Spring football is well underway for Auburn football and its linebackers room has some familiar faces in bigger roles.

Robert Woodyard Jr. and Keyron Crawford enters this season as the veterans of the group. Aside from them, Sophomore Demarcus Riddick is the only other player who saw playing time last season.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment. It’s been going pretty well. I’m ready for it. I’ve come a long way and I’m going to help these young guys come a long way,” Woodyard said Monday.

 Woodyard finished last season with 17 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss. After playing in 10 games moving up from the scout team, Woodyard is ready to compete as a starter this fall.

“I feel more confident in what I’m doing. The ability to do things in a way that I can make plays. That’s really just how I bought into what I’m doing and just better myself,” Woodyard added.

For Crawford, he feels the same exact way after finishing with 18 tackles in his first season at Auburn.

“It’s a pretty different approach coming into this spring. I know the defense a little better and I know the things I can improve on,” Crawford said. “We are a young team right now and I know there are several guys looking at me as the example.”

Redshirt freshman DJ Barber and newcomers Jakaleb Faulk, Bryce Deas and Elijah Melendez are competing for spots in the defensive rotation.

With Riddick already proving his skills last season, Melendez has been a freshman already turning heads this spring and was on the Al.com freshman watchlist.

Melendez measures 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and was ranked as the No. 39 linebacker in the country.

“I like Elijah Melendez. He’s a strong guy, fast guy,” Woodyard said. “He’s been putting on film lately. I feel like he’s going to be a very big factor for us moving forward.”

“I like D.J. Barber. He’s come a long way from last season. And we’ve got Demarcus Riddick coming back too. He’s going to have a great role on this team.”

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3 or email him at [email protected].