Antwoine Womack (born March 20, 1978) is an

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 ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. He was drafted in the seventh round of the

2002 NFL draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

by the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Early life and education

Womack's football career began at

Phoebus High School Phoebus High School is a public high school in Hampton, Virginia. Named after the neighborhood and former town of Phoebus, Virginia, Phoebus, it is the newest of the four high schools in Hampton City Schools. It is considered unique for the IDEA ...

in Hampton, Virginia, where he was the first football player in school history to have his number retired. He finished his career as the Virginia Group AAA all-time leading rusher with 5,570 yards and was named the state's top football prospect his senior season. Womack was the subject of an intense recruiting battle between the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. He chose Penn State, at first. He then changed his mind and decided he wanted to play for Virginia. He was initially successful at Virginia, backing up all-time leading rusher Thomas Jones and leading the team in rushing in one game. However, Womack's personal life slowed down his college football career. Womack's junior season in 2000 was truly his coming-out party (after a year's layoff). He was outstanding in his first season as the Cavaliers' starter, totaling an ACC-best 1,028 yards and nine touchdowns. He earned first-team All-ACC honors for his efforts and received Virginia's Outstanding Offensive Player Award. The 2001 season was shaping up to be Womack's best at Virginia. However, in the first quarter of the season opener against

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, he slipped on the wet artificial turf and sprained his ankle and missed several games. Womack returned later in the year for a game against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and helped spark a Virginia comeback. He also led the Virginia comeback against Penn State in his final collegiate game, rushing for 153 yards on 31 carries.

Professional career

Womack entered the NFL by way of the

as the 26th selection of the 7th round (pick 237 overall), being selected by the

. He spent the 2002 season on injured reserve and did not play due to continuing problems from his 2001 ankle injury. On August 25, 2003, the Patriots released Womack. Womack was on 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. ...

roster in 2004. However, after injuring his knee in pre-season practice, the Giants waived him on August 2, 2004. He was listed on the injured reserve list for the New York Giants as of December 31, 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Womack, Antwoine 1978 births Living people American football running backs Virginia Cavaliers football players New England Patriots players New York Giants players Sportspeople from Hampton, Virginia