Danny Woodhead

At 39 years old, Danny Woodhead has this physical status:

Daniel Jacob Henry Woodhead (born January 25, 1985) is a retired American footballer who plays for the University of Arizona.

He played college football at Chadron State and was drafted by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent.

He has also played for the New England Patriots, San Diego Chargers, and Baltimore Ravens. Woodhead held multiple NCAA college football rush records, including the single season rushing and all-time rushing records.

He won the Harlon Hill Trophy in 2006 and 2007, making him the third player to win the trophy twice in NCAA Division II (the other players are Johnny Bailey and Dusty Bonner).

Woodhead debuted on October 6, 2007, becoming the NCAA all-time, all-division leading rusher.

Woodhead had a record until it was shattered by Mount Union running back Nate Kmic on December 13, 2008.

Woodhead made his first Super Bowl appearance with the Patriots in 2011.

He finished the game with four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown while running seven times for 18 yards, but the Patriots lost 21-17 to the New York Giants.

Early years

Woodhead played football at North Platte High School in North Platte, Nebraska, and set many records. North Platte advanced to the state finals in 2001, with Woodhead's assistance in beating Millard North High School 24–21. Woodhead stopped a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter, leaving North Platte with just minutes remaining. Ben Woodhead, Woodhead's older brother, threw a pass down field to set up a game-winning field goal by Jake McCarthy. However, North Platte lost the state championship 28-14 to Millard West High School.

In Woodhead's junior season, he went 8–1 in the regular season and gained two games in the playoffs before losing to Millard North in the semifinals.

North Platte had its first undefeated regular season in 40 years, going 9–0. In the first round of the playoffs, the team advanced to Omaha North High School, winning for the second year in a row. Woodhead finished as Nebraska's leading rusher and Nebraska's all-time leading rusher with 4,891 yards (2000-2003). Derek Enderle, North Platte High's quarterback this year, also finished as the state's top passer. It was the first time in North Platte's history that the football team competed with the state's top passer and rusher in the same season.

Woodhead, a footballer, was also a four-year letterman who set school or state records in three other sports; in track & field, he broke the school record after scoring 47 points in a game; in soccer, he scored 16 goals in a season.

Personal life

Woodhead grew up in a close knit family and was homeschooled until the ninth grade. Both of his parents, as well as his father, Mark, played wide receiver for the Chadron State Eagles in the 1970s.

Stacia Woodhead and his partner, Woodhead, first began dating as freshmen in high school. Sis, William, Mae Mae, and Hopie are four children together.

Matt Slauson, a fellow NFL veteran, co-host Woodhead, hosts a weekly podcast. Woodhead and Slauson discuss their NFL careers, life in retirement, tell funny tales, give advice, and much more.

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College career

Woodhead began to play for 1,840 yards as a true freshman at Chadron State College in Chadron, Nebraska. Woodhead was the first recipient of a full athletic scholarship at Chadron State in its 96-year history.

Woodhead carried the ball 278 times for 1,769 yards, averaging 6.4 yards per carry and 21 touchdowns. He had 30 receptions for 367 yards, averaging 12.2 yards per reception.

Woodhead ran for 2,740 yards in 2006, a new all-division single season rush record, beating Kavin Gaillaird. His total rushing yards in 2006 stood at 2,756 despite the playoffs. In 2006, he led his team to the NCAA Division II playoffs, losing to Northwest Missouri State. While giving up 79 yards on 16 attempts, Northwest Missouri State held Woodhead to a season low 16 yards per 16 plays, which was more than double anyone on the Northwest Missouri team. Chadron finished with 327 yards of offense, relative to Northwest Missouri State's 306.

Woodhead's 606 points total game was equal to 15.5 points per game, the highest level in NCAA Division II. Only Dan Pugh of Mount Union College, a Division III school in Ohio, scored more points in a season than Woodhead did in 2006. Bernard Scott of Abilene Christian University defeated Woodhead's Division II record by scoring 39 touchdowns (234 points).

Woodhead's career saw him shoot 7,441 yards on the ground, giving him a career high of 190.8 yards per game. In 39 of his 39 appearances and scored in 37 straight games, both of which are NCAA all-division records.

He became Pennsylvania's all-time leading rusher after a 208-yard game against Western New Mexico in 2007, breaking a record set held by R.J. Bowers, who played for Grove City College, a Division III school from 1997 to 2000. Woodhead is also the sixth NCAA Division II player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in four seasons.

He has also earned 9,259 all-purpose yards, placing second on the NCAA all-time list. Brian Westbrook (Villanova, 1997-2001) now has the most tackles with 9,512 total yards.

Woodhead is now tied for first place in Division II in career scoring with 654 points on 109 touchdowns. Woodhead is only the second player in collegiate history to score more than 100 touchdowns.

Barry Sanders was the only college player to have more all-purpose yards than Woodhead gained in 2006, when he earned 3,250 as a freshman at Oklahoma State University in 1988, when he claimed the Heisman Trophy. With 7,349 yards in his sophomore season, Woodhead ranked 10th in Division-III in career all-purpose yards. Brian Shay of Emporia State has the most yards on kickoff returns, with 1,207 on kickoff returns from 1995 to 1999.

Woodhead was a Harlon Hill Trophy nominee in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, winning the award in both 2006 and 2007.

Woodhead said that Nebraska never showed much concern in him and that he preferred to go somewhere where he wanted to go. Chadron State showed a great deal of curiosity in him, which is where he grew up. He majored in mathematics education at Chadron State University.

Professional career

Woodhead did not get a ticket to the NFL Scouting Combine, so he had to demonstrate his capabilities on his pro day. According to a NFLDraftWatch.com article, he completed the 40-yard dash in 4.33 seconds, the second fastest among all running backs at the NFL Combine in March 2008. He ran the fastest pro-agility time in 4.03 seconds, the second-best vertical jump at 39+12 inches (980 mm), and the fastest 60-yard shuttle time (11.2 seconds). He has also bench pressered 225 pounds (102 kg) 20 times.

In the 2008 NFL Draft, Woodhead went undrafted. Nonetheless, he received a call from the New York Jets moments before the draft ended about the two parties' decision on an undrafted rookie free agent deal. Woodhead had signed a contract with the company within a few weeks, according to a press release.

After being carted off the field due to an injury, Woodhead was waived/injured by the Jets on July 26, 2008. He spent the remainder of his rookie season on injured reserve.

In a preseason matchup between the Jets and the Philadelphia Eagles on September 3, 2009. Woodhead passed for 158 yards in the NFL's second-highest preseason total since 1992, with two touchdowns in this game. Woodhead made final cuts in September 2009 but only to be postponed a day later on September 6. On September 8, he was recalled to the Jets' practice squad. Woodhead was converted from running back to wide receiver in October, and he was signed to the active roster on October 17, the following Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith were unable to recover.

On October 25, 2009, Woodhead saw his first regular season action. Woodhead rushed three times for 24 yards in the 38-0 win over the Oakland Raiders. He finished the 2009 season with 15 rushing yards and eight receptions for 87 yards.

Woodhead was released by the Jets on September 14, 2010.

Woodhead was signed by the New England Patriots on September 18, 2010, only a day before the team's Week 2 match against the Jets. Following Laurence Maroney's trade, the team had an open roster spot for Woodhead; Woodhead was inactive for the game; longtime Patriots third-down running back Kevin Faulk went down for the season due to a knee injury. Woodhead's first NFL touchdown, as well as his first career start, was his first NFL touchdown against the Buffalo Bills on September 26. In Week 4, Woodhead won by over the Miami Dolphins after an 11-yard touchdown reception. In Week 11, Woodhead had a 36-yard touchdown run against the Indianapolis Colts.

Woodhead signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots through the 2012 season on November 19, 2010.

Woodhead made three starts in 14 games played in the 2010 season. He had 97 attempts for 547 yards (5.6 yard average) and five rushing touchdowns. He has also caught 34 passes for 379 yards and one receiving touchdown. Woodhead was on the Patriots' roster until the team lost 28-21 to his former team, the New York Jets, in the divisional round.

Woodhead had 77 passes for 351 yards and a touchdown in 2011 along with 18 receptions for 157 yards. The Patriots won the AFC East after finishing with a 13–3 record and 13-13 wins. In the 45–10 victory over the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round, he had four carries for 25 yards. In the 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, he had six carries for 18 yards and a seven-yard reception. He made a catch in the second quarter of Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012, scoring the first touchdown for the Patriots. New England eventually lost the game to the New York Giants 21–17. Woodhead had four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown, but he had seven times for 18 yards.

Woodhead had 76 attempts for 301 yards and four touchdowns, as well as 40 receptions for 446 yards and three touchdowns in the 2012 season.

On March 15, 2013, Woodhead signed an agreement with the San Diego Chargers. He has been on a two-year, $3.5 million contract. The offer came with a $1 million signing bonus. In a Week 4 matchup against the Cowboys, he scored his first touchdown as a Charger. Woodhead made the game and Woodhead finished with two touchdown catches. Woodhead spent a year as the team's back-up to Ryan Mathews. In the regular season, he led all NFL running backs with six touchdown receptions and was second with 605 yards. He had 106 passes for 429 yards, averaging 4.0 yards per attempt, for an overall 1,034 yards and eight touchdowns; he also had 106 carries for 429 yards, adding a dimension that had not existed in San Diego's offense since Darren Sproles left after 2010. Of all the Chargers free agent trades in 2013, quarterback Philip Rivers said he was "most excited about" Woodhead.

Woodhead sustained a leg and ankle injury against the Buffalo Bills in Week 3 of 2014 and was carted off the field. He had to recover from a broken fibula in his body. He had 38 passing yards and five receptions for 34 yards in a limited measure in the 2014 season.

Woodhead had a good showing against the Detroit Lions, rushing for 43 yards and scoring two touchdowns after recovering from a fractured fibula. Woodhead had 54 passing yards against the Cleveland Browns, with one of them being for 61 yards, the longest of his career. Woodhead scored three touchdowns on six receptions against the Miami Dolphins, as well as another touchdown running the ball for the first time in a game. He scored 24 total points in the game, the most by any player in a single game in the 2015 season. He finished the 2015 season with 98 passes for 336 rushing yards and three touchdowns, as well as 80 receptions for 755 receiving yards and six touchdowns.

Woodhead suffered a torn ACL and was placed on injured reserve in his match against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 of 2016.

Woodhead signed a three-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens on March 9, 2017. Woodhead suffered a hamstring injury on the Ravens' first drive in Week 1 and was initially suspended for 4–6 weeks. Woodhead was on injured reserve on September 14, 2017, causing him to miss at least eight weeks. On November 18, 2017, he was activated from the injured reserve to the active roster.

The Ravens cut Woodhead on March 13, 2018. Woodhead resigned after ten seasons in the league on March 17.

Golf Career

Woodhead, a scratch golfer in high school who regained it in college, and especially in San Diego, was able to qualify for the 2021 United States. A major championship venue, the Amateur Four-Ball tournament at Chambers Bay.

Woodhead reached the Final Qualifying Round of the U.S. Open in 2022. Woodhead was disqualified in the round by being +10.

Later, he qualified for the Nebraska Amateur Championship as a medalist (lower in stroke play), and his swing coach said the aim is a Masters Tournament qualification after winning the U.S. Mid-Amateur Golf Championship.

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