The Clemson football program added a pair of verbal pledges to its 2024 recruiting class last week, including one from the younger brother of a current Tiger.

Jesuit High School (Tampa, Fla.) standout linebacker Drew Woodaz announced his commitment to the Tigers last Thursday.

“It feels good,” Woodaz said of his college decision in an interview with The Clemson Insider. “There’s a big pressure relief kind of. It’s just like the stress of everything gone. I know where I wanna be, and it’s just good to have my decision out of the way.”

Woodaz, of course, is the younger brother of Clemson rising sophomore linebacker Wade Woodaz. With Drew now on board with the Tigers as well, the two will get to live out their dream of suiting up together in college.

“He knew (about the commitment decision) a little bit before most people on the staff, so it was probably harder for him to keep it a secret,” Drew said of Wade. “But I mean, he was just excited because it’s been a dream of ours to play together.”

Drew said he came to the definite conclusion that he wanted to be a Tiger during a mandatory school retreat.

“At our school, we’re required to go on a Kairos retreat, and Kairos is Latin for ‘God’s time,’” Drew explained. “We just sit there and we talk to God a lot and we have conversations with ourselves about who we are, so I had a lot of time to think about my future and what I wanted to accomplish in my life, and ultimately God led me towards Clemson. That’s where I felt I needed to be, and it was best for my family and myself.”

The 6-foot-3, 200-pound rising senior informed defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Wes Goodwin and head coach Dabo Swinney of his commitment decision prior to the Tigers’ April 15 spring game, for which Drew was among the recruits on campus.

“I had a meeting with Coach Wes,” Drew said. “It was Friday before the spring game, and I gave him a little poker chip that says I’m ‘All In.’ And he was just like, ‘You for real, man?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready, Coach.’ And he was like, ‘Alright, let’s do it.’ He kind of kept it a secret until I told Coach Swinney, because I met with him before the spring game. I got a little nervous. I dropped the chip to give him. But I told him and he was excited. He was like, ‘Let’s go! Better be ready to work and we’re gonna do something great.’ And then all the commits came in right after I committed.”

Drew committed to Clemson over numerous other offers, including offers from schools such as NC State, Boston College, Maryland, Utah, Oklahoma, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Missouri and Vanderbilt.

One of the biggest things that went into Drew’s decision to choose Clemson is the program’s proven track record of player development.

“I know they’re going to develop me as a player,” he said. “You could just look at the players that they’ve put out, even under Coach Swinney, and I know Coach Wes has coached some of the best players in the entire world, and he’s coached them from D-line all the way back to safety. So, I know no matter what position I play, I want to be developed to the best of my ability.”

Now that Drew has picked his college home, he’s putting on his recruiting hat and has his sights on a couple of targets that he hopes to help the Tigers land in their 2024 class – Jefferson (Ga.) five-star linebacker Sammy Brown and Tampa (Fla.) Catholic four-star wide receiver TJ Moore.

“I’m definitely going after Sammy,” Drew said. “Me and Sammy talk quite often, so I’m definitely trying to get him, have like a nice little linebacker duo. And then I’m going to go after TJ Moore, too. They’re our rivals, though, TC (Tampa Catholic) is. But I’m still gonna go after him. The kid’s a baller.”

Drew put together a highly productive season in 2022, tallying 92 tackles, 12 pass breakups, two quarterback hurries, two interceptions and four blocked kicks for Jesuit.

What can Clemson fans expect to see from him on the field in the future?

“They can expect to see a lot of different things,” he said. “I feel like I’m going to play a lot of different positions throughout my career, and they’ll get 100 percent hard work every time I step on the field. That’s no doubt. That’s the way me and my brother were raised, to just go balls to the wall. So, that’s what they’re gonna get.”

Based on what he’s heard from Goodwin, Drew expects to be utilized as a versatile player who can be moved around within Goodwin’s defense.

“Coach Wes said he could use me anywhere, and that’s what he really likes is how versatile I am,” Drew said. “My ability to play off the ball and play in space is different from what most people have, and he can use that many different places.”

Dear Old Clemson has added the Tiger Sack Pack to our online store.  Save by getting the Two Pack of signed cards from two of the nation’s top defensive ends, Myles Murphy and Xavier Thomas.

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