Andre' Chandler Woodson, Jr. (born April 25, 1984) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

quarterback and coach. He was drafted 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the sixth round of the

2008 NFL Draft The 2008 NFL Draft was the 73rd 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, on April 26 and April 27, ...

. 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. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He formerly was the wide receivers coach at Morehead State University.

Early years

Born on post in

Fort Lewis, Washington Fort Lewis was a United States Army post from 1917 to 2010 located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on 1 February 2010 to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriweth ...

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 (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

service, eventually arriving in Radcliff, Kentucky, in 1994. He attended local schools nearby, Radcliff Middle School and

North Hardin High School North Hardin High School, located in Radcliff, Kentucky, United States, has a student population of approximately 1,600. The school, a part of Hardin County Public Schools, was founded in 1962. The athletics teams are known as the Trojans. The ...

, 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. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold res ...

), 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 state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. During his freshman season, Woodson served as a backup to

Shane Boyd Shane Boyd (born September 18, 1982) is an American football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats. Boyd has also ...

, 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 *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

). 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 Curtis Pulley (born November 21, 1986) is a former American football quarterback for the Florida A&M University Rattlers. Pulley used to be a quarterback and wide receiver for the University of Kentucky Wildcats. He was selected as the 2004 Ke ...

. 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 win in 22 years, in the Music City Bowl. 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 a former American football quarterback and analyst who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He is best known as the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens during their Su ...

'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 intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

. 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, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

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

Danny Wuerffel Daniel Carl Wuerffel (born May 27, 1974) is a former college and professional American football quarterback. Wuerffel attended the University of Florida, where he was a prolific passer for the Florida Gators under head coach Steve Spurrier. Wuerf ...

'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 football quarterback and administrator who played in the National Football League (NFL) for four seasons with the New York Giants. He played college football at Kentucky ...

's UK record of 78 career touchdown passes.

College statistics

Professional career

New York Giants

On April 27, 2008, Woodson was drafted 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 sports, 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. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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 nominally ...

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 Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-year residential ea ...

as a wide receivers coach in January 2013. He left the staff on 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 People from Radcliff, Kentucky Players of American football from Washington, D.C. Players of American football from Kentucky Morehead State Eagles football coaches