The Patriots selected Cal safety Craig Woodson early in Saturday’s fourth round of the NFL Draft, and almost an hour later, it was easy to understand why.

Woodson, a sixth-year senior who played all across the secondary at Cal, described himself as a heady, hard-hitting player.

“Hitting people is what I’ve liked to do since I was a kid,” Woodson said Saturday on a video conference with reporters. “When I first started playing football, like, just running up, hitting somebody, smacking them, just getting them on the ground, that’s everything I’ve loved since I was a kid.”

Woodson also described an example of his football intelligence helping him on the field. In a midseason loss to Pitt, the six-foot, 200-pounder made a critical third-down stop on a receiver who had pulled away from his defender and made a catch over the middle. But having recognized the pre-snap motion that freed him, and the tiny split with the adjacent tight end, Woodson flew up to make the tackle and force a punt.

In New England, he will join a crowded safeties room led by veterans Kyle Dugger, Jabrill Peppers and Jaylinn Hawkins. Woodson, whose first year at Cal was in 2019, said he played with Hawkins briefly in college.

Over his career, he started 40 of 46 games, recording five interceptions and 21 pass breakups. Woodson was a backup his first two seasons, then suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2021. Since then, he developed into a do-it-all safety and captain the Patriots are now hoping can play right away.

“I don’t think there’s anything I can’t do,” Woodson said.