(Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics)
Owen Pappoe noticed it early in camp.
He watched Chandler Wooten come down with an interception in practice. A few days later, he almost had another. Pappoe saw his older teammate move all over the place in new defensive coordinator Derek Mason’s scheme — blitzing, flying downhill to stop the run, dropping back in coverage.
Any rust was completely knocked off by the senior linebacker.
“He’s going to have a big year,” Pappoe said. “For a guy who didn’t play last year, you can’t even tell, because it’s almost like he hasn’t skipped a beat.”
Next week, Wooten will play his first game in 613 days. He hasn’t taken the field in a game that has counted since New Year’s Day 2020. Wooten opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 concerns while awaiting the birth of his son, Chance.
Chance Wooten will be in Jordan-Hare Stadium a week from Saturday, when his proud father makes his return to action in the Tigers’ opener against Akron.
“He'll be at all the home games,”…