Roommates Britt, Wooten 'having a blast' as new leaders at linebacker
Auburn linebackers K.J. Britt and Chandler Wooten knew this moment would come. They just had to wait their turn.
They learned from the likes of Deshaun Davis, Montavious Atkinson, Darrell Williams, all of whom were in the top 10 in team tackles for the Tigers for two straight seasons from the linebacker spot.
After practices and games, when the two retreated back to their dorm or apartment, just one thing was on their minds.
"Any time we’re in the room, it’s just talking ball, talking ball, talking ball," Wooten said. "We waited for this moment for two years now, and just to see where we came from, and we did it together, so it’s special. It’s special.”
With the pair combining for 20 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss through three games of the young season, Britt and Wooten's dreams of leading Auburn's defense are coming to fruition.
“It’s fun, man," Wooten said. "We're having a blast."
Wooten said the tight-knit linebackers, who both arrived prior to the 2017 season, have conflicting personalties that work well in tandem. Britt is more energetic on the field, while Wooten is the laid-back voice of reason.
“We balance each other out really well," Wooten said. "... Just talking ball with him, you know, he could teach me things and I could teach him things because the things he doesn’t do well, I do well, and the things I don’t do well, he does well, so we really complement each other really well. That’s why I feel like we’re a good one-two punch.”
Linebackers coach Travis Williams saw the dynamic last season with his three senior linebackers and believes the one budding with his current unit can be "something special."
"They also understand this too, that, you know, even though this is their third year, you’re going to get what you earn," Williams said last month. "And we don't have starters — we have standards. So, if they uphold the standards, everything else takes care of itself.
"Two great young men, and they've had a chance to watch other leaders in front of them. I think Deshaun and Darrell and Atkinson laid that foundation of, you know, this is the way it's going to be in the linebacker room. And now they've taken it to a whole 'nother level. ... I'm very happy to be their coach."
Britt and Wooten were even friends dating back to their high-school days, and that relationship grew further once they committed.
"That’s my brother," Britt said of Wooten last month. "He motivates me; I motivate him. We just want to play, man. What we came here for. ... Ain’t nothing going to change now. We’re just ready to play."
Auburn's defense rotates four linebackers regularly — Britt, Wooten, freshman Owen Pappoe and sophomore Zakoby McClain. Each brings his own niche style of playing to Kevin Steele's hard-hitting group.
Britt is assuming Davis' old mike linebacker spot, holding down the middle of the defense, while Wooten works on the strongside of the front seven.
They're both fiery competitors that are now counted on to keep the younger members of the defense — and each other — on their toes in-game and on the practice field. But when it's time to decompress at the end of the day, things are just like they were when Britt and Wooten were wide-eyed freshmen, dreaming of starting in the orange and blue.
"It’s just natural competition," Britt said. "I mean, we don’t wake up in the morning, ‘Ah, I’ve got to beat Chandler.’ Nah, it’s just natural competition. It’s just something that we’ve been doing all along.
"That’s my roommate, so we talk at night, watch film together, talk ball together... I dang sure need Chandler. I need him in my life and I’m sure he needs me in his life."
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