DALLAS – In today's age of the transfer portal in college football, their story is not a common one. Last year alone, nearly 4,000 players entered the portal looking for brighter futures.

But Cal sixth-year senior safeties Craig Woodson and Miles Williams took a different path.

"In the landscape of college football now, if people don't get their way they are leaving in six months," Williams said.

"The grass is not always greener on the other side," Woodson added.

Woodson and Williams will be rewarded for their patience and perseverance Saturday when they play their final regular-season game for the Golden Bears, fittingly in the Dallas metroplex the now 24-year-olds left as teenagers in June of 2019 to start a new journey in Berkeley.

"Cal will always feel like a home away from home," Woodson said. "The relationships and memories we have created are going to last forever."

But their fond memories and strong relationships were not created easily or quickly. Their early days at Cal were spent trying to fit in and find playing time in a talented and legendary secondary nicknamed 'The Takers', a group that included six future NFL players and helped Cal rank second in the nation in 2018 with 21 interceptions.

"They used to call us 'The Fakers'," Woodson said with a laugh. "We were cubs."
 
But Woodson and Williams have proven to be much more over the last six seasons.

Woodson showed signs of being a significant contributor early in his career, especially during the team's abbreviated COVID-19 season in 2020, when he played in all four games with two starts and contributed 17 tackles, two pass breakups and one blocked punt.

But after tearing his ACL during training camp in 2021, Woodson was looking at nearly a full year of rehab in the immediate future and when he finally returned his list of accomplishments on the field was short.

"I felt forgotten about," Woodson said. "I remember one day after one of my rehab workouts I was off on the side just crying and saying, 'I'm never going to be the same'. But I just had to really trust God, know that there was a plan in place, and that everything happens for a reason. I had to trust the process and keep working, and I would be back better than ever."

When Woodson did return, he was indeed better than ever, and his list of accomplishments has since grown long. He broke into the starting lineup in 2022 and is the only Cal player to start all 36 of the team's games over the last two-plus seasons. His career totals are highlighted by 235 tackles, 16 pass breakups and five interceptions, including one that he returned for a touchdown.

The road for Williams has been much longer.

Hindered by a significant shoulder injury that required surgery early in his career and the fact that he was part of a defensive backs unit with multiple future NFL players ahead of him on the depth chart, Williams was unable to find much action in the secondary.

But he knew he could still make significant contributions and that would be on special teams as a starter on four units. Williams did that for three full seasons before finally getting his opportunity to start at safety opposite Woodson in 2024.

"I just stuck it out and kept believing in myself," Williams said. "I knew I could play and produce at Cal."

Woodson and Williams, along with Marcus Harris and Nohl Williams, have made all but one possible start at the safety and cornerback positions in 2024, while the defensive backs unit as a whole has created its own version of The Takers with 16 of the team's 17 interceptions that rank tied for second in the country.

Their success has not surprised Josh Drayden, an original member of The Takers who spent time with the Washington Commanders before returning to Cal as a graduate assistant working with the defensive backs.

"When Miles and Craig joined the team in 2019, I remember coach Alexander asked me to reach out to them when they first arrived on campus and be their big brother," recalled Drayden, a fellow Dallas-area native who also spent six seasons as a player at Cal and is the school's all-time record holder with 55 games played. "Watching them grow and overcome the adversity and challenges they've faced throughout their careers has been nothing short of inspiring."

And in their minds what kept Woodson and Williams around to see year six with the Bears come to fruition?

"For me it was about the relationships," Woodson said. "I was planning to leave after last season, but it just didn't feel right to leave some of these people who helped me get to where I was. I knew that there was a role here this year that I could be a big part of, and at the end of the day I wanted to leave some type of legacy."

"I feel incredibly fortunate to have witnessed their journeys first-hand," Drayden said. "I have no doubt their futures are bright, and I can't wait to see how they go on to change the world in whatever careers they choose to pursue."

Both want to play in the NFL and move on into the world beyond Cal but first have some unfinished business with Saturday's contest at SMU followed by a bowl game in December that they earned with their fifth Big Game win over Stanford last Saturday.

"Of course, we want to play in the NFL" Woodson said. "But for right now, we just want to keep our feet on the ground and finish this season out strong. We want to put on a show."