In their first year playing side-by-side for Auburn, linebackers K.J. Britt and Chandler Wooten were a “one-two punch,” Wooten said. Their personalities, playing style and mental approach to the game complemented each other, but with Wooten’s decision to opt out of the 2020 season, that balance has suddenly been thrown off.
Wooten announced that he was opting out via Twitter on Thursday evening. He said he will be welcoming a baby boy to his family in November, and his family’s well-being is his priority.
“Unfortunately, playing this season was ultimately not a risk that I was willing to take,” Wooten said. He will take a redshirt season instead.
As of Thursday, 13 other college players have also opted out for a variety of reasons, according to CBS Sports. Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons, like Wooten, said the safety of his child pushed him to forego the season.
Wooten is the first Auburn Tiger to take that step. However, there are a number of other Auburn players who also have young children as well as those who have pre-existing health conditions. Wooten’s decision, combined with coach Gus Malzahn’s support, expressed through Twitter, has now set a precedent for others to make similar decisions.
Wooten’s leadership role gives his decision more weight. Heading into the 2020 season, Wooten was already stepping up on the field. However, when all athletes were sidelined because of COVID-19, Wooten’s off the field role grew as well, as he and other leaders on the team worked to keep their teammates engaged and connected.
When the Black Lives Matter protests broke out after George Floyd’s death, Wooten was one of the first players on the team to speak out. Malzahn supported his self-expression, and Wooten’s teammates followed him. They shared his thoughts across Twitter and added their own commentary to the conversation, further developing his position as a team leader.
Wooten’s decision also shakes Auburn’s team dynamic by removing a leader and veteran from the field and the locker room, and it raises a number of questions for the team.
The linebacker corps was supposed to be the most reliable position group with the least question marks. Between seniors Britt and Wooten, junior Zakoby McClain and sophomore Owen Pappoe, Auburn was returning all four linebackers in the rotation. The four of them accounted for 200 of Auburn’s 835 tackles, and they all played in all 13 games in 2019.
During a Zoom interview in April, Wooten talked about the linebackers’ role in the upcoming season.
“We are the most experienced group, but as a linebacker in our defense, you got to set everybody, make the calls, so that’s our natural job description anyway,” Wooten said. “Definitely, you know, when we get back want to be leaders, but also right now be leaders right now too because you have your leaders off the field as well. That’ll definitely be a part of it.”
He, personally, was looking forward to teaching “them young boys under these wings for when it’s their time.” That time may arrive sooner than expected for one of the players with Wooten out.
Auburn has 12 other linebackers it could use to fill his spot in the rotation, but out of those 12, only four have seen the field. Tanner Dean is the only one who has played in every game, but most of his time was spent on special teams. He made five tackles for the season. The other three who had playing experience combined for a total of seven tackles. One, Michael Harris, left the team in December.
Thanks to good recruiting classes cultivated by linebackers coach Travis Williams, Auburn does have talented linebackers waiting for their chances, even if they don’t have much experience. OC Brothers, a redshirt freshman, played in two games last season. Wesley Steiner, an incoming freshman, was one of Auburn’s top recruits of 2020 and is looking to make an impact fast.
With the SEC’s latest schedule release, Auburn will have one month and 20 days to decide before the season kicks off on September 26.
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