Courtesy: Bleacher Report
A Heisman candidate, the potential of being a first round pick was in the grasp. All Andre Woodson had to do was have a successful senior season as the signal caller for the University of Kentucky. 40 touchdowns and two monumental wins over programs in the top-10 (Louisville, Florida), Woodson cemented himself as one of the nation’s best collegiate quarterbacks.
The following year, in the 2008 NFL draft, Woodson heard his name called. But, he wasn’t drafted in the first, nor second round. He was selected No. 198 to the New York Giants. Despite throwing 71 touchdowns in two seasons and competing in the defensive-frenzied SEC, Woodson was the eleventh quarterback selected in the draft.
Woodson’s career at UK could be defined as ground-breaking. He broke Danny Wuerfel’s record of most touchdowns in a season, with 40 and also broke a UK record, previously held by Jared “The Hefty Lefty” Lorenzen, with 78 career touchdown passes. Along with the two epic wins in his senior year, it would discredit Woodson to leave out the classic between UK and LSU in which the Wildcats won 43-37 in triple-overtime.
Woodson can simply be defined as a winner, but what did the scouts see that the rest of the college world didn’t?
“I really don’t know,” Woodson said when asked of his plummet during the Giants rookie camp. “I think a lot of people still to this day don’t really know why I dropped as much as I did (NY Daily News).”
The critics pointed to Woodson’s delivery, a long-winded release and a poor senior week outing to validate the plunge that he suffered on the day of the draft. Scouts looked at his delivery and meaningless drills during the Senior Bowl, not his play, to predict the future Woodson would have as an NFL quarterback.
“Some of the things I did in the SEC, you have to be pretty good to do that. But unfortunately that’s something I have to try to clean up and work with,” Woodson said of his release.
His shelf-life as an NFL signal caller was shorter than expected. The Giants had an overload at the QB position and waived Woodson. He went unclaimed and was signed to the Giants practice squad where he spent the entire 2008 season.
Woodson was released before the start of the 2009 season, but was quickly signed by the Washington Redskins. Many believed the signing was to gain insight on the Giants offense, who was the Redskins first opponent out of the gate. Woodson’s stay in Washington was also short as he was cut two-months later.
The Kentucky product received a call from Chris Palmer, the former Giants quarterbacks coach, who was now the head coach for the Hartford Colonials, in the United Football League (UFL). Now 2010, Woodson was cut twice and grasping for straws, waiting for an opportunity to arise.
Palmer believed in Woodson and gave his former guy a shot, albeit the chance was slim. The Colonials housed Josh McNown, a 31-game starter in the NFL and Ryan Perriloux, a major prep star who went on to play at LSU and Jacksonville State.
An All-American SEC quarterback and Heisman hopeful found himself cut in three consecutive seasons as his former coach gave him his walking papers.
Getting cut in the UFL didn’t bode well for any second chances in the NFL. Woodson’s third cut was his last as a promising career came crashing down. A position that allows only one starter per team, Woodson’s plunge on draft night was the only the beginning, the UK star was beginning to spiral out of football for good.
Was Woodson just one of the many overrated college quarterbacks that fizzled in the NFL?
I think not.
The opportunity to start in the NFL as a quarterback is the toughest position to crack. 32 teams and only 32 spots to fill, the odds are not in your favor. Of the 13 quarterbacks taken in the 2008 NFL draft, only two are starters at the point in time (Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco).
Woodson was selected by an organization with an elite-level quarterback in Eli Manning and a proven backup in David Carr. And, despite the lack of talent at the position for the Redskins, Woodson was unable to supplant Jason Campbell and Todd Collins.
He was labeled as a project because of his mechanical “flaws” and being cut twice didn’t help his reputation. In a business that seeks immediate results, teams were not willing to work with a quarterback that had a disruptive throwing motion.
Woodson’s cup of coffee in the big leagues may have only been worthy of a sip or two, but he did get to savor it. Despite the turmoil he endured throughout his career as a professional, he is still involved in the sport.
Woodson retired after his stint in the UFL and didn’t wait long before getting involved. Woodson went back to his old stomping grounds, at Kentucky, as a graduate assistant under then-Wildcats coach Joker Phillips. Woodson spent two seasons at UK working with the offense, before getting noticed by another institution. Morehead State, where Phil Simms famously slung the pigskin, offered coach Woodson a gig tutoring the wide receivers,;he accepted.
As a coach Woodson brings a lot to the table, he has the ability to tell his players and recruits the challenges of trying to make it in the NFL. He also performed at the highest level in college, the SEC, and made it look easy considering UK was on paper overmatched week-after-week.
Courtesy: Courier Journal
The job at MSU is his first paid coaching position, but the business isn’t new to him. At 29-years-of-age Woodson should have been in training camp throwing to receivers. Instead, he is instructing receivers and providing insight with a clipboard in his hand.
The hype that surrounded the younger Woodson was just that, hype. Woodson’s career never panned out, he didn’t throw a meaningful pass in the NFL.
Was it because of his mechanics?
Was he just a college star that didn’t have the tutelage to be an NFL star?
Answers will not be found to the questions above, but the story of Andre Woodson is still unraveling and his career as a coach is just beginning.
Just as he did as the signal caller for the Wildcats, Woodson is going to lead an underdog onto the field but this time bring with him the battle scars of his playing days as his life-lessons. With that said, will Woodson be able to find peace in the sport that caused such hardship?
