Danny Woodhead retires from pro football

By Con Marshall

Danny Woodhead, the player who led the way as the Chadron State College football team rose to become among the nation’s best in NCAA Division II, surprised many of his fans last weekend by announcing his retirement from the National Football League.

Ex-CSC football star Danny Woodhead

Just a couple of days earlier, after he was released by the Baltimore Ravens, that story quoted Woodhead as saying, “I can’t wait for my next stop.”

 Apparently he decided in short order that 10 years in the pros were enough.  The retirement stories said he went from undersized and undrafted to a big-time playmaker in the NFL. 

Although listed as just 5-8, 185 when he arrived at Chadron State in the fall of 2004, he came up big in everything he did athletically.  As a senior at North Platte High School when he rushed for 2,037 yards and 31 touchdowns, he was the Nebraska Gatorade Football Player of the Year, offensive captain of both the Omaha World-Herald’s and Lincoln Journal Star’s all-class, all-state football teams and was Huskerland Report’s Player of the Year.

Since he also had averaged the state-best 26 points for the North Platte basketball team that winter, he also was named the Omaha and Lincoln newspapers’ 2003-04 Male Athlete of the Year.

Early in his pro career, Woodhead received a special parking place at the New England Patriots’ training camp after he won the team’s golf tournament.

Undoubtedly if Tom Osborne or Frank Solich had still been coaching at Nebraska, they would have offered Woodhead a scholarship or tried to convince him to walk-on with the Cornhuskers. But when Woodhead was a high school senior, Osborne was in the U.S. House of Representatives and Solich had been fired that fall.  The new NU coaching staff led by Bill Callahan wasn’t interested in such a small running back. Apparently, neither were the other big time teams.

Since both of Woodhead’s parents, Mark and Annette, were Chadron State graduates, and older brother Ben was a senior wide receiver on the CSC team, the Eagles had an inside track in landing him.  Head coach/athletic director Brad Smith cashed in the chips.  While such information is seldom announced, Woodhead was said to be the first athlete to receive a “full-ride” from the college.Woodhead didn’t start the first game his freshman year, but he clinched the starting job in the third game when he rushed for a school-record 306 yards and scored five touchdowns. That was just the beginning of a fantastic career.

He would have three more games with 300-plus yards, set the NCAA II record for most 200-yard or more games (19), score touchdowns in 38 consecutive games and romp at least 50 yards to the end zone 21 times.

He became college football’s all-time leading rusher with 7,962 yards, rolled up 9,480 all-purpose yards and scored 109 touchdowns (tying him for the most in college football annals), helping him win two Harlan Hill Trophies, which go to Division II’s outstanding player.

The Eagles were 12-1 overall, were undefeated in the RMAC and ranked fifth in NCAA II by the American Football Coaches Association at the end of both his junior and senior seasons.

In addition, Woodhead was NCAA Division II’s National Scholar-Athlete his senior season in 2007 and graduated with a 3.72 GPA after majoring in both health and physical education and math.  Two years later, he was voted the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s All-Time Outstanding Offensive Player when its All-Century Team was selected.

None of the NFL teams drafted him in the spring of 2008, but in short order the New York Jets signed him as a free agent. He suffered a serious knee injury during a training camp practice that summer.  That’s usually curtains for an undrafted player, but the Jets left him on injured reserve and he made the roster the following season, but eventually he was released. 

The Patriots quickly nabbed him and he played for them the next three years, becoming an important cog in Tom Brady’s offense, often entering the game on third down and either running through a small crack in the line or catching short pass and turning it into a big gain.  He rushed for 547 yards and five touchdowns in 2010 and caught a touchdown pass from Brady in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012.

The next four years he was an all-purpose back for the San Diego (now Los Angeles) Chargers.  He also was an invaluable piece of Philip Rivers’ arsenal.  He caught 76 passes for 605 yards and six touchdowns his first year there in 2013.  After breaking a leg, Woodhead missed all but three games in 2014, but he returned in 2015 for another excellent season, grabbing 80 passes for 755 yards and 16 TDs and also rushing for 336 yards and three more scores. 

Another ACL injury in the second game ended his 2016 season.  The following winter, he signed a three-year, $8.8 million contract with Baltimore, but a hamstring problem put him on injured reserve through the first eight games last fall.  He saw enough action late in the year to catch 33 passes for 200 yards. Still, the Ravens released him while paring their payroll before next month’s draft.

During his farewell message, the media reported that the ever-gracious Woodhead thanked God, his family, his agent, his former coaches, singling them out by name, his former high school, college and NFL teammates and the medical personnel who had helped him along the way.

The Associated Press story ended with, “I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few, but know that I’m thankful for everything everyone has done on my journey.”  Danny and his wife Stacia, his high school sweetheart, have four children and a home in the Omaha area.

More accolades will be coming his way.  Both the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference long ago let him know they were ready to induct him as soon as his playing days were over. 

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Note:  As always, our gratitude to Con Marshall for sharing this timely story!

For another perspective on Danny Woodhead's retirement, take a look at this link:

Danny Woodhead Looks Back at Chargers Career

That old football spirit comes back to life!

by Larry Miller

Former Chadron State Eagle Danny Woodhead’s passion for football and – to steal a line from the U.S. Army – “trying to be all you can be,” has been an inspiration for many.  Your’s truly included.

As a one-time high school athlete now collecting Social Security and nursing my poor, worn-out flat feet, I must confess that the pursuit of other interests – including working at a career in broadcasting – pulled me away from my early love of sports for most of my adult life.  

Even as recently as a 50^th high school class reunion last year, I wrote this about what I learned at Chadron High School:  “…that there’s more to life than sports…that teamwork is just as important in the rest of life as it is on the field or on the court…that growing up in a small town was a pretty good thing….”

Not that my bride and I haven’t followed sports.  You can’t grow up in Nebraska without being at least a closet fan of the Nebraska Cornhuskers.   In Oklahoma, we learned to love the OSU Cowboys (usually in the shadow of the OU Sooners!)  We particularly enjoyed basketball games in Gallagher Hall, and many years later would follow our Black Hills State University “Yellowjackets” exploits at the Donald Young Center in Spearfish.

But the truth is, until our grand nephew, Chance Galey, started playing for the Chadron State Eagles back in 2005, I was not a big football fan.  But as we began watching the Eagles play more often, we started getting caught up in the game again.

And then, there was Danny Woodhead.

Woodhead and Chance played together on some terrific Eagle teams.  And while Chance collected several honors for his performance as starting center for three years, it was Danny Woodhead who made an indelible impact upon the record books at Chadron – and in the NCAA.  He set a rushing record (at that time) within either Division I or II of the NCAA and was the recipient of two Harlon Hill trophies, the Division II equivalent of the Heisman trophy.  And there's a litany of records he established in his college career while also winning academic awards on his way to earning a degree in math education.

Like so many other CSC alums, we followed Danny’s career as he first went to the New York Jets. Despite an injury and some bouncing around between the Jets and their practice squad, Danny Woodhead persevered.  Finally, he was released by the Jets, and some of us wondered if perhaps Danny may have finally come to the end of his journey in professional football.

Obviously, we didn’t fully appreciate the commitment that this young man had and continues to exhibit as one of the most unlikely success stories in the NFL.

Danny’s skills appeared to fit nicely with Bill Belichick’s strategy at New England, and none of has looked back since!  Despite the Patriot’s loss in the Super Bowl, Danny Woodhead again displayed the kind of commitment and dedication he has to the game, and to his teammates.  And that fact certainly has not gone unnoticed by Patriots fans.

Even back at Chadron State, we watched Danny and the Eagles play with “heart,” and we have little doubt that he’ll continue to inspire us all.

While he’s not a “star” in the same sense as Tom Brady, Danny’s hard work is paying off.  His pay was bumped up to about $700,000 (still a far cry from Brady’s $13.2 million, and even wide receiver Wes Welker’s $4.1 million) and now endorsement opportunities are blossoming.   Last summer, Danny was tapped for a two-year deal to be the athlete promoting the Sketchers fitness footwear collection.

That sort of thing comes with the “turf,” but only for those who’ve achieved remarkable success.  We thought it was telling that Sketcher’s president Michael Greenberg  astutely observed that “Danny athleticism and dedication are truly inspiring.”

I’ll bet those could have been the very words that veteran Chadron writer Con Marshall might have used in assessing a younger Danny Woodhead shortly after he took to the field for the Chadron State Eagles in 2004.

I’m a believer that such “heart” comes largely from nurturing  parents and family members, as well as early friends and mentors.  Danny’s parents, Mark and Annette Woodhead of North Platte, should take a bow.

And now, for the first time in decades – maybe ever – I can hardly wait for next football season!

The Eagles Had Heart!

The song "Heart" from the Broadway show “Damn Yankees” back in the mid-1950s became a hit recording for both Eddie Fisher and the McGuire Sisters. 

But its lyrics could well have been penned for the Chadron State Eagles football team in their stellar comeback last weekend (Nov. 24th) against Abilene Christian.

You’ve gotta have heart
All you really need is heart
When the odds are sayin'
You’ll never win
That’s when the grin should start

The Eagles simply wouldn't accept defeat. Despite trailing the Abilene Christian "Wildcats" by 29 points in the third period, the CSC "Eagles" displayed great stamina -- and even greater heart -- by chipping away slowly at that margin as the minutes and seconds raced off the clock in the fourth quarter. It was a second round NCAA Division II playoff for the southwest region, played in Chadron (Nebr.) on a soggy Elliott Field.

You've gotta have hope
Mustn't sit around and mope

The heart displayed by the Eagles shone no brighter than from the CSC sideline, as star running back Danny Woodhead climbed atop a bench, as he often has done this year, to rally the crowd behind the Eagle defense. The sheer tenacity of offense and defense alike allowed the Eagles to narrow the gap -- albeit at a pace that was agonizingly slow. The clock was not their friend. But finally, at the end of regulation play, Chadron State had managed, almost unbelievably, to tie Abilene Christian, 56-56. A joyous moment for Eagles fans, and a moment of consternation for the many fans who'd left the game at the end of the third period.

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When your luck is battin' zero

Get your chin up off the floor

Mister you can be a hero

You can open any door...

There's nothin' to it but to DO it!

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And then there were THREE overtime periods. In the end, it was a series of enormous team efforts that gave Chadron a 76-73 win over Abilene. 

The high score and great drama caught the attention of the New York Times, which has enjoyed giving its lofty, if not somewhat condescending, coverage of "tiny Chadron State." It reminds me of the perpetual toungue-in-cheek coverage of Slippery Rock (PA) football scores over several decades.  Read what the Times had to say about the Chadron State-Abilene Christian game.

Our appetites, and those of thousands of other Eagles fans, are whetted for the next chapter in this wonderful unfolding of Chadron State College athletic history. That will occur next Saturday, December 1, when the Northwest Missouri University team invades Chadron for another round of Division II playoffs. Stay tuned!

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Hats off to the Eagles -- they had heart!