Philadelphia, PA - Charles Woodson is a former football player who spent a staggering 18 seasons playing in the NFL. Woodson split his career between the Oakland Raiders and the Green Bay Packers - where he broke franchise records for both teams.
The Life and Career of NFL Legend Charles Woodson
Woodson had been on everyone's radar since he played in college, he was breaking records even at this point in his career. Over the last three years, Woodson has been inducted into the College Football and the Pro Football Halls of Fame.
Today, we are going to look at Woodson's incredible career. The College Years
Woodson attended the University of Michigan between 1995 and 1997. He played on the legendary Lloyd Carr's Wolverines team.
There was only one game in his three college seasons that he did not play in - the opening game of his freshman year. After that, he played in 34 consecutive games for the Wolverines.
Woodson played the majority of his college games in the Cornerback role, however, if one of their wide receivers was injured, Woodson would step in to fill that role.
In his Freshman year as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the official panel and as the second Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the media. That year, he led his team with five interceptions and eight takeaways.
In his Sophomore year, he was named the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year and an AP First Team All-American for setting a Wolverine record of pass breakups with 15. He was named Big Ten Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe award.
In his final year, Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship and an undefeated season.
For this, he was awarded the Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year award and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year - both for a second time. He was named an AP First Team All-American, again. He was awarded the Jim Thorpe award too.
The highlight of the year for Woodson was beating Payton Manning to the Heisman Trophy. Woodson was the first and only Defensive Player to win the award - and he still is.
The NFL Years
Woodson played for the Oakland Raiders for 8 years, for the Green Bay Packers for 7, and then he returned to play 3 more seasons with the Raiders.
While Woodson played for the Oakland Raiders he set two franchise records - most deflections (84) and most forced fumbles (18). He set a Packers franchise record for most defensive touchdowns (10) and one for most interceptions returned for touchdowns - he has an NFL record in this category too (13).
Do you see any players breaking Woodson's record next season - check out Fanduel's NFL odds here.
Woodson was drafted 4th Overall in 1998 and went on to win Defensive Rookie of the Year that season.
He would later win Defensive Player of the Year in 2009 and go on to win the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers in the following season.
Woodson led the league in interceptions twice and was called up to the Pro Bowl team 9 times throughout his career. He was named to the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team and entered into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
In his final season, he set a personal best for fumble recoveries.
Outside the NFL
A fact that many people do not know about Charles Woodson is that he loves wine and even owns his own wine company - based in Napa. He first discovered his love for wine while living near the area during his years with the Raiders.
Woodson was not allowed to endorse his own wine company while playing for the NFL because of their alcohol policy and their own sponsorship deals.
Woodson runs two charities, one that raises money for a children's hospital in Michigan - where he was born and went to college. The other charity is raising money to find a cure for breast cancer.
Like many NFL players, he donated a large amount of his wages to the Hurricane Katrina relief fund after the storm devastated parts of the country.
Woodson has a public spat with President Obama because of the President's support for the Chicago Bears. The Bears are long-time rivals of the Packers. In an interview, Woodson stated that if the President would not come to the Super Bowl then the Packers would win it and come see him at the White House.
It seems that neither Woodson nor President Obama held a grudge, as Woodson endorsed him in the next Presidential election.
