Woodbey Announces Return for 2022 Season
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Playing at Boston College was a change for Jaiden Woodbey—albeit a welcome one. He found a new home in Chestnut Hill after three years at Florida State.
And, on Monday, the veteran strong safety announced that he will be returning to BC for the 2022 season.
Woodbey ranks second on the team with 55 total tackles, including 28 solos, after the regular season. He also registered two passes defended, a pair of interceptions and two fumble recoveries, not to mention his first career touchdown, which came on a 42-yard punt coverage scoop-and-score at UMass.
Woodbey played the third-most defensive snaps (583) of any Eagle this year. He lined up everywhere, but 46.8% of the time he was in the box. He was at free safety for 128 snaps, in the slot for 108 and on the line for 64, according to Pro Football Focus.
His tackling grade of 89.1 was tops on the team. Woodbey has posted a missed tackle rate of just 5.4% this season.
Woodbey nabbed critical interceptions against Louisville and Georgia Tech, the latter of which prevented the Yellow Jackets from taking a third quarter lead in BC’s Week 11 matchup and instead led to BC widening its cushion with a field goal.
Woodbey was a five-star recruit coming out of St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California). He was the No. 29 overall player in the Class of 2018 and originally chose FSU over the likes of Notre Dame, Ohio State, Florida and Oregon.
His 55 total tackles this season are the most since his freshman year with the Seminoles when he was an ESPN Freshman All-American.
Woodbey said earlier this year that head coach Jeff Hafley, defensive backs coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim and the entire defensive staff have helped him take his game to the next level. He’s picked their brains on the field and in the film room.
Leading up to BC’s game against FSU this season, Woodbey declared that he feels like a more confident player in 2021 than he was last year.
“I feel like the coaches really believe in me a lot, and I feel like that plays a part into just any player,” Woodbey said at the time. “When you know your coaches really believe in you, I feel like you’ll play for them, and you’ll play for yourself even harder.”
