Rod Woodson

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Roderick Kevin "Rod" Woodson (born March 10, 1965 in Fort Wayne, Indiana) is a former professional American football player.

[edit] Pro Football career

In 1987, Woodson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He returned punts and played defensive cornerback for Pittsburgh through the 1996 season. A highlight came in 1995, when Woodson became the first player to return from reconstructive knee surgery in the same season. That year he tore his ACL against the Detroit Lions in the first game and returned to play in the Super Bowl XXX between the Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys just 19 weeks later. In that game, he broke up a pass intended for Michael Irvin, hopped up and pointed at his reconstructed knee.

Woodson's career took a somewhat nomadic turn after free agency from Pittsburgh. Although he remained to raise his family in Pittsburgh he hopped between three additional franchises, becoming one of the few modern cornerbacks to successfully make a transition to the safety position, following in the footsteps of Ronnie Lott. Woodson signed with the San Francisco 49ers for the 1997 season, the Baltimore Ravens for the years 1998 to 2001 (where he won Super Bowl XXXV), and the Oakland Raiders for 2002 and 2003 (where he appeared in his third Super Bowl). In the Raiders 2002 Super Bowl season, 37-year old Woodson led the NFL in interceptions (8) for the first time in his career. He was also a 6 time All-Pro selection.

[edit] Retirement

Woodson was released by the Oakland Raiders on July 27, 2004 after failing his team physical. He has since officially retired, and has stated to the press that he has no desire to resume his career ^[1]. His replacement at free safety for the Raiders was Stuart Schweigert, who coincidentally, broke Woodson's career interception record at Purdue.

[edit] Playing success

Woodson is among the NFL's all time leaders in games played as a defensive back and interceptions. In his 17 NFL seasons, Woodson recorded 71 interceptions, 1,483 interception return yards, 32 fumble recoveries (15 offensive and 17 defensive), 137 fumble return yards, 2,362 punt return yards, and 15 touchdowns (12 interception returns, 1 fumble return, 2 punt returns). He holds the league record for interceptions returned for touchdowns with 12, and is tied with 11 other players for the record for most fumble recoveries in a single game (3). His 1,483 interception return yards are also an NFL record. His 71 interceptions rank 3rd all time.

Woodson was named to the Pro Bowl eleven times, a record for a defensive back. He was also the first player to earn trips to the Pro Bowl at cornerback, safety and kick returner.^[2] He was named 1993's NFL Defensive Player of the Year by the Associated Press.

National Football League stars of past and present participated in the ESPN Pro Bowl Skills Challenge, part of the ProBowl weekend, and put on a show for servicemembers in Hawaii at the J.W. Marriot Ihilani Resort and Spa, Feb. 10. The former greats kicked it off with the Alumni Air-It-Out flag football game. Steve Young (#8) and Michael Irvin (with ball) connected on several passes to defeat John Elway’s team. Woodson (26) is in the background.

In 1994, he was named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team. In 1999, he was ranked number 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. The College Football News has also honored him as one of the 100 greatest players of the 20th century.

In 2007, he was ranked number 22 on USA Today list of the 25 best NFL players of the past 25 years.

Woodson will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 2009. Woodson is regarded by many as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. It is unlikely that the Steelers will remove Woodson's number 26 from circulation, however, since the number is currently being worn by longtime cornerback Deshea Townsend, who as of the 2007 season has now played as long with the Steelers as Woodson did. Mel Blount's number 47 has also conspicuously remained in circulation since his retirement after the 1983 season.

As of 2007, he works for the NFL Network on NFL Total Access with Rich Eisen.

Since 1994, Woodson has operated an annual youth football camp, the Woodson/Fabini Football Camp, on the grounds of his former high school. He is also a partner in Woodson Motorsports, a BMW motorcycle dealership and repair shop in Fort Wayne.

Currently Woodson splits his time between NFL Network studios in Los Angeles and his home in Pleasanton, California.

He was also part of the studio team for BBC Sport's NFL coverage in 2007, including Super Bowl XLII. [1]

[edit] Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Woodson finished second to Darrell Green in the 1988 NFL Fastest Man Contest.^[3]
• He considers all three movies from The Godfather trilogy, the Terminator trilogy and The Ten Commandments as his all time favorite movies.^[4]
• In a game against the Houston Oilers, Woodson hit Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon on a cornerback blitz.^[5] The hit gave Moon a concussion and forced him to leave the game.^[6]

[edit] External links

• Rod Woodson at ESPN.com
• Woodson's Stats
• Rod Woodson at the Internet Movie Database

[edit] References