As a Christian, Caleb Womack believes what the Bible says about how those who can be trusted with little can also be trusted with much.

The Santa Cruz High graduate has brought that mindset to his role with the San Jose State University football team this season: Listed as a cornerback on the Spartans’ roster, Womack hasn’t played a down on defense. He has, however, seen action on all four of the Spartans’ special teams units — kickoffs, kickoff returns, punts, and punt returns.

Womack is using his time on special teams to prove himself worthy of handling bigger responsibilities down the line.

“Our defensive coordinator, Derrick Odum, calls our depth chart a ‘trust chart,’” SJSU special teams analyst Joe Palcic said. “You’re not going to get on the field unless we trust you.

“Caleb is very consistent at what he does. He deserves the playing time we’re giving him because we trust him.”

Just being on the field is, to some degree, a victory for Womack: After redshirting his freshman year, he tore the meniscus and the anterior cruciate ligament in his left leg during San Jose State’s 2023 spring game.

“I was covering a receiver, and we were pushing back and forth,” Womack recalled. “I stepped wrong and my knee popped.”

That pop meant Womack, now a junior academically, would have to take a medical redshirt season as a sophomore.

It was while Womack was rehabbing his leg in preparation for his return to the gridiron that he began winning his coaches’ trust with his work ethic: Once known for his speed in high school — he qualified for California’s state track and field meet in the 400 meters — Womack basically had to learn to walk again.

“While they (his teammates) were in meetings, I was in the training room with our trainers doing different exercises,” Womack said. “I had to take little steps walking over cones.”

Eventually, Womack progressed to doing single-leg squats, single big steps, and doing upper body lifting.

When spring ball came around again, Womack had a large brace on his knee, according to Palcic. Still, slowly but surely, SJSU’s coaching staff eased Womack back into the grind of full-contact football practices, monitoring him until they felt he was ready to practice at full speed.

“Once we could see that he was confident and ready to go, we put him on the depth chart,” Palcic said.Womack made his college debut in San Jose State’s season opener against Sacramento State on Aug. 29. He’s appeared in all but two of the Spartans’ games since then, including the last eight of the regular season. He also saw action in the Spartans’ 41-39 five-overtime loss to South Florida in the Hawai’i Bowl on Tuesday.

On paper, Womack’s stats don’t look that impressive: He’s recorded just one tackle, and it came on the road at Oregon State in mid-November. Because it was nullified by a holding penalty against the Beavers, it’s not listed among his stats on SJSU’s website.

To hear both Womack and Palcic tell it, however, that tackle was a sight to behold.

“It was a pretty cool play — it was amazing,” Womack said. “On a punt, the defender was holding me, and he got a flag on him. I had to get up and run down the field and get the player.

“I got him on a combined tackle. It was nice to be able to get my head in there and get a piece of the returner.”

Seeing it a second time was even more fun for Palcic.

“We made a big deal about it watching it on film as a team,” the special teams analyst said. “He got held, and he had to get off of the hold and go down and make the tackle. He had to run across the field to do it.

“I’ve got kids roughly the same age as him. I almost felt like a proud dad.”

Again, it all goes back to trust.

“He’s a talented, skilled athlete with good speed,” Palcic said. “You want guys like that on special teams. He makes a great effort on every play.”

Not only that, Womack is a student of the game: Palcic said the defensive back visits him at least twice per week to pepper him with questions about SJSU’s opponents.

“Caleb’s consistent about always doing the right things,” Palcic said. “He’s very fast and able to make tackles. He always plays his hardest and can be very physical.

“All those attributes add up to a skilled player.”

A business marketing major, Womack is currently interning with Adobe, the San Jose-based tech company best known for creating software such as Photoshop and the Acrobat PDF reader. He sees himself working in tech or sports marketing someday.

For now, though, Womack is focused on making the most of the opportunities he’s entrusted with on the football field. He considers the two years he spent on the sidelines a blessing, as it helped him mature as he added muscle, and he isn’t worried about getting injured again.

“While I’m out there, there really isn’t any fear,” Womack said. “I just make sure I’m prepared. … The rest is up to God.”