Woodrow "Woody" Dantzler III (born October 4, 1979) 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 ...

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 ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

for the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. 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 ...

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

Early years

Dantzler attended

Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is a part of the Orangeburg County School District. It is home to the Mighty Bruins/Bruinettes and also an International Baccalaureate World School. History Delano Mi ...

, where he played

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. As a sophomore, he became a starter in the fourth game of the season, finishing with 1,761 passing yards and 17

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s. As a junior, he passed for 2,461 yards, 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. As a senior, he led the state with 2,891 passing yards and 21 touchdowns, while also collecting 1,628 rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He received SupePrep All-American, All-State, All-Region, All-Area, All-Area Player-of-the-Year, District Player-of-the-Year and Offensive Player-of-the-Year in the state honors. In his three-year career, he completed 507-of-791 passes (.640) for 7,113 yards, 60 passing

s, 3,134 rushing yards, 35 rushing

s and 11,000 all-purpose yards. He also finished third in the state in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

competition.

College career

Dantzler accepted a football scholarship from

, where he

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

Marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...

. As a

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

freshman in 1998 season, he made his first start as a

in week 5 against the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. In

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

, he replaced injured starter Brandon Streeter in the fourth game against the

, helping the team win 31–20, with a 56-yard

run in the fourth quarter. He would remain as the starter for the rest of the season. Against the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

, he broke

Bobby Gage Robert Gage II (January 15, 1927 – April 19, 2005) was an American football player who played two seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Early life Gage was born in Chester, South Carolina. He attended Boys High School i ...

's single game total offense school record, making 16 of 23 completions for 252 yards and 22 carries for 183 yards and one

for a total of 435 yards. He posted 112-of-201 completions for 1,506 passing yards, 9 passing

s, 6 interceptions, 723 rushing yards and 4 rushing

s. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, he changed his number from 11 to 1, helping his team to a 9–3 record. Against 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 ...

, he set an ACC rushing record by a

, making runs of 75 and 45 yards, for a total of 220-yard rushing yards. He would have 4 straight games of 100 yards rushing and 300 yards of total offense, a first in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

history. He was on pace to become the first player in college football history to throw for 2,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards in one season until being slowed down by a left ankle injury. Against the University of South Carolina, he completed a

pass to

Rod Gardner Roderick F. Gardner (born October 26, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for six seasons. College career Gardner played college football at Clemson ...

for a 16-14 win. He finished with 137-of-244 completions for 1,871 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns, 7 interceptions, 1,028 rushing yards (ACC quarterback record) and 13 rushing touchdowns. Of those stats, 956 passing yards along with 6

s went to Gardner, who was selected in the first round of the

2001 NFL Draft The 2001 NFL Draft was the 66th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible professional football players. The draft, which is officially referred to as the "NFL Player Selection Meeting," was held at the ...

(15th overall). In

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, Dantzler rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns. He became the first player in

NCAA 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 o ...

history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in a single season, and only the third player in

history to pass for more than 5,000 yards and rush for more than 2,500 yards in his career. Against

The Citadel The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a Public college, public United States senior military college, senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one ...

, he set school records for completion percentage and passing efficiency, by completing 16 of 17 passes. Against ninth-ranked

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 ...

, he contributed to a 47-44 upset, rushing for 164 yards while passing for 254 yards and scoring the game-winning

in overtime with an 11-yard run. Against

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

, he tallied 517 yards of total offense (fifth-best in ACC history), completing 23 of 27 passes for 333 yards. In the season he registered 188-of-311 completions for 2,360 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 206 carries for 1,004 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Dantzler finished his college career completing 445-of-773 passes for 5,819 yards, 37 touchdowns and 24 interceptions while rushing for 2,704 yards and 27 touchdowns on 576 carries. He held 53 school records, including being the All-time passing yards leader (5,819) and touchdown passer (37). In 2007, he was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.

Professional career

National Football League

Dantzler was signed as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

after 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 ...

on April 29, to play as a

. He was released on September 1 and signed to the

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, ...

. On November 27, he was promoted to the active roster to return kickoffs. On December 8, he scored his first

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

touchdown when he returned a kickoff for 84 yards against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

. In

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, he was converted into a

by new Cowboys head coach

Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941) is an American former football coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons. He rose to prominence as the head coach of the New York Giants from 1983 ...

. He was released on September 1. On September 2,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He was declared inactive in 7 games. He rushed for one touchdown against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

, and had some snaps at

for the first time in his

Career. In

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, he was moved to wide receiver. On September 5, he was waived with an ankle injury that he suffered in the preseason finale against 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 ...

. On January 26,

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, he was signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

by the

and was allocated to the

Frankfurt Galaxy Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Frankfurt Galaxy: * Frankfurt Galaxy (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2007 * Frankfurt Galaxy (ELF) The Frankfurt Galaxy is an American football team in Frankfurt, ...

NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

. He played

free safety Safety is a position in gridiron football on the defense. The safeties are defensive backs who line up ten to fifteen yards from the line of scrimmage. There are two variations of the position: the free safety and the strong safety. Their dut ...

for the Galaxy making 27 tackles, 2 passes defensed, 5

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

tackles, one forced fumble, while leading the team in kickoff returns (22) and kickoff return yards (437). After being tried as a kick returner, he was released by the Cowboys on September 3.

Arena Football League

On December 5,

, Dantzler was signed to a two-year contract with the

Chicago Rush The Chicago Rush were a professional arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,20 ...

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 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

(AFL) to play wide receiver 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 won a

championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, as the Rush defeated the

Orlando Predators The Orlando Predators were a professional arena football team based in Orlando, Florida and member of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was most recently owned by Orlando Predators LLC, a company owned by David A. Siegel, and played its ...

69–61. Dantzler was not re-signed after the 2007 season.

All-American Football League

In 2008, Dantzler was drafted and signed by

Team Tennessee The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college g ...

of the

All American Football League The All American Football League (AAFL) was a proposed professional american football minor league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been sch ...

(AAFL). He was one of five current Quarterbacks on the roster. However, his contract was terminated when the AAFL postponed its debut season for the second time.

American Indoor Football Association

In 2009, Dantzler was signed to the newly founded

Harrisburg Stampede The Harrisburg Stampede were a professional indoor football team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The Stampede participated in several different leagues over their history: the American Indoor Football Association in 2009 and 2010, the Southern ...

of the

American Indoor Football Association American Indoor Football (AIF) was a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America. The AIFL began as a regional league with six franchises on the East Coast of the United ...

. He missed the entire season after tearing the patellar tendon in his knee while playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

during his off time. He was released at the end of the season. On February 12, 2010, he signed with the

Greenville Force The Greenville Force was a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League. The team was based in Greenville, South Carolina, with home games played at the BI-LO Center. The Force was the first arena/indoor football team ...

of the

Personal life

Dantzler served as an assistant football coach at

Fairfield Central High School This is a list of high schools in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Abbeville County * Abbeville High School, Abbeville * Calhoun Falls Charter School, Calhoun Falls * Dixie High School, Due West Aiken County * Midland Valley High School, ...

. He was featured in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's '' Hard Knocks'' series as a member of the

in 2002. He resides in South Carolina with his wife Portia and two daughters.

References

External links

Clemson profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dantzler, Woodrow 1979 births Living people American football quarterbacks American football return specialists American football running backs Atlanta Falcons players Chicago Rush players Clemson Tigers football players Dallas Cowboys players Harrisburg Stampede players High school football coaches in South Carolina People from Orangeburg, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School alumni

Early years

College career

Professional career

National Football League

Arena Football League

All-American Football League

American Indoor Football Association

See also

Personal life

References

External links