Cierre Marcelle Wood (born February 21, 1991) 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 wi ...

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 handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

. He played college football at Notre Dame. He 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 i ...

by the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their home games at NR ...

in 2013.

High school career

Wood attended Santa Clara High School in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. He rushed for 1,632 yards and 20 touchdowns and caught eight passes for 182 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. During his junior year, he had 2,612 yards rushing with 34 touchdowns. Wood was a ''USA Today'' All-American in 2008. He was also selected to play in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Considered a four-star recruit by '' Rivals.com'', Wood was listed as the No. 8

in the nation. He chose to attend Notre Dame over

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, and

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

College career

After redshirting in the 2009 season, Wood emerged on the depth chart as the No. 2 running back in 2010. He was used sparingly over the first few games, but after an injury to starter Armando Allen, he started the final six games where he recorded 603 yards on 119 carries and three touchdowns, and 20 receptions for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns. In his junior year, he took over the starting role. He recorded 1,102 yards on 217 carries (5.1 AVG) and 9 touchdowns, and 27 receptions for 187 yards. In 2012, Wood had been suspended for the opening two games, against

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mo ...

, for violating team rules. In the final 11 games, he rushed for 742 yards on 114 carries (6.5 avg) and four touchdowns after splitting carries with classmate

Theo Riddick Theo Riddick (born May 4, 1991) is a former American football running back of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has al ...

Professional career

In January 2013, Wood decided to forgo his final year of eligibility, entering the

2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...

. He went undrafted and 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 i ...

with the

hours after the draft.

Houston Texans

The Texans released Wood, along with two others players, on October 21, 2013, for unspecified violations of team rules prior to a game in Kansas City.

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots signed Wood to their practice squad on November 5, 2013. He was released on December 26, 2013.

Baltimore Ravens

He was signed by the Ravens to a reserve-future deal on January 15, 2014. The Ravens released Wood on August 25, 2014.

Seattle Seahawks

Wood was signed by the Seahawks to their practice squad on November 12, 2014.

Buffalo Bills

The

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

signed Wood to their roster on August 19, 2015. On September 4, 2015, he was released by the Bills. On September 6, 2015, the Bills signed Wood to their practice squad. Wood was promoted to the Bills active roster on Friday October 2. However, in Week 5, Wood tore his ACL, ending his season.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Wood signed with the Canadian football team, the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fie ...

on March 9, 2017.

Montreal Alouettes

On May 1, 2017, Wood was traded to the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes ( French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the East Division of the Cana ...

along with defensive end Denzell Perine, in exchange for defensive back Khalid Wooten. He was released on May 1, 2018.

Personal life

Wood and his girlfriend were arrested on April 10, 2019 by the

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (also known as the LVMPD or Metro) is a combined city and county law enforcement agency for the City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is headed by the Sheriff of Clark County, ...

on charges of first-degree homicide and child abuse, after the death of the girlfriend's five year-old daughter, who was found with extreme bruising and trauma. Wood was additionally accused of forcing the child to participate in extreme exercise routines as a punishment for being overweight. Wood is currently in the custody of

Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, acros ...

without any bond.

References

External links

Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Cierre 1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Oxnard, California American football running backs Canadian football running backs American players of Canadian football Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players Players of American football from California Houston Texans players New England Patriots players Baltimore Ravens players Seattle Seahawks players Buffalo Bills players Hamilton Tiger-Cats players Montreal Alouettes players Sportspeople from Ventura County, California