Rod Woodson

Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons.

In 1984, he qualified for the Olympic Trials in the 110 meter hurdles, but elected to continue his football career in the NFL after graduating from Purdue with a degree in criminal justice.

He was named an All-American defensive back in 1985 and 1986; he was named an All-American returner in 1986 and was a three-time All-Big Ten first team selection.

In his final collegiate game, Woodson gained over 150 combined rushing and receiving yards, in addition to making ten tackles and forcing a fumble, leading Purdue to a victory over arch-rival Indiana.

Woodson left Purdue with 13 individual records, tying the school record with 11 career interceptions, which he returned for 276 yards and three touchdowns.

He currently is ranked in the top ten in career interceptions, solo tackles, total tackles, passes deflected, and kickoff return yardage (1,535 yards) as a Boilermaker.

He finished second at the 1985 NCAA championships in the 55 meter hurdles and third at the 1987 NCAA championships in the 55 meter hurdles.

Woodson held the NCAA 60 meter hurdles record for 10 years.

Woodson was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round of the 1987 NFL draft and played his first ten years there.

He was also a key member of the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl XXXV championship team.

He had two shorter stints for the San Francisco 49ers and two seasons with the Oakland Raiders.

The Pittsburgh Steelers selected Woodson in the first round (10th overall) of the 1987 NFL draft.

Although the Steelers wanted to draft Woodson to help rebuild their secondary, the team expected Woodson to be drafted before their turn at tenth overall.

Head coach Chuck Noll instructed defensive coordinator Tony Dungy not to bother with a scouting report on Woodson due to his expected unavailability.

However, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to draft Woodson after the Cleveland Browns traded for the San Diego Chargers' fifth overall pick and subsequently used selection to draft linebacker Mike Junkin.

The St. Louis Cardinals drafted Kelly Stouffer (sixth overall) who ultimately never played for the Cardinals due to a contract dispute.

The Buffalo Bills were the last likely team to draft Woodson, but instead used the eighth overall pick to draft linebacker Shane Conlan.

Woodson missed training camp due to a contract holdout that lasted 95 days after he was unable to come to terms on a contract with the Steelers.

Woodson was a World-Class 110-meter hurdler and ran track on the European track circuit during his contract holdout.

Woodson had the fourth fastest 110-meter hurdle time in the world.

He won the bronze medal at the 1987 USA Olympic festival, and won medals in several IAAF Grand Prix meetings in Europe.

Widely considered one of the greatest all-time defensive players ever, Woodson holds the NFL record for fumble recoveries (32) by a defensive player, and interceptions returned for touchdown (12), and was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 1993.

His 71 career interceptions are the third-most in NFL history.

From his retirement in 2003 to February 2011, Woodson worked as an analyst for the NFL Network (on NFL Total Access and Thursday Night Football) and for the Big Ten Network.

Woodson was inducted into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

He was an inductee of the Class of 2009 of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio on August 8, 2009.

As of January 2009, he still holds the school records in both the 60 and 110 meter hurdles.

He earned five Big Ten championships while at Purdue.

He spent the 2011 season as the Raiders' cornerbacks coach.

He then returned to broadcasting, working for Westwood One as an analyst on college football (2012) and the NFL (2013) before resuming his coaching career in 2014.

He was announced in July 2022 as the Ravens' new radio color commentator beginning with the upcoming season.

Woodson accepted a full scholarship to play football at Purdue University, in part because of a desire to pursue a degree in electrical engineering.

He played primarily as a cornerback and kick returner, but also saw time on offense as a running back and wide receiver.

On December 11, 2014, the Big Ten Network included Woodson on "The Mount Rushmore of Purdue Football", as chosen by online fan voting.

Woodson was joined in the honor by Drew Brees, Bob Griese, and Leroy Keyes.

Woodson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

He played most of his career as a cornerback then switched to safety during the later part of his career.

Woodson was most recently the head coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers.

On January 8, 2016, Woodson was selected for induction in the College Football Hall of Fame.

In addition to his exploits on the gridiron, Woodson was also an accomplished track and field athlete at Purdue, and was twice awarded All-America honors.