MOBILE, ALA. — Former UTSA star and current Seattle Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen has been named the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl Defensive Rookie of the Year.
Woolen, along with Co-Offensive Rookies of the Year Dameon Pierce, a Houston Texans running back, and Christian Watson, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, will be honored in the annual Hall of Fame induction ceremony emceed by NFL Network host Rhett Lewis at The Grand Hotel Golf Club & Spa on June 25 in Point Clear, Alabama.
"The Senior Bowl invite meant so much to me, especially since I had changed positions from wide receiver to cornerback midway through my career (at UTSA)," Woolen said. "The platform in Mobile allowed me to show teams that I had the skills and athleticism to take it to the next level. The 32 teams got a chance to see how I stacked up against the best receivers in last year's draft class. This is truly an honor."
Woolen, who played in the 2022 Reese's Senior Bowl, was selected by Seattle in the fifth round (No. 153 overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. He started 16 games at cornerback for the Seahawks and was selected to the Pro Bowl after a stellar rookie campaign that saw him share the NFL lead with six interceptions. An all-rookie performer by both the Pro Football Writers Association and Pro Football Focus, he became the only rookie over the last 10 years to record an interception in at least four consecutive games. He finished the campaign with 60 tackles, 15 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and one interception return for a touchdown.
A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Woolen turned heads when he clocked a time of 4.26 seconds in 40-yard dash at the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. That time is tied for the third-fastest in Combine history and is the fastest ever for someone over six-feet tall. He also reached 42 inches in the vertical jump at the Combine.
Woolen earned honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades as a redshirt senior in 2021, helping the Roadrunners to a 12-2 record, their first-ever conference championship and an appearance in the Frisco Bowl. He started all nine games in which he was available and posted 25 total tackles, 17 solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss, five pass breakups, one interception and a quarterback hurry.
A product of Arlington Heights High School, Woolen started his UTSA career as a wide receiver and caught 24 passes for 263 yards and a TD over his first two seasons after redshirting in 2017.
Woolen made the position switch to cornerback late in the 2019 campaign. In his first full season on the defensive side of the ball in 2020, he appeared in 11 contests and made seven starts at cornerback, registering 35 tackles, including 20 solo stops, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He also posted four pass breakups, two quarterback hurries and an interception to help UTSA to a 7-5 season that was capped with a showing in the First Responder Bowl.
For more information about the Reese's Senior Bowl Rookies of the Year and Hall of Fame class, please visit https://www.seniorbowl.com/the-game/hall-of-fame/.
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