LB commit talks Clemson’s ’24 class, recruiting targets & more
By: Gavin Oliver July 14, 2023

Drew Woodaz’s senior season at Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.) is right around the corner, and the talented Clemson linebacker commit is gearing up for his final go-round of high school football before he heads to Tiger Town next year.

“It’s going pretty good so far,” he said of preparation for the upcoming campaign. “Our whole team’s been grinding away in the weight room and on the field every single day. So, it’s just good to see it coming to fruition. The season’s almost here, ready to go.”

Speaking of the weight room, Woodaz has been putting in some serious work this offseason. The class of 2024 recruit recently shared a video of himself squatting a whopping 500 pounds, and he has bulked up significantly since the end of his junior season last year.

“I’m probably standing about 6-3.5 right now, I’m about 211 pounds,” he said. “I was 183 in our last game, so I’ve put on almost 30 pounds and I’ve seen all my numbers shoot up in the weight room. It’s just all nice to see it coming to fruition, all the hard work that I’ve been putting in.”

Woodaz committed to Clemson back on April 20, choosing the Tigers over more than a dozen other Power Five offers. Since jumping on board with Dabo Swinney’s program, Woodaz’s relationship with Swinney, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Wes Goodwin and the coaching staff overall has only continued to grow stronger.

“Me and Coach Wes, we talk almost every day, I’d say every other day, and we just talk about life stuff, basic things. It doesn’t have to be football 24/7,” Woodaz said. “Like, the other day, we were talking about – because he was down in Tampa and he went to the Luke Combs concert on Friday, and I was going to the Luke Combs concert on Saturday — so, we talked about that and all the things that he’s doing down here while he has the free time.”

“I’d say it’s top-notch,” Woodaz added of his bond with Clemson’s staff. “I talk to most of them every day. Coach Swinney reaches out to us, the commits, once a week at least, and it’s just great to see how much they really care for us and want us there.”

As for Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class, which currently ranks 14th nationally per the 247Sports Composite, Woodaz feels great about the class and is certainly high on what it has the potential to become for the Tigers.

“I think it’s real solid. I think we’re all going to get better,” he said. “I really think this class will be the one that brings a national championship back to Clemson.”

Woodaz has been putting on his recruiting hat for Clemson, and there’s a couple of targets in particular that he is zeroing in on and doing his part to try to help the Tigers land.

“(Five-star athlete) Mike Matthews, I think we could really use him. That’s really one of my main targets right now, and (five-star defensive lineman) Eddrick Houston,” Woodaz said. “I try to talk to Eddrick at least every day. Mike, I’ll hit him up at least once a week.”

“I’m feeling pretty good as of now,” Woodaz added of Clemson’s chances with them. “We have a little group chat between us, all the commits, and we all text in it every day, trying to make sure we reach out to certain players.”

Woodaz is looking forward to enrolling at Clemson next summer, but right now, he’s locked in on his upcoming senior season and finishing his high school career in strong fashion.

“I’m excited for it, but we’ve still got business to handle in high school,” he said. “So, that’s really my main focus and then once that’s over, I’m all Tiger.”

We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class.  Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class. Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.

Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.