Colby Wooden

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What will Auburn's Colby Wooden do for an encore?

ByNathan King

4-5 minutes

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AUBURN, Alabama — One of the most impressive transformations by an Auburn football player in recent memory has been that of Colby Wooden, who arrived on campus as a four-star, 230-pound outside rusher into a 280-pound defensive lineman.

And Wooden isn't done improving his body or skill set, either.

This offseason, he trained with Marcus Howard, a former All-SEC defensive end at Georgia and fifth-round NFL draft pick. His primary goal heading into his redshirt sophomore year?

“Just getting with him, I wanted to take my pass rush ability to the next level," Wooden said.

Wooden was sidelined for a good portion of his true freshman campaign with an illness, then had his second spring practices with the program stripped away due to COVID-19. Still, Wooden was able to bulk up and grow into an imposing athlete who earned a starting role at defensive tackle at the start of last season. Due to his size and versatility, he could attack both inside and outside gaps, and he ultimately took most of his snaps as a defensive end.

What does Wooden's role look like now that Auburn's defense is under new management with former Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason serving as defensive coordinator?

"I feel like it’s showcasing I can play in the 3-4 as a tackle or in some cases move back out to the (5-technique defensive end)," Wooden said. "It’s just showing my versatility and what I can do and my strength, which I would say was questionable. The defense shows what I’m able to do and my capabilities. I love it.”

Wooden was recruited and coached by Rodney Garner, who is now at Tennessee after not being retained on Bryan Harsin's staff. New defensive line coach Nick Eason hails from the NFL, having coached most recently with the Bengals.

"His NFL experience — you can't find it nowhere," Wooden said of Eason. "It's really beneficial because he gives insights on all the stuff that, you know, we may not have looked at it, or we may not have looked at it from that angle. He already knows all the ins and outs coming from the NFL. I'd say it's very beneficial — whether it's teaching us new pass-rush moves or how to defeat blocks."

The biggest difference between Wooden's two defensive line coaches in his time at Auburn, he said, is simply age. Eason is lively and enjoys getting down in the trenches with his players, giving first-hand instruction in drills and practices. Of course, Wooden recognized that Garner played a massive role in his development, too.

"Both are good coaches and exquisite," Wooden said. "Love them both.”

Wooden's overall production in 2020 was easily the best on Auburn's defensive line. He was routinely one of the Tigers' highest-graded players on the entire defense, and he finished the season with the second-most tackles for loss (9.5) among freshmen in the SEC — behind only Alabama's Will Anderson Jr., considered one of college football's best defensive players this year.

“We always knew he had it in him,” Caleb Wooden, a three-star safety in the 2022 class who committed to Auburn last month, said of his older brother last year. “He just needed to realize that himself. Now he’s finally starting to come around, and it’s time for him to be a dominant player in this league. The switch has turned on.”

Yet, despite a breakout year Wooden was left off the official preseason All-SEC list last month, not appearing on any of the three teams. Wooden was asked Thursday about the snub. He nodded slowly and smirked.

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"I was surprised," Wooden said in a matter-of-fact tone. "All I'll say is we'll see. We'll see."

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