Summer Enrollees: Drew Woodaz carrying on the family tradition

Drew Woodaz, brother of fellow Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz, will enroll in June.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri May 03 07:00:02 GMT-04:00 2024

For Drew Woodaz, it’s almost time to continue the family tradition.

We began a series Thursday noting that Clemson’s team is complete.

The final seven members of the 2024 recruiting class will arrive on campus this summer. The First Summer session begins May 14th and runs through June 21st. There is a chance that a few of the players will arrive for that first session, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

The Second Summer session begins on June 27th. All of the players are expected to be on campus at that point. The transfer portal is closed for players leaving, and while Clemson can certainly add players at this point, we don’t see that happening.

So who are the final seven pieces of the puzzle? They are, Drew Woodaz, CJ Kubah-Taylor, TJ Moore, Hevin Brown-Shuler, Darien Mayo, Ashton Hampton, and Christian Bentancur. Let’s take a look at Woodaz today, who is the younger brother of current Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz.

Linebacker Drew Woodaz

Woodaz put up big numbers in high school, recording 216 tackles (including 135 first hits) in 46 career games. He broke up 14 passes and secured four interceptions for 133 return yards. In 2023, he recorded 83 tackles in 12 games as a team captain, including 55 solo tackles and three tackles for loss, and returned three interceptions for 88 yards.

He was also credited with two punt returns for 105 yards, giving him 193 total return yards for the season. He added three pass deflections and had three fumble recoveries to give him six total takeaways during the 2023 season. He posted 92 tackles as a junior in helping Jesuit reach the state semifinals. Woodaz broke up 11 passes and recorded a 45-yard interception return for 12 total passes defensed that season, and also collected 59 solo tackles among his career-high 92 stops that season. He tallied 28 tackles as a reserve linebacker in his sophomore year when he helped Jesuit to a state championship alongside his brother.

Head coach Dabo Swinney said that the younger Woodaz might be the best athlete in the family.

“This Woodaz family, this is a tough family,” Swinney said. “They have a sister (Haley) that plays college athletics (she played soccer at Jacksonville University). She might be the toughest one in the family. And now you got obviously Wade and now Drew, they say Drew's the best athlete of all of 'em.

“We will see when he gets here. No pressure, Drew, but we're really excited. He’s a baller. He’s a fun guy to coach and a fun guy to watch play because he plays the way you want everybody to play.”