Chandler Wooten provides surprising response to stellar bowl game performance

Auburn linebacker Chandler Wooten has been a team leader all season long. In the Birmingham Bowl, it was no different — Wooten was all over the field for the Tigers.

On Tuesday against Houston, Wooten had a huge game. The linebacker did his best to shut down the Cougars — amassing 12 tackles on the game. However, football is a team game, and the Tigers fell to the Cougars, 17-13.

After the game, a dejected Wooten stated he didn’t care about his stat-line — he’d rather win than have a big game himself.

“I’m obviously disappointed. You want to win,” started Wooten. “At the end of the day, that’s why you play. That’s why you compete — to give your very best, and win the game. So, obviously it’s disappointing from that point. I don’t really get into individual stats, especially after you lose.

“I’d rather have zero tackles and win the game, to be honest with you. Obviously, our goal was to come here and win. We had a great week of preparation. It wasn’t a lack of preparation, we just didn’t execute. In all three phases. So it’s not just on the offense, it’s on the defense as well. Obviously, we wanted to win the game — but I thought we played extremely hard. It was never about the fight with this team, it’s just about cleaning up those little things. That’s how we take the next step.”

Harsin: ‘I would take that guy in our building 10 times out of 10’

Bryan Harsin only got to coach Chandler Wooten for one season. However, it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with the player and leader the linebacker is.

“I love Chandler,” started Harsin. “I really do. He’s one of those guys that you want in your organization, period. Period.

“He has presence. He’s a great father — he’s a tremendous worker. A guy that does what he says he’s going to do. That’s why he’s a captain. I do respect that. I’m disappointed that he didn’t have the results that I think he deserves, and the guys in that room deserved this season. But that doesn’t take anything away from Chandler. I would take that guy in our building ten times out of ten, and on any team I’ve ever coached. That’s the bottom line.”

Finally, Bryan Harsins believes Chandler Wooten epitomizes what his Auburn team is made of, and why the future is so bright for the Tigers.

“Like I said, the results don’t show what our team is really made of — in my opinion. I think that’s the one thing that disappointing. You don’t really get the chance to share that with many people, because the record we have is not what we wanted, and not the expectation of Auburn football. But there’s a lot of great people in that locker room, and he’s one of them,” stated Harsin. “I know that — that’s the beauty of being a head coach. You get a chance to touch the lives of so many different people. We got fantastic people in that locker room, we just don’t have the results yet. And those results will come, and those seniors – although they’re not playing – will still be a part of that in the future. They know that, I know that.

“So to go back to that question, where we’re going — the people in our football program know. It’s just a matter of time.”