Woodley and Branch Up for Ted Hendricks Award
7/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
CHICAGO, Ill. -- University of Michigan senior defensive end LaMarr Woodley (Saginaw, Mich./Saginaw HS) and junior defensive end/tackle Alan Branch (Rio Rancho, N.M./Cibola HS) have been named to the preseason watch list for the 2006 Ted Hendricks Defensive End of the Year Award. In its fourth year, the Hendricks Foundation named the award in honor of college football's first three-time first team All-America in Ted Hendricks.
One of the premiere defensive performers in the country, Woodley is the team's active career leader in tackles for loss (36) and sacks (12). He is nine stops shy of 150 for his career, having recorded 141 tackles to go along with five pass breakups and one fumble recovery. Woodley has started 20 career games and played in 36 contests. He was a 2005 honorable mention All-Big Ten after collecting 48 tackles and leading the team with 16 TFLs and seven sacks. Woodley set a career high with 70 stops in 2004, earning All-Big Ten second team accolades.
A returning starter and two-year letterman, Branch has appeared in 24 consecutive games and started 10 games along the defensive front in 2005. He earned the Richard Katcher Award as the team's top defensive lineman after collecting a career high 31 stops, including 10 tackles for loss and five sacks. He has amassed 36 career tackles, 12 TFLs and seven sacks during his career.
Michigan is one of eight schools with two players on the watch list, joining Arizona State, Florida, Miami (Fla.), Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and Texas Christian, and the only Big Ten Conference team. The Big Ten is represented by seven total players.
Media Contact: David Ablauf, Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
