Justin Woodall knows what it takes to make it. The former ball-hawking safety recorded seven career interceptions for the Crimson Tide and was a starter on Nick Saban’s first national championship team at Alabama in 2009.

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Woodall also knows what it’s like to throw it all away. Following his time on the gridiron at Alabama, the two-sport athlete returned to the baseball diamond in 2010 after he was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays. While he didn’t play baseball for the Crimson Tide, the left-hander still possessed an above 90-mile-per-hour fastball and was viewed as an intriguing prospect.

After a promising stint in the New York-Penn League in 2011, Woodall was promoted to Class A Bowling Green of the Midwest League the following season. That August, he was one of three Rays minor leaguers who were suspended 50 games after testing positive for a banned substance. His professional career never recovered.

For the past eight years, Woodall has found himself back home on both the football field and the baseball diamond. His mission now centers around guiding young players on the right path while steering them away from potential pitfalls.

“With me training, it’s really raw,” Woodall said. “I don’t hold back. You’ve got a lot of people who went to college and didn’t get into any trouble. There really isn’t anything that a player going through problems can connect with.

“With me, I’m exposed. When you go on the internet, you’re going to see that I got suspended. My information is all out there in the public. So with these kids I train, I’m trying to keep them out of trouble. I didn’t have me at that age.”

What Woodall did have is Saban, Kirby Smart, Kevin Steele and Jeremy Pruitt, all of whom served on the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff during the safety’s time at Alabama. Woodall claims his former head coach’s voice still hasn’t left his head. During his time in the minor leagues, he’d often circle back for extra workouts “just to feel like I made Coach Saban happy,” even though the head coach wasn’t there.

“That mentality he sets in your brain, that’s what I try to instill in my athletes,” Woodall said. “I want them to think fast and learn fast. The people who are going to get on the field are the kids who are going to learn.”

Following his professional baseball career, Woodall started as a trainer working alongside former Alabama receiver Mike McCoy at The Warehouse Performance Institute in Birmingham, Ala. Four years ago, he split to form All In One Training Academy where he says he now coaches roughly 100 athletes. Woodall trains players in both baseball and football and works with ages ranging from 7-year-olds to college kids.

Woodall helps train current Alabama defensive back Brandon Turnage. Two of his other most notable athletes include Alabama signee Malachi Moore and Ga’Quincy McKinstry, the No. 1 recruit in the state of Alabama for the class of 2021.

Woodall has been able to work with two defensive backs on positional drills while providing some of the concepts and schemes they will need to be familiar with at the next level. His no-nonsense approach can be tough at times and is often unforgiving from a physical standpoint. However, the former Crimson Tide defender is confident it will pay off for his athletes at the college level.

“I’m giving you the cheat sheet before you get to the school,” Woodall said. “If you don’t take it, that’s on you. But I’m trying to make sure they get a head start.”

While playing under an elite coaching staff might have provided Woodwall with a blueprint to pass down to his players, he claims the biggest thing he learned from his time with the Crimson Tide was structure.

“It’s not just about sports,” he said. “Once you get out here in life, it’s like ‘Now I see why Coach Saban was probably doing that.’ Every time I work out, I see him in my head. There’s a way of life he’s installed in me forever.”

If nothing else, he’s looking to leave his athletes with that.

“For me the reward is just making these kids 100 times better than I was,” Woodall said. “That’s in life and in football. I don’t even go with kids on recruiting visits. As long as he’s successful and in no trouble, I’m good. I’m going to make sure he came out better than he came in. That’s what makes me happy.”

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