Charles Woodson Named to College Football Hall of Fame
1/7/2018 11:04:00 AM | Football, Fan Zone
IRVING, Texas -- Former University of Michigan Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson has been named to the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018, it was announced today (Sunday, Jan. 7) during ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown.
Woodson works as an NFL analyst on ESPN and was surprised by the program's staff during the telecast. Host Sam Ponder handed Woodson his commemorative football provided by the National Football Foundation to mark his selection to the hall of fame. The entire 2018 class will be announced Monday during SportsCenter on ESPN between 9:30 and 10 a.m. EST live on set at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, site of the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship Game.
Woodson helped lead Michigan to the 1997 national championship as he became the first primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. He earned unanimous All-American honors during the 1997 season and claimed the Heisman, Walter Camp Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Chuck Bednarik Award and the Jim Thorpe Award. He was voted by his teammates as the Bo Schembechler Most Valuable Player of the 1997 football team and the conference coaches voted him recipient of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's MVP. Woodson led the Wolverines to the 1997 Big Ten Championship as the coaching staff utilized his versatility on defense, offense and special teams. Michigan claimed the conference crown with a victory over Ohio State in which Woodson returned a punt 78 yards for a touchdown, intercepted a pass in the end zone and caught a 37-yard pass that set up the team's only offensive touchdown. In the Rose Bowl victory over Washington State that captured the national title and perfect 12-0 season, Woodson collected another end zone interception and tied a then-Rose Bowl record with four pass breakups.
A two-time first-team All-American, Woodson was a two-time Chevrolet Defensive Player of the Year, two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and earned first-team All-Big Ten accolades each of his three seasons in Ann Arbor (1995-97). He was also named the 1995 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Woodson has received recognition since his collegiate playing days ended, earning selection to the Walter Camp Football Foundation All-Century Team and the Big Ten renamed its defensive player of the year award as the Nagurski-Woodson Award in his honor in 2011.
On the football field, Woodson was a lockdown cornerback for the Wolverines that many teams refused to throw against on a weekly basis. When challenged, Woodson got the better of the opposition, finishing his career with a then school record 30 pass breakups, a total that now lists fifth-best all-time. He also ranks second in career interceptions (18), third in interceptions in a season (eight in 1997) and still lists in the top 10 of multiple punt returns categories. He led the Wolverines in interceptions each of his three seasons.
A Fremont, Ohio, native, Woodson was named to the University of Michigan Hall of Honor and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2017.
Professionally, Woodson was the fourth overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders. He played 18 seasons in the NFL with the Raiders (1998-2005, 2013-15) and the Green Bay Packers (2006-12). Woodson was a key member of the Packers' Super Bowl XLV-winning team during the 2010 season and played in another Super Bowl with the Oakland Raiders in 2002. A nine-time Pro Bowl selection and four-time All-Pro, Woodson is the only player in NFL history with 50 interceptions and 20 sacks during his career. He won multiple awards during his career, including the 1998 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and the 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
In the community, he established the Charles Woodson Foundation, which offers scholarships to students raised in single-parent homes. His foundation has also donated millions of dollars to the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital for pediatric research.
Woodson becomes the 31st Wolverine player to receive induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.
