Drew Woodaz has been on board with Clemson for quite some time, having committed to Dabo Swinney’s program back in April.
Now, the standout linebacker from Jesuit High School (Tampa, Fla.) is stoked to sign on the dotted line and make things official with the Tigers when college football’s early signing period gets underway Wednesday.
“I don’t think I could be more excited because I’m just ready to get up there,” he told The Clemson Insider, “and I wish I could enroll early and just be up there and just ready to roll with my brothers.”
A summer enrollee, Woodaz is counting down the days until he gets on campus for good, and he can’t wait to start his career with the Tigers.
“I’m ecstatic… I’m just ready to put in some work,” he said.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder put in a lot of strong work during his senior season at Jesuit, posting around 95 tackles while filling up the stat sheet with a handful of interceptions and several forced fumbles as well as a few touchdowns on special teams.
Clemson LB commit Drew Woodaz during pregame before the Tigers’ game vs. Notre Dame Saturday, November 4, 2023 at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium. Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider
“It went pretty well,” Woodaz said of his final high school campaign. “I feel like I had one of my better years… and I just tried to do what was asked of me and hopefully put on a show.”
As for Clemson’s 2023 season, while it hasn’t played out how the Tigers (8-4) had hoped, Swinney’s team finished the regular season strong on a four-game winning streak and Woodaz said he “saw a lot of good things” – especially on the defensive side of the ball.
“I mostly watched the defense and paid attention to how the defense rolled because I know that’s what I’m going to be doing,” he said. “The defense looked great, and they did what was asked of them and they tried to do as much as they could, and I just saw a lot of production and I’m excited to go in there and play on that team.”
Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class enters the early signing period ranked in the top 15 nationally by multiple recruiting services, and Woodaz is high on the potential of the talented group.
“We’re just all great guys,” he said. “We’re all hard grinding and we’re all ready to work. I think we’re going to do something special.”
Adding to Woodaz’s excitement to join the Clemson football program and begin his Tiger career is the fact he’ll be teaming up with his older brother – rising junior linebacker Wade Woodaz.
“It makes it 10 times more special,” Drew said. “You just think about my parents’ and my sister’s point of view, like what they would be seeing on the field – their two sons and my sister’s two brothers playing on the field together, and hopefully doing pretty well – it’ll just be like a total dream come true, and it’ll be surreal in the moment. Because I know the moment’s going to come here soon, and we both have the same mindset to be the best player we can be, and I feel if we’re both the best players we can be, then we’ll be on the field together.”
What is Wade’s message to Drew as he prepares to start the next chapter of his career in Tiger Town?
“Just come in ready to work and just put my head down, don’t worry about anything else outside of football,” Drew said. “Just worry about playing, and when you play good, everything else just comes naturally. And he’s taking notes to help me become a better player and to become the best player I can possibly be.”
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