Hard to be Bad at Safety With a Name Like Woodson

Craig Woodson came out on the worse side of a collision last Saturday. During a chippy practice, Alex Netherda bowled over the true freshman safety after catching a swing pass.

"I just stopped my feet," Woodson said calmly, "didn’t go downhill and attack, can’t do that, gotta attack the ball carrier."

It's one of the few things Woodson has done wrong during fall camp, as the former South Grand Prairie safety turned heads and surprised plenty of people covering the program, as reporters in attendance frequently checked their roster sheets to see who number 26 was.

It's not an unfair thing, as Woodson wasn't a heralded recruit. He was two-star safety (per Rivals) and the Bears offered in December of 2018, right before he came on a weekend visit to Cal (where he committed). He had gotten on Cal's radar much earlier than that.

"He came up early in the springtime (of 2018) when me and coach DeRuyter were out in Dallas," defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander said, "he went out to Myles (Jernigan)’s spring game, and (DeRuyter) said ‘hey there’s a safety at that spring game that looked like a pretty good player.’ He just came out of nowhere on our radar, and we got a chance to talk to him and build a relationship, with how things get started early with recruiting."

Woodson had been committed to UTSA before Cal offered, but with the Bears needing more defensive backs in their 2019 class (and continuing to watch Woodson as teammate and now Cal-OLB Myles Jernigan was onboard), Alexander made the call to try to bring him onboard.

"He was always a guy that you continued to just watch and he just continued to perform in games," Alexander said. "He had the athleticism and the size, he just made plays, he could run, had range and we started getting serious with his recruitment as some things didn’t manifest how we thought. That’s how things go sometimes, you feel good about a player and no matter what his recruiting profile may be, what you see on tape is who he is, and that’s what we’ve seen in fall camp."

The physical tools have been apparent, as Woodson will play for the Bears this fall, in some shape or fashion. He might have done so either way, with the four-game redshirt rule, but Woodson may not even redshirt with how he's been playing so far.

With Ashtyn Davis and Trey Turner taking a backseat (both veterans taking more mental reps), it's given Woodson the opportunity to take reps, and he's even taken some with the first team defense. He's done it through playing as fast as he can.

"Everything’s fast," Woodson noted, "you’ve got to know what’s going on, you’ve got to make the calls. I’m really just doing what I can, running to the ball, just flying, getting there, being where I need to be."

Take Tuesday's scrimmage. The offense ran the same play a couple times, a 'quick' route to Trevon Clark once Spencer Brasch realized a corner was blitzing. The first time, Clark juked safety Isaiah Humphries and busted open a 22 yard gain. The second time, Clark tried the same move, and Woodson took him right down. The fundamentals are there, the speed is there, and the willingness to be coached is there.

"Craig’s one of those guys who has taken advantage of the reps he’s gotten," Justin Wilcox said, "because he’s in a pretty deep position group, and really has pushed his way in terms of knowing what to do, being very coachable, having the skills to do it, and he hasn’t hit the wall that some freshmen get when they get here."

What has helped is that deep position group. Ashtyn Davis, Jaylinn Hawkins and Trey Turner are all veterans, and in addition to playing next to them during practice, Woodson has been asking as many questions as he can.

"I’m really just asking the older guys, just getting that time in," Woodson said, "really learning the defense. Coming in, there’s a lot of things you’ve got to note, and really getting that extra time. They’re helping a lot, every chance I get, I’m asking them questions."

"He’s obviously got a good group to look to and perform in front of them," Alexander added, "to get used to accelerating that learning curve, watching, getting the mental reps with what Ashtyn and Jaylinn go through. He’s really dedicated himself to knowing the information he’s supposed to have out there on the field and to be able to operate as a safety."

In addition, Woodson should play on special teams, as he noted he played on every special teams unit he could in high school. He's been running with the second group on defense, with safety Daniel Scott banged up at the end of fall camp. On a team that preaches the ethos of competition, Woodson has done that at safety, he's competed.

"I think he’s done a great job of taking it from meeting rooms to the team periods," Wilcox said, "because he looks very comfortable for a guy that age with that many multiples. I’m really excited for him, he’s right in the thick of it. It’s a pretty deep room and there’s a lot of competition there, but he’s absolutely made the most of it."

It is still fall camp, and Woodson still has to do it in a game, but the performance in practice is there, and he's got a last name that has served a couple famous DBs well (no relation). Woodson should be a future name to know among the next generation of 'the Takers.'