Clemson linebacker Wade Woodaz spoke to the media following the conclusion of Monday evening’s spring practice. The sophomore is coming into this season with more experience, and that experience is helping accelerate his improvement from where he was last year to now. Woodaz reflected on the moment last year when he realized he may really have a chance to play from the get-go.

“I came in and I was like, man I am going to redshirt, there’s no way I’ll play at all,” he said. “I wasn’t recruited highly coming out of high school. I was like, I’m going to come in and redshirt probably. And then fall camp started, and I was like, oh wait why am I only behind Barrett (Carter)? Barrett was the only person in front of me and I was like maybe I might be playing a little bit, and then you look up on the board in special teams meetings and I was first on the depth chart, and I was like, oh okay, I guess I am going to be playing this year.”

With many experienced starters from the Clemson defense headed to the NFL Draft this year, Woodaz reflected on what those guys taught him. Specifically, Woodaz reflected on what advice Trenton Simpson was able to give him in developing the technical aspects of his game.

“I learned a good amount,” he said. “Trenton is a freak athlete. All the guys in the linebacker room really helped me learn the defense a lot. From Trenton, I probably learned technical stuff, because that dude can get after the quarterback. So, that’s probably what I learned the most from him.”

Looking ahead, Woodaz discussed what his best attribute is out there on the field. The Tampa, Fla., native pinpointed that Clemson’s defense will have a lot of versatility this season, which is something he believes will be fun for defensive coordinator Wesley Goodwin to play with schematically.

“I think that’s my best attribute, versatility,” he said. “I’m very thankful from God and my parents for giving me the ability with my body to be able to do that, but it’s fun. I love being able to be plugged in wherever. I can go play man on a tight end or I could go back and play deep safety, and then I go could down and blitz the A gap. I take pride in being able to play multiple positions. I don’t want to be one stationary guy. If you look at our entire ‘backer room, we can all be plugged in everywhere. So, I’m sure Coach Wes will have a lot of fun with different packages and what not.”

Woodaz is still developing his game. Listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, Woodaz shared that he plans to add five to 10 pounds to his frame before the season starts, but a lot of focus is also going into fine-tuning the little details of his game. Whether it be focusing on how to be more effective rushing the passer or refining his skillset to beat out an offensive tackle, he is putting in the work to take that next step in his game during this spring training block.

“I just want to fine-tune the little details,” he said. “Obviously, get better at coverage. I feel like I’m pretty good at it, but there’s always room for improvement. Rushing the passer is one area that I really want to take the next step and be a force there. If I can beat the offensive tackle one-on-one, then there’s really nothing I can’t do.”

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