Player Profile: Meet Cal’s Craig Woodson (7-31-24)
By: Xavier Jones
Headline Photo Credit: Arturo Jones-LMS Network
Born on February 20, 2001, in Nashville, TN to Gregory and Hellen Woodson, Craig Woodson was the youngest sibling to his brother and sister. By the age of 8, Craig and his family relocated to Texas. During his upbringing, Craig’s mother had him and his siblings attend church which helped build his relationship with God. According to Craig, God is important to his life and to this day he continues to live his life grounded in Him. Throughout his life, some of Woodson’s teachers and coaches began to mentor and help him get to where he is now. Craig credits the people that he saw as role models regarding how he carries himself and interacts with others. He also credits them for showing him how important it is to be a genuine person that people can respect. Craig was that smart, funny, and cool kid that others liked to be around, and that has led him to build relationships and connections through his walk of life.
At the age of 9, Woodson started playing football and instantly fell in love with it. Craig started off playing the center position, and then quickly moved to the running back position. It was a dream of his to become a running back in the NFL until he got to high school. In high school, Woodson started to play safety, and that’s when things began to take off. Although, coming out of high school he only had 2 FBS offers from UTSA and California. Craig would go on to choose Cal because of the opportunity to develop, and a hometown friend was there, as well. During his freshman year in 2019, Woodson saw action in the team’s four out of the first five games. In those games, Woodson would come off the bench and play mostly on special teams. He did this until his season ended so that he could still be granted a redshirt season. In 2020, Craig played in all four games with two starts in a shortened season due to COVID. His stats for that year were 17 tackles, two pass breakups, and a blocked kick. However, the following year Woodson would suffer a season-ending injury during training camp.
The next year after returning from injury, Craig would play in all 12 games. In those 12 games, Woodson would tally 75 tackles, 3 TFLs, two interceptions, one touchdown, one forced fumble, 3 pass breakups, and 2 QB hurries. These numbers wouldn’t go unnoticed because Woodson would be selected for the All-Pac-12 honorable mentions. Woodson was also selected for the College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District 8 Football Team and the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society. In the 2023 season, Craig would again start in all the games. His numbers would improve from the 2022 season. His total numbers in 2023 are the following: 81 tackles, 3.5 TFL, two forced fumbles, four pass breakups, and one interception. With these numbers, Woodson earned a Fourth-Team All-Pac 12 selection, College Sports Communicators’ Academic All-District 8 Football Team, and the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Honor Society. In Woodson’s senior year, he would be looking to improve on last year’s stats.
In May of 2023, Craig graduated from Cal with a Bachelor’s Degree in Film and Media. Woodson also added a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration in December of 2023. By achieving these accolades, Woodson is the first person in his immediate family to graduate from college. After his final year at Cal, Woodson will be looking forward to hearing his name being called in the 2025 NFL Draft.
