Andre' Chandler Woodson Jr. (born April 25, 1984) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and college coach. He was selected by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL draft The 2008 NFL draft was the 73rd NFL draft, annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. The draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York (state), New York ...

. Woodson played collegiately at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

Early life

Born on

post Post, POST, or posting may refer to: Postal services * Mail, the postal system, especially in Commonwealth of Nations countries **An Post, the Irish national postal service **Canada Post, Canadian postal service **Deutsche Post, German postal s ...

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis is a United States Army base located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on February 1, 2010, to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwether Lewis of the ...

where his mother, Robin Woodson, was stationed in the Army with his father (Andre W.) Woodson grew up a

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

, moving from post to post with his mother after his parents divorced when he was the age of two. He was raised by his mother as she continued her

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

service, eventually arriving in Radcliff, Kentucky, in 1994. He attended local schools nearby, Radcliff Middle School and North Hardin High School, both in Radcliff, Kentucky (Hardin County Kentucky, located near

Fort Knox, Kentucky Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository (also known as Fort Knox), which is used to house a larg ...

), where he lettered in basketball and football, which eventually led to his being noticed for his football potential by the

College career

In 2003, Woodson was recruited to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. During his freshman season, Woodson served as a backup to Shane Boyd, and appeared in seven games (including one

start Start can refer to multiple topics: * Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports * Track and field#Starts use in race, Starts use in sport race * S ...

). For the 2005 season, Woodson was named as the starting quarterback. The Wildcats ended 2005 with a 3–8 record, with Woodson completing nearly 58 percent of his passes, while throwing for 1,644 yards. After the 2006 spring practice, it appeared Woodson would lose his position to his backup, Curtis Pulley. Spurred by this, Woodson started spending more time lifting weights, began leading the team in practice, and soon became the choice for starting quarterback. The 2006 season, Woodson's junior season, was a breakout season, with Woodson leading the Wildcats to a 7–5 regular season, and their first

bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, storing, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom, forming a seamless curve ...

win in 22 years, in the

Music City Bowl The Music City Bowl is a post-season American college football bowl game certified by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA that has been played in Nashville, Tennessee, since 1998 in sports, 1998. Since 2020, it has been sponsored by ...

. He led both his team and the SEC in passing yards with 3,515, and became only the second Kentucky quarterback to throw 30 or more touchdowns in a single season. On September 22, 2007, Woodson broke

Trent Dilfer Trent Farris Dilfer (born March 13, 1972) is an American football coach and former quarterback who is the head coach for the UAB Blazers football team. Dilfer previously played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He achieved ...

's all-time NCAA record of 271 consecutive pass attempts without an interception against the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

. The streak ended, however, when Woodson threw his first interception in 325 attempts on September 29, 2007, against

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

. Against Florida State in the 2007 Music City Bowl, Woodson broke

Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel (born May 27, 1974) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played college football for the Florida Gators football, Florida Gators and professional football in the National Football League (NFL). ...

's SEC record for passing touchdowns in one season. Woodson threw 40 for the season, passing Wuerffel's record by one. He also broke

Jared Lorenzen Jared Raymond Lorenzen (February 14, 1981 – July 3, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the New York Giants. He played college football for the Kentucky ...

's UK record of 78 career touchdown passes.

College statistics

Professional career

New York Giants

On April 27, 2008, Woodson was selected in the sixth round (198th pick overall) to the New York Giants starting his professional career. On August 30, the Giants waived Woodson during final cuts. He was re-signed to the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

a day later, where he remained until his release on October 23. Woodson was later re-signed to the practice squad on October 27, 2008. Following the 2008 season, Woodson was re-signed to a future contract on January 12, 2009. He was waived on September 5, 2009.

Washington Redskins

On September 6, 2009, Woodson was signed by the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

to their practice squad. He was released on November 24, 2009.

Hartford Colonials

Woodson was signed by the

Hartford Colonials The Hartford Colonials, originally the New York Sentinels, were a professional American football team that played in the United Football League in its 2009 and 2010 seasons. A charter member of the UFL, the Sentinels began play in 2009 nominall ...

of the United Football League (UFL) in spring 2010. On September 1, 2010, Woodson was waived by the Colonials.

Coaching career

Kentucky Wildcats

Woodson rejoined the Kentucky Wildcats as a graduate assistant in the summer of 2011.

Morehead State

Woodson left Kentucky and joined Morehead State as a wide receivers coach in January 2013. He left the staff in December 2013.

Personal life

His first child, André III, was born on his 29th birthday in 2013. Woodson currently works as a PR and Community Specialist for Amazon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodson, Andre 1984 births Living people American football quarterbacks Kentucky Wildcats football players New York Giants players Washington Redskins players Hartford Colonials players People from Fort Lewis, Washington Players of American football from Pierce County, Washington People from Radcliff, Kentucky Sportspeople from Hardin County, Kentucky Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Players of American football from Kentucky Morehead State Eagles football coaches Coaches of American football from Washington (state) Kentucky Wildcats football coaches