Derrick L. Woods, Jr. (born November 29, 1989) is an American former

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 ...

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

. Professionally, he was a member of the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. The team was founded in 2001 and played in the Arena Football League's Central Division. The Rush qualified for the playoffs in 11 of 12 AFL seasons, during w ...

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) (Canadian French, French: ) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...

, and

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

Early life

Derrick L. Woods, Jr. was born on November 29, 1989. He played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Strongsville High School in

Strongsville, Ohio Strongsville is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and a suburb of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 46,491. The city's nickname, Crossroads of the Nation, originated from the intersection between the Baltimore a ...

as a

and

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

. He caught 35 passes for 750 yards and eight touchdowns his junior year. He recorded 38 receptions as a senior in 2007 before missing the final five games of the season due to injury. Wood garnered

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

second-team Division I All-Ohio recognition for the 2007 season. Overall, he caught 153 passes for 1,797 yards and 18 touchdowns during his high school career while also returning five kickoffs for touchdowns and three punts for touchdowns.

College career

Woods played

for the

Cincinnati Bearcats The Cincinnati Bearcats are the college sports, athletic teams that represent the University of Cincinnati. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats were pr ...

of the

from 2008 to 2011. He played in all 14 games as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

in 2008, catching 14 passes for 168 yards while also returning 12 punts for 113 yards. He started 12 games for the Bearcats during the 2009 season, recording 51 receptions for 640 yards and four touchdowns. As a junior in 2010, Woods totaled 57 catches for 898 yards and eight touchdowns, 32 kick returns for 728 yards, and 19 punt returns for 146 yards. He was named second-team All-

Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

for the 2010 season. He caught 37 passes for 450 yards and two touchdowns his senior year in 2011 while also returning 11 punts for 71 yards.

Professional career

Woods signed with the

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) on May 3, 2012, after going undrafted in the

2012 NFL draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He was released on September 1, 2012. Woods was signed to the practice roster of the

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) in October 2012. Woods was assigned to the

of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

(AFL) on May 16, 2013. He recorded 19 catches for 232 yards and four touchdowns, five solo tackles, and one assisted tackle, for the Rush during the 2013 season. He was placed on the suspended list on July 11, 2013. Woods signed with the expansion

of the CFL on February 13, 2014. Woods was assigned to the

San Jose Sabercats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

of the AFL on October 27, 2014. He was placed on recallable reassignment on January 26, 2015.

References

External links

Stats Crew profileNFL Draft Scout
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woods, D.J. Living people 1989 births Players of American football from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Players of Canadian football from Ohio American football wide receivers American football return specialists Canadian football wide receivers Cincinnati Bearcats football players Tennessee Titans players BC Lions players Chicago Rush players Ottawa Redblacks players San Jose SaberCats players Sportspeople from Strongsville, Ohio 21st-century African-American sportsmen