Florida Gators linebacker and edge rusher Jayden Woods had a dominant breakout game on Saturday against Auburn, leading the defense to a performance that helped Florida make stops when they needed to en route to their 44-39 win over Auburn.
Woods on Saturday had six tackles (five of which were solo) and one assist. Out of his six tackles, he recorded 3.5 tackles for loss with 2.5 sacks.
Through the first three games of the season now, Woods has recorded 15 total tackles (10 solo), and five assists. He has 3 total sacks.
Jayden Woods has a monster night to anchor Florida's win
Per PFF, the Gators registered 41 pressures. Woods was responsible for 11 of them. But as a sign that sometimes PFF grades can be a bit confusing, Woods also had a grade of 68.9 for the game. It doesn't help that he was seemingly being held every other play.
jayden woods getting held to all hell lmao but refs wanna swallow the whistle now pic.twitter.com/Ucup3azc8Z
— 𝙉𝘼𝙅 (@najeeadams_) September 20, 2026
Woods drew some criticism after the first two games of the year, with some saying he had yet to make a noticeable impact. After all, he was one of the core players that Florida had to fight tooth and nail to keep. In the offseason, Woods had initially entered the transfer portal. We ourselves stated back in January, when Florida convinced Woods to stay, that:
"So, as much as we here at Hail Florida Hail muse at times about whether or not the Gators actually have a coherent plan, the Gators identified the top five returning talents on the roster, and they retained them.
In the words of Jon Sumrall on social media:
Good."
On Saturday that sentiment changed with his strong performance against Auburn. He showed he can handle the pressure, make plays, and perform when it counts.
Last season as a true freshman, Woods started in all 12 games last year, starting two. He recorded 28 tackles last year, three and a half sacks, recorded one interception, one pass breakup, two QB hurries, and a fumble recovery.
With just three and a half sacks in 2025, he’s just a half a sack away from matching his total from last year, and it is likely that will happen next week when the Gators take on Ole Miss.
But the Auburn matchup was the one Woods needed to prove to people that he’s an impact player. It will be critical that his strong play continues next week against the Rebels.
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