Woodson’s Masterpiece: How the Michigan Legend Won the Heisman and a National Title

October 7, 1976 – was the birth anniversary of Charles Woodson, a cornerback from the University of Michigan. The footballfoundation.org website informs us that Woodson is the only primarily defensive player to have ever won the Heisman Trophy.

Woodson was a two-time First-Team All-American player for the Wolverines and played on the 1997 Michigan National Championship team. One of the biggest games of the ’97 season was a game against arch-rival Ohio State. Charles had a huge part in the Wolverines’ victory over the Buckeyes. The defensive back intercepted a pass in the endzone, returned a kick 78 yards, and caught an offensive 37-yard pass for Michigan’s only touchdown of the game. Again, he came on strong in a big game to preserve a 12-0 season in the Rose Bowl against Washington State University.

In that bowl game, he had a Rose Bowl record 4 pass breakups and recorded an interception. In addition to the Heisman Trophy mentioned earlier, Charles took home the Walter Camp Award, Jim Thorpe Award, Chuck Bednarik Award, and Bronko Nagurski Trophy to go along with the National Championship hardware he helped Michigan achieve!  The National Football Foundation selected Charles Woodson into its College Football Hall of Fame in 2018.

Building on his legendary college career, Charles Woodson translated his two-way dominance into an incredible, 18-season run in the NFL. Drafted 4th overall by the Oakland Raiders in 1998, Woodson immediately validated his Heisman status, winning the 1998 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Woodson split his professional career between two franchises. He spent the first eight seasons (1998-2005) with the Raiders, playing cornerback and guiding the team to Super Bowl XXXVII. His second act came with the Green Bay Packers (2006-2012), where he transitioned to safety and experienced his greatest team success, winning Super Bowl XLV following the 2010 season. He then returned to the Raiders to finish his career (2013-2015).

A master of ball skills and defensive versatility, Woodson was a perennial Pro Bowler, earning nine Pro Bowl selections and four First-Team All-Pro nods. His finest individual season came in 2009 with the Packers, where he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year—making him one of only two players (along with Marcus Allen) to win the Heisman Trophy, an AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, an AP Defensive Player of the Year, and a Super Bowl.

Woodson finished his career with 65 interceptions (tied for 5th all-time) and is tied for the NFL record with 13 defensive touchdowns. A member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, Charles Woodson was rightfully inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021 on his first ballot.