Photo credit: Caleb Wood/Instagram
Smash That “Follow” Button
As the temperatures continue to rise, so too does the competition in Arkansas’ secondary.
On the final weekend of fall camp, head coach Ryan Silverfield added Caleb Wooden back into the fold.
The veteran safety told Best of Arkansas Sports he signed his scholarship papers Saturday and will be in Fayetteville for the start of the fall semester Monday.
After Sunday’s scrimmage that concluded fall camp, Silverfield harped on his defense for allowing too many explosive plays and missed tackles. He likely had to contain his smirk knowing he had a reinforcement on the way.
Wooden played three seasons at Auburn before transferring to Arkansas, where he made 11 starts and tallied 59 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups and 2 quarterback hurries as a senior last year. He also returned a blocked punt for a touchdown against LSU, the Hogs’ first since 2009.
The Lawrenceville, Ga., native was made eligible by the recent injunction granting Class of 2022 athletes a fifth year of eligibility in line with the NCAA’s new “five-for-five” framework.
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When the ruling was handed down July 31, Wooden remembered getting a couple of notifications on his phone, but it took a little while for him to grasp the implications of a judge’s decision two time zones away.
That changed in a hurry when some friends pointed out that it applied to him. It was massive news for a player who thought his college career had ended with a loss to Missouri on Thanksgiving week.
Wooden had turned his attention to making the NFL, where his older brother Colby is a defensive tackle with the Colts. When college became an option again, he immediately reached out to an Arkansas staffer to see if a return was possible.
“Whenever I get the call, I’m on the first thing smoking,” he told BoAS earlier this month.
A couple weeks later, a second season with the Razorbacks became official.
Earlier this month, Silverfield likely believed his first Arkansas football roster was set in stone.
With the addition of track star Maurice Gleaton Jr. and walk-on Braxton Scriber, the Razorbacks had 120 players ready to report to campus August 4 for the start of fall camp.
After the injunction, the first-year head coach told reporters that he was exploring all options. Silverfield, like other coaches across the country, had more questions than answers at that point. It was unclear if the Razorbacks even had extra room on their roster.
However, Silverfield announced Sunday that tight end Maddox Lassiter will miss the season after undergoing surgery for an undisclosed upper body injury. That opened up a spot for Wooden under a new NCAA rule allowing players with medically documented season-ending injuries to remain with the team and use its facilities without counting toward the roster limit.
(That rule change could also allow John Calipari to add another player to his roster after Isaiah Sealy’s season-ending knee injury — and subsequent arrest.)
What Caleb Wooden Brings to Hogs Secondary
Bringing in a 6-foot-1, 195-pound safety with multiple years of starting experience in the SEC is quite the 11th-hour addition.
Wooden told BoAS that he briefly met Silverfield at Arkansas’ Pro Day in mid-March, but that interaction wasn’t much more than a handshake. He still has friends on the team, though, and they’ve spoken highly of the new coach.
On top of that, the 22-year-old is familiar with defensive coordinator Ron Roberts’ system, as he played for him at Auburn in 2023. He remembers being part of a defense that forced 18 turnovers that season, one shy of leading the SEC. Wooden posted a career-high 76.6 PFF grade that year, crediting it to Roberts’ “DB-friendly” scheme.
“He’s going on year 30-something in the coaching profession, so he definitely knows what he’s talking about,” Wooden said. “Every single week he’s going to come with a game plan that is going to put the team in the best position to win.”
When specifically asked about him after the first day of fall camp, Roberts deferred to Silverfield when it came to any potential roster moves, but said he remembered Wooden being a “good kid” who has “played a lot of football.”
Depending on how quickly he can get back up to speed and relearn Roberts’ playbook, Wooden could push Cincinnati transfer Christian Harrison or fellow returning fifth-year senior Miguel Mitchell for a starting spot at safety. His return adds another obstacle into freshman Tay Lockett’s path to early playing time, though.
Caleb Wooden Stayed Ready
Former secondary teammates like Julian Neal (Seahawks), Larry Worth III (49ers) and Kani Walker (Bills) are still fighting for roster spots in the NFL. Wooden, meanwhile, was invited to a rookie minicamp with the Washington Commanders in May after going undrafted, but didn’t get signed.
He returned home to Georgia and continued to work out, splitting time between his old stomping grounds at Archer High, local gyms and even the park.
“When things get hard, you have got to fall back on your why.”
Loved this from Hogs DB Caleb Wooden about battling adversity and fighting the outside noise. #WPS
There’s been plenty of both this week for the Hogs before they head to Knoxville 📺⤵️https://t.co/gigxj7OsfP pic.twitter.com/qEZJ8n1L9z
— Evan Kamikow (@emkamikow) October 8, 2025
“I take pride in my health,” he said. “I don’t ever want to get out of shape because I feel as if for every person, your health is your biggest blessing. Being able to run, walk, do whatever, that’s a blessing in itself.”
Wooden wasn’t the only Razorback playing the eligibility waiting game this offseason. On the hardwood, Malique Ewin will use his extra year of eligibility at Oregon.
The Razorbacks had four other true seniors last season and two of them, Worth and tight end Rohan Jones, signed NFL contracts. Defensive tackle David Oke ended up using a medical redshirt in 2025, so he’s back at Arkansas as a traditional fifth-year senior. Fellow interior lineman Danny Saili entered the transfer portal in January and signed with Oklahoma earlier this month.
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More coverage of Arkansas football from BoAS…
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Hailing from Springdale, Andrew Hutchinson graduated from the University of Arkansas with a journalism degree in 2016. While he played baseball, basketball, football and ran track growing up, he quickly realized he lacked the size and athleticism to play anything beyond high school and shifted gears to stay involved with sports. Starting his career covering the Razorbacks with The Traveler while in college, Hutchinson has also worked for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Hawgs Illustrated, WholeHogSports, 247Sports, HawgBeat/Rivals and now BoAS, where he’s been the managing editor since the summer of 2022. In 2020, he was named the Arkansas Sportswriter of the Year by the NSMA. When he’s not writing, Hutchinson is spending time with his wife, Marley, and two daughters.
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