AUBURN, Ala. – Growing up, Colby Wooden had a dream like every other young football player. He'd tell his mom, "I want to be in the NFL." His mom, like every mom, would shoot down the idea. "That's not a career," she'd say.
This weekend, Wooden will get the last laugh when he gets the phone call from whichever NFL team decides to draft the Auburn defensive lineman. But instead of laughs, there will likely be tears of joy. Even Wooden said he might shed a tear if he sees his mom crying because he knows he wouldn't be here without her.
"She has meant the world," he said. "All the sacrifices, getting off work and coming to pick me up from practice, it's just meant the world. She sacrificed more than I can ever thank her for. For her to see me make my goal, that's going to be crazy.
"It's going to be special to have everybody there. All my family. Because I know how much I've come from and just how much they've been there supporting me through rain, sleet, snow, hell. It's going to be exciting and emotional in the Wooden household come draft day."
Wooden might have talked about the NFL as a youngster, but it wasn't until his second season at Auburn in 2020 when he realized that it could become a reality.
In the first game against Kentucky that year, Wooden was making tackles and wreaking havoc in the backfield, and he thought to himself, "All right, I could do this."
Wooden finished that game with three tackles and a tackle for loss. He had 18 tackles and four tackles for loss over his next three games. In four seasons, three as a starter on the defensive line, Wooden totaled 152 tackles, 30 tackles for loss and 17 sacks. He never missed a game the last three years and played every position on the defensive line.
Now Wooden is hoping to take that same mentality to the team that drafts him.
"They're going to get a hard worker," he said. "Somebody that's extremely competitive, somebody that is going to show up every day and just learn, be a sponge, soak it all up. I know I've got leaps and bounds to go, and I'm not where I want to be. But that's why you go and do extra and learn from the guys that have been there and done that. I'm just excited to go learn."
Regardless of where Wooden goes, he'll always come back to Auburn. It's home now.
Even while he was training for the draft, Wooden returned to campus for pro day or A-Day just to visit, and every time it was like he never left. "How's it going?" "What have you been doing?" The Auburn Family has taken him in as one of their own.
"The Auburn Family stays loyal no matter what," Wooden said. "That's all you can ask for. I feel like because of how loyal we were through all the rocky times and hardships, that brought us closer to the Auburn Family and made the Auburn Family respect us more. You can't ask for no more than that. A loyal fan base who loves you, and you love them back."
NFL Combine
40-yard dash: 4.79 seconds
Bench press: 23
Vertical jump: N/A
Broad jump: 9' 7"
4.79 official for the Big Fella @CJW_21🦅💨#NFLCombine March 2-5 on @NFLNetwork pic.twitter.com/7nXpdWwEO1
— Auburn Football (@AuburnFootball) March 2, 2023
Draft Analysis
Wooden's NFL success hinges upon whether or not his NFL defensive coordinator deploys him inside and out or not. If he lives strictly on the edge, he'll struggle with pass-rush pressure consistency. If he gets opportunities to utilize his burst and power against guards, Wooden can become one of the league's best young, genuinely versatile defensive linemen.
- Chris Trapasso, CBS (@ChrisTrapasso)
Signature MomentIn what was the game of the year for Auburn in 2022, it was only fitting that Colby Wooden made the play to seal a victory for the Tigers against Texas A&M.
It was the fourth quarter. Jordan-Hare Stadium was rocking. Auburn led 10-3, but the Aggies were driving to potentially tie the game. Wooden timed the snap perfectly, blew past the left tackle and as he was bearing down on the quarterback, he swatted the ball loose. The Tigers recovered the fumble to put an end to Texas A&M's comeback.
The best part? Wooden called his shot before the play.
"Watch this," he told his teammates. "I'm going to go stab, club, and I'm going to go get it."