CLEMSON –  College football players spend countless hours with their teammates over the course of their careers – practicing together, eating as a group, and even dancing in the locker room as a unit. In four years, college teammates become family.

But it is very rare, however, for those college teammates to also have shared every birthday, graduation, awkward middle school phase, and milestone.

For Wade and Drew Woodaz, linebackers for the Clemson Tigers, teammates truly are family.

“I have five weeks left here, I have five weeks left of my brother being my neighbor living across the street,” Wade, the elder Woodaz said while reflecting on his time at Clemson in a Tuesday press conference.

“It’s just always nice having that sense of home. Like, I go talk to Drew and I’m just Wade and he’s Drew. It’s like we don’t even play football.”

Woodaz, a Tampa, Fla., native, committed to the Tigers in 2021, after leading Jesuit High School to a 15-0 season and state championship as a captain. The Jesuit Tigers, who had not won a state title since the 1960s, were ranked No. 11 in the nation by MaxPreps.com that season, thanks in part to Woodaz’s four caused fumbles, two interceptions, and 84 solo tackles.

Woodaz ultimately took head coach Dabo Swinney up on the offer to play for Clemson, denying several chances to play at schools closer to home, including the USF Bulls and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. When he made the 575-mile move to the Upstate, he left familiarity– largely in the form of his little brother– behind. 

The separation did not last long, though, as Drew followed his brother’s footsteps and committed to Clemson in 2023.

“It makes it 10 times more special,” Drew said of playing with his brother ahead of signing his National Letter of Intent.

“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… 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.”

Now, over two years later, Wade is nearing the end of his time at Clemson, and Drew is still in the early stages of his career. Through practice, time, and adversity, Wade has watched his brother grow on and off the field. 

“He’s matured a lot over the past two years that he’s been here, and he’s become much more eloquent and thoughtful when he speaks,” he said.

 “Watching him talk about the Lord and talk about his journey is just like so inspiring. It’s just like, ‘that’s my little brother,’ and I still see him in that way.”

That perspective, Woodaz joked, includes watching Drew, “make the same faces he did when he was two.”

So far this season, the younger Woodaz has played on special teams in all seven games, recording a tackle at North Carolina. Soon, he will be the only Woodaz left in Clemson when Wade departs after graduating in May. Until then, his big brother wants to make the remaining time together as meaningful as possible.

“It’s like just now starting to hit me today, I have 32 days left with Clemson,” Woodaz said. “So, just being appreciative of where I am and just leaving it all out there. No regrets.”

The Woodaz brothers will have one of their five final guaranteed chances to play together Saturday when the Tigers (3-4, 2-3 ACC) will take on the Duke Blue Devils (4-3, 3-1 ACC) at Memorial Stadium at noon. Coverage will be shown on ACCN.