5 Clemson Football players in a battle for their job in Spring Football

Wade Woodaz

For the record, I like Woodaz as a player. He was a pleasant surprise as a freshman. The recruiting services clearly missed on him. As such, he will be a solid starting linebacker and will make a nice tandem with Barrett Carter.

The reason Woodaz is on this list has nothing to do with his performance over the past two seasons, and everything to do with the potential of one of the linebackers from the Class of 2024 who will participate in spring practice as an early enrollee.

Sammy Brown was rated as a 5-star prospect out of Jefferson High School in Georgia. He was ranked 19th nationally in the 247Sports Composite. He was a star in all three phases of the game, but evaluators single him out as a future star at linebacker.

Unlike Leigh, Brown appears to be physically ready to roll in college football. The question will be, as it is with most players, whether he will be mentally ready to be a contributor right away.

Woodaz was mentally prepared and assimilated the playbook quickly. Add two seasons of experience on top of that, and he is the heir apparent to step into the starting lineup to replace Jeremiah Trotter.

I’ve seen enough to know that Brown has a chance to push Woodaz if all the pieces fall into the right place this spring.

Next: Troy Stellato