Wesley Woodyard
 Woodyard with the Broncos in 2012. | |||||||||||||||
| No. 59 – Tennessee Titans | |||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born: | July 21, 1986 LaGrange, Georgia | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school: | LaGrange (GA) | ||||||||||||||
| College: | Kentucky | ||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of Week 8, 2016 | |||||||||||||||
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Wesley Woodyard Jr. (born July 21, 1986) is an American football linebacker for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Denver Broncos in 2008. He played college football for the University of Kentucky.
High school career
Woodyard was born in LaGrange, Georgia and attended LaGrange High School. He was named the Georgia Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was first-team all-state as a senior by the Georgia Sportswriters Association and the Journal-Constitution. As a four-year letterman and two-year starter at outside linebacker, the team posted a 51-3 record during his three seasons, winning a pair of state championships.
College career
As a freshman in 2004, Woodyard played in the first 10 games and midway through the season, he switched from strong safety to inside linebacker. He recorded 34 tackles for the season and was selected for the Freshman All-SEC Team by SEC coaches. As a sophomore in 2005, he started all 11 games at linebacker. For the season he recorded 100 tackles, seven for-a-loss and four fumble recoveries. He was named second-team Sophomore All-American and All-SEC Honorable mention.
As a junior in 2006, Woodyard started all 13 games at linebacker, leading the team with 122 tackles and tackles-for-loss with 9.5. For the season he earned Defensive MVP honors in the Music City Bowl. As a senior in 2007, he started all 13 games at linebacker, leading the team with 139 tackles. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Professional career
Denver Broncos
Woodyard went unselected in the 2008 NFL Draft, but was later signed by the Denver Broncos. As a rookie, he filled in for the injured starter, D. J. Williams. He recorded 10 solo tackles in his first NFL start against the Cleveland Browns on November 6, 2008.
Woodyard re-signed with the Broncos on a two-year contract on March 19, 2012.[1] The Broncos selected him for the team's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for 2013.[2]
Tennessee Titans
On March 14, 2014, Woodyard signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Tennessee Titans.[3]
NFL stats
| Year | Team | GP | COMB | TOTAL | AST | SACK | FF | FR | FR YDS | INT | IR YDS | AVG IR | LNG | TD | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | DEN | 16 | 55 | 47 | 8 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2009 | DEN | 16 | 44 | 32 | 12 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2010 | DEN | 11 | 37 | 33 | 4 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | DEN | 15 | 97 | 67 | 30 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2012 | DEN | 15 | 117 | 73 | 44 | 5.5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 40 | 13 | 25 | 0 | 6 |
| 2013 | DEN | 14 | 84 | 48 | 36 | 1.5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Career | 87 | 434 | 300 | 134 | 8.0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 40 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 15 |
Personal life
Woodyard is married to Veronica Woodyard.[5] Woodyard is a Christian.[6][7] Woodyard has two children, a son, Greyson Wesley Woodyard born 4/26/14 and a daughter, Noah Elle Woodyard born 10/7/15. His wife is expecting a third child due in February, 2017.
References
- ^ Silva, Evan (March 19, 2012). "Broncos keep Wesley Woodyard on two-year deal". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Zaas, Stuart (November 27, 2013). "Woodyard Named Broncos' Walter Payton Man of the Year". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ Wesley Woodyard, Tennessee Titans strike 4-year deal
- ^ "Wesley Woodyard Stats". ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "wooddro52".
- ^ "Whitehead: How I met my fiance, Wesley Woodyard".
- ^ "Wesley Woodyard".