado last season.

The Auburn Tigers added a few face to their defense on Friday, adding senior defensive back [autotag]Jahquez Robinson[/autotag] to what will be a mostly re-worked secondary in 2024. A former three-star recruit, Robinson spent his first three seasons in Tuscaloosa playing at the University of Alabama before spending last season with Colorado.

Robinson saw action in seven games for the Buffaloes, starting two contests and tallying 8 tackles, a fumble recovery, and an interception. The Jacksonville, Florida native’s lone interception came in his first career start against Oregon, led by former Auburn quarterback [autotag]Bo Nix[/autotag]. Robinson was one of only three players to turnover the Heisman Finalist last season.

While the senior’s direct path to playing time is likely blocked by fellow transfer safety [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] and junior [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag], Robinson provides immediate experience and depth to an Auburn secondary that lost key players like [autotag]D.J James[/autotag], [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag], and [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag] from last season.

Reunited with defensive back coach [autotag]Charles Kelly[/autotag] who recruited him at Colorado, the 6-foot-2 defensive back will have the opportunity to see his first action as a Tiger when Auburn kicks off its season on August 31 against Alabama A&M. He’ll have the chance to work his way up the depth chart as the summer progresses.

Auburn adds former Texas safety Jerrin Thompson from transfer portal

Thompson recorded 105 tackles and five interceptions in four seasons with the Longhorns.

Auburn head coach [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] needs to replenish his defensive backfield, and is on the right track to doing so by adding an experienced safety from the transfer portal.

Former Texas safety [autotag]Jerrin Thompson[/autotag] paid a visit to Auburn over the weekend, and ended the trip by pledging his commitment to Freeze and the Tigers.

Thompson has been a vital part to the Longhorns’ secondary over the last four seasons, and he has played in 48 games since arriving to Austin in 2020. In four seasons, he has recorded 105 total tackles and has picked off five passes. He has recorded at least 14 tackles in every season that he has played, and made a career-high 83 stops in 2022. Last season, he made just 38 tackles, but pulled in a career-high three interceptions. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown.

In his most recent game, Thompson made three tackles in Texas’ 37-31 loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl, which was a College Football Playoff semi-final game. In the Longhorns’ 34-24 win over Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Sept. 9, he made four stops and recorded and interception.

Thompson ranks No. 9 in Texas’ defensive grades from Pro Football Focus with a 73.1. His strong suit is pass coverage, which he graded out at 77.1, third-highest among Longhorn defenders. Opposing receivers hauled in 58.1% of passes when guarded by Thompson, or 18-of-31. He would also break up five passes.

The Tigers will lose plenty of experience from its defensive backfield in the likes of [autotag]D.J. James[/autotag], [autotag]Jaylin Simpson[/autotag], and [autotag]Nehemiah Pritchett[/autotag]. The defense does however return [autotag]Keionte Scott[/autotag], [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag], and [autotag]Kayin Lee[/autotag]. Adding Thompson to complement Wooden at safety will be a great addition.

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Auburn Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 21 Caleb Wooden

He is looking to take a step foprward after appearing in six games as a true freshmen.

Going into the 2023 football season, Auburn Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for [autotag]Hugh Freeze[/autotag] in his first season on the Plains.

Up next is sophomore safety [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag]. He appeared in six games as a true freshman and is looking to build on that valuable experience.

Preseason Player Profile

Hometown: Lawrenceville, Georgia

Height: 6-1

Weight: 188

Class in 2023: Sophomore

247Sports Composite Ranking

Three-Star / No. 89 in Georgia / No. 70 S

Career Stats

Year	G	Tackles	TFLs	Sacks	PDs	FFs
2022	6	9	0	0	0	0

PFF Grades

Year	Defense	Tackling	Run Defense	Coverage	Special Teams
2022	64.6	64.9	72.8	61.1	69.9

Depth Chart Overview

Wooden appeared in six games last season but with a limited amount of snaps. He got some work at the nickel position during spring practice and should provide depth at both nickel and safety this season as he continues to develop behind Auburn’s more experienced options.

He did well on special teams last year and could do so once again as he fights to get reps in a crowded secondary.

Caleb Wooden’s Photo Gallery

Projecting Auburn’s defensive depth chart

Here is how Auburn’s defensive depth chart could look like.

We have made it, there will be college football on our TV’s this weekend.

While the games may not be great, football is football and it is time to get excited about Auburn’s Week 1 matchup with Mercer on Sept. 3 in Jordan-Hare Stadium.

With the season that close, an official depth chart should be announced very soon and that means it is time to try and predict how that depth chart will look. We predicted the offensive depth chart on Friday and now it is time to predict the defense.

This side of the ball faces far less uncertainty than the offense and has proven players in [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag], [autotag]Derick Hall[/autotag], [autotag]Owen Pappoe[/autotag], and more.

Freshman DB Caleb Wooden highlighted among top newcomers in 2022

This young safety could have a sizeable impact this year.

There will be no Smoke Monday for the Auburn Tigers defense in 2022, but who will step up in his absence? How about a player that was rocking his number during the spring game?

247Sports recently broke down the top 100 true freshmen that matter in the upcoming season, among them is safety [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag]. He shined in the spring game but is he ready to take on the best that the SEC has to offer? We will likely find out sooner rather than later.

Wooden is the younger brother of defensive lineman Colby Wooden. It is certainly possible to see the Wooden duo on the field together early and often this season. Both are likely to make an impact on this defense.

What 247Sports Says…

Auburn lost two of its top three safeties to the NFL this offseason, which created an opportunity for new blood this spring. And Wooden took advantage. He was a star of Auburn’s spring almost the entire run and now projects as a potential starter on the back end. He’ll have to continue battling for a starting job, especially with Auburn recently adding Iowa State safety transfer Craig McDonald, but Wooden has played his way into plenty of early reps.

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Auburn Tigers Snapshot Profile: No. 21 Caleb Wooden

Here is our next snapshot profile for Auburn’s 2022 roster, this time focusing on a freshman safety:

Going into the 2022 football season, Auburn Wire will be looking at each scholarship player listed on the Tigers’ roster.

Over the preseason, each profile will cover where the player is from, how recruiting websites rated them coming out of high school, and what role they will play for Bryan Harsin this season.

Safety [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag] may have bad memories of Auburn’s recent spring game, but he still has the means to make a splash in an Auburn secondary with a lot of new faces coming into 2022.

Caleb Wooden’s Preseason Player Profile

Caleb Wooden making most of early opportunities

Caleb Wooden has had a great start to spring practice.

Every spring practice there are players who step up and outperform people’s expectations for them. One of those players this year is true freshman safety [autotag]Caleb Wooden[/autotag].

He may be the younger brother of star defensive lineman [autotag]Colby Wooden[/autotag] but he is well on his way to making a name for himself. The younger Wooden has only been on campus a short amount of time but is already showing his playmaking ability.

When [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag] was asked about a recent interception by Wooden he had to clarify which one.

“Are you talking about today?” Harsin asked. “He had another one the other day. Somehow, somehow, he got a screenshot of it and I’m not sure if he cropped his toe off the white line or whatever but it was good, so he got the Snickers for that.

“He’s around the ball and when he gets a chance to get his hands on it, he comes down with it quite a bit. He continues to be around the ball. Young player, learning, he’s just getting the basics of the defense right now but he does go out there and work hard. Very much like his brother, those guys work. He has fun out there, I think he’s got some confidence that when the ball is in the air, he’s going to be able to come down with it.”

In addition to his interceptions, he also returned a fumble for a touchdown earlier in spring practice. It’s not just his play that has impressed his coaches, but also his energy and how he carries himself.

“Man, with him, I think it starts with energy,” new defensive coordinator [autotag]Jeff Schmedding[/autotag] said. “He’s got a good vibe about him. You get around him, I think that’s something to be said, obviously, with how he was raised and things like that. We talk to our guys that, ultimately, you’re judged and remembered by how you made people feel. When that guy’s in the room, there’s more energy, that’s the bottom line.”

Wooden has taken advantage of Auburn’s lack of depth at safety and will look to continue to show that he deserves playing time as a freshman during the rest of spring practice. Auburn’s spring will end with the A-Day game in Jordan-Hare Stadium on April 9.

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Spring Football Preview: Projecting the safety position

We move on to the secondary and the safety positional outlook.

After reviewing the front seven of the Tigers defense, focus now shifts to the secondary. Much like other spots on the team, they are losing some production from the 2021 team.

Auburn will be without one of the secondary’s leaders in Smoke Monday but there are still some promising players in the safety room.

Starter Zion Puckett is back, and Auburn added Marquis Gilbert, the top JUCO safety in the class to the mix.

Auburn also returns Donovan Kauffman, who made several big plays and will look to be more consistent in his second season at Auburn. With several players competing for the second spot, this group will be interesting to watch during spring practices, here is a look at the group.