caleb wooden – Syndication Server

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.

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__

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.

[mm-video type=video id=01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr/01g0jftyaw9e89hqe9qr-0b45443e8e85d1d986ea9c6abb064cee.jpg]

[listicle id=47726]

[vertical-gallery id=47516]

[lawrence-related id=47739,47697,47648]

Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Patrick on Twitter @PatrickConnCFB.

Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today!

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.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=none image=https://auburnwire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

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.

Tracking every Auburn football committ on early signing day

Get to know the newest Auburn Tigers

As of right now, at 4:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, Auburn has the 14th best recruiting class in the country and seventh in the SEC.

Auburn has signed 17 players and has one more commit who will not sign in the early signing period. Also, top target Jeffrey M’ba will not be announcing where he signed until Dec. 19th.

Here is a look at every player Auburn has signed and the one commit who has yet to sign.

Overview of Auburn’s recruiting class ahead of early signing period

Here are some future Auburn Tigers.

With the early signing period rapidly approaching (Dec. 15), Auburn is kicking it’s recruiting into high gear. The Tigers are looking to add to a recruiting class that has several open spots and could use some more talent. Auburn is in the hunt for several elite recruits like 4-star wide receiver Darrius Clemons.

With Auburn looking to add to their class, here is a look at the players Auburn has committed to their 2022 recruiting class ahead of the early signing period.

Class Ranking: 33rd nationally, 12th in SEC

Total commits: 13

Auburn now has the 12th ranked recruiting class in the SEC according to 247Sports. There is still time to add to the class, but this is a position Auburn never wants to be in.

Average rating per commit: 88.20

Auburn’s average recruiting ranking of 88.20 is just under the 90.00 grade needed to be a 4-star recruit and is good enough for eighth in the SEC. That is lower than Auburn wants to be but is a more accurate picture of the class than their overall ranking in the SEC.