BELLE GLADE – Da’Coby Wooten made his presence felt on the field in more ways than one this past season.
The ‘27 CB posted the following statistics in nine games with Glades Day:
DEFENSE
•25 tackles (17 solo)
OFFENSE
•57 carries for 417 rushing yards
•7 catches for 209 yards
•15 total touchdowns
Wooten’s best individual game was at home in Week 8 against Southwest Florida Christian – a 29-26 win for Glades Day (4-5 final record; Sunshine State Athletic Association). His statistics for that one were as follows:
•15 carries for 132 yards
•4 touchdowns
“We started off a little lazy, but then I came in and score one touchdown,” Wooten said. “It was a lot of adversity. They’ll score and we’ll score.
Every time they scored, I told my teammates to keep their heads up and it’s the next drive and I had them if they had my back.”
Wooten recapped his freshman season at Glades Day.
“My freshman year was one to remember,” he said. “Every time adversity was thrown at me, I handled it the best way as possible and I was a captain this past year. I love being a young player, but having so much responsibility and respect, I wish I would’ve made better decisions late in the year before playoffs and took my team to the championship.”
Wooten credits Glades Day head coach/athletic director Zach Threkeld for the opportunities he has received with the team.
“He’s been a great coach and a great role model my three years at Glades Day,” said Wooten, who has been with the team since he was in the seventh grade. “We both been through a lot of adversity at practice and during games. Our bond got really close this year. HE leaned on me, I leaned on him. Now he holds to me to high expectations because he knows I can handle it.”
As a result of his on-field success, Wooten has earned his first two college scholarship offers from FAU and Western Michigan.
Wooten on FAU:
“FAU seems like a good environment to be around and the competitive atmosphere seems like it’s there,” he said.
Wooten on Western Michigan:
“I haven’t been on a visit to Western Michigan or nothing,” he said. “I’m just keeping in contact with the coach there.”
At this time, Wooten has been putting in a lot of work to elevate his game further by participating in an offseason 7-on-7 program with Reign. Coached by Emory Payne Jr. and sponsored by Football Hotbed, Reign has four players from the Muck on its team in Wooten, Jyron Hughley (former Glades Day teammate; Cardinal Newman ‘26 ATH), Leslie Mosley (Glades Central ‘26 WR), and Tavarion James (Glades Central ‘25 CB).
Wooten on Hughley:
“He’s the best quarterback in ‘26,” he said.
Wooten on Mosley:
“Leslie is the best wide receiver in the Muck,” he said.
Wooten on James:
“Tavarion is one of the best cornerbacks in the Muck,” he said.
HotbedWorld x Reign most recently competed in an 18u Orlando 2024 7-on-7 Tournament on Sunday, Feb. 25. While the team went 1-1-1 in pool play and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, Wooten emerged as one of the team’s best overall players with seven pass breakups for the day in four games played.
“I’m one of the youngest and Coach Pjay [Emory Payne] put the responsibility on me to guard the best wide receiver most of the time,” he said. “The coaches are great. They put you in the best position as possible. You just have to execute.”
With that said, Wooten is looking to have his best year yet as an upcoming sophomore at Glades Day.
“I just wanted to be a good leader and hit all my goals this year,” he said. “I want to build chemistry with everybody on it and try to win a championship.”
PHOTO CREDITS: Greg Baltazar and Emory Payne Jr.
Muck City Media Enterprises 
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