Here is his story, starting from high school, to college, all the way to his tough road to the NFL.

Woodhead started his football career breaking records for North Platte High School in North Platte, Nebraska. He led North Platte to the State finals with a win over Millard North High School 24-21. Woodheadsaved the game by blocking a field goal attempt. Then came Ben Woodhead, Danny’s older brother, who set up a game-winning field goal by throwing a pass deep down the field.

Jake McCarthy kicked the game winning field goal.

Sadly, North Platte eventually lost in the State Championship to another Millard School (Millard West High School), 28-14. Entering his junior year Woodhead sought the championship even more.

In his junior year at North Platte, Danny’s team went 8-1 and won two straight games in the playoffs. But once again they lost to Millard North High School, this time in the semifinals.

Then came his senior season, and North Platte was undefeated with a 9-0 record. This was the first in 40 years that North Platte went undefeated in school history. In the first round they beat Omaha North High School. They later went on to beat Bellevue East High School in the second round.  Once again though they lost to Millard North in the semifinals, the being the second year in a row.

Even though Woodhead never won the state championship, he did have a successful high school career. He finished as Nebreska’s Class A all-time leading rusher with 4,891 rushing yards from 2000-2003. Woodhead also was Nebreska’s Class A leading rusher that year. His teammate, quarterback Derek Enderle, led the state in passing yards that year as well. This also marked the first time in school history that two players led the state in two categories in the same season.

Woodhead also showed his athleticism by running some track as well, breaking the school’s 100-meter time with his 10.5 seconds.

In 2004, Woodhead attended Chadron State in Chadron, Nebraska. He rushed for 1,840 rushing yards in his true freshman year. But those weren’t freshman-like stats; Those were more like senior season stats.

In Woodhead’s sophomore year, he had 278 carries for 1,769 yards including a 6.4 yards per carry average. He also pounded out 21 touchdowns. While the rushing game was good, he pounded in some expectational stats in receiving: 30 catches for 367 yards including 12.2 yards per reception average.

Woodhead had a brilliant season. Some have even said it was Hall of Fame caliber. Through twelve games he had 2,740 rushing yards, passing the record set by Kavin Gaillaird for most single-season division rushing yards. At the end of the seson Woodhead had amassed 2,756 yards. He led his team to the NCAA Division II playoffs, too, but they lost to Northwest Missouri State.

39 games into Woodhead’s career he had accounted for 606 points (that meant he averaged an incredible 15.5 points per game by himself), the highest ever in Division II. Only Dan Pugh of Mount Union College (in Ohio), who had 248 points in 2002, and Barry Sanders of Oklahoma State, who had 234 in 1988, had more points in a season than Woodhead in 2006.

But in 2007, Abilene Christian University’s Bernard Scott broke Woodhead’s record by scoring 39 touchdowns (234 points).

Woodhead got to show his stuff in front of the Atlanta Falcons’ scouts. They wanted to see his 40 yard dash time, and he raced to an impressive 4.41 seconds. That’s pretty fast.  He also wont the 55-meter dash at the RMAC Indoor Meet in 2006 as well.

At the start of his senior year Woodhead already had 7,441 rushing yards in his career, an average of 190.8 rushing yards per game.  He rushed for 200 or more yards in 19 of his 39 games and scored at least one touchdown in 37 consecutive games. Both of those are NCAA all-division records.

After a 208-yard performance against Western New Mexico that year, he became college football’s all-time leading rusher (though you probably never heard about it). He broke former Grove City College (PA) fullback R.J. Bowers record (Bowers played from 1997-2000) for the all-time rushing record. Woodhead was also the sixth player in history to rush for over 1,000 yards in all four of his seasons.

Woodhead ended his career with 9,259 all purpose yards, second all-time behind former Villanova and now Philadelphia Eagles’ runnning back, Brian Westbrook, who played for Villanova from 1997-2000 with his 9,512 all purpose yards.

Woodhead also tied Germaine Race’s (Pittsburg State, 2003-2006) record for Division II career scoring with 654 points on 109 touchdowns. Race is also the all-time leader in two-point conversions with 658 points. Woodhead is also the second player in college football history to rush for over 100 touchdowns.

Barry Sanders is the only player to have more all-purpose yards in a season than the 3,159 all purpose yards Woodhead had gained in 2006. Sanders had 3,250 in 1988, where he won the Heisman Trophy in his junior season. Woodhead was ranked tenth all-time in all purpose Division II yards with 7,349 yards just after his junior season. The Division II leader is Brian Shay of Emporia State as he had 9,301 yards, including 1,207 on kick returns from 1995-1998.

Woodhead was also a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy from 2004-2007. He won the trophy in 2006 and 2007. After his career, some people complained that Woodhead could have played for the University of Nebraska. Woodhead later said in an interview that Nebraska didn’t show much interest in him while Chadron State showed 100 percent of it.

At Chadron State he majored in Math education.

Woodhead’s stats:

Amazingly, Woodhead did not receive an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine, so he had to use his Pro Day to show what he’s got. According to a report at NFLDraftWatch.net, Woodhead ran the 40-yard-dash at times between 4.33-to-4.38 in three tries. That would have been the fastest among all running backs attending the Combine for the 2008 NFL Draft. He posted the best pro-agility time (4.03 seconds), second best vertical jump (38½ inches), and the best 60-yard shuttle time (11.2 seconds).

With that said, he still went undrafted in 2008. Moments after the draft was over, he received a call from the New York Jets, who wanted to sign him. It was a dream come true. The two parties reached an agreement on a free agent contract.

On July 26, 2008, Woodhead’s dreams went down the drain as he was waived due to an injury.

See what happens? This is what happens when you give everything you have, but no one cares. People will point to his size (5′7″) and the fact that he weighs 200 pounds. But heck, look at Darren Sproles. He is shorter and is at least 10-20 pounds lighter, and has emerged as a good running back in the NFL.

Is there any love for Woodhead? He had one of college football’s most sucessful careers, but an injury derailed his dreams.

I just hope he pursues a successful career in football, no matter what league it is.

SCOTT JACOBS

The morning that the Jets made their huge trade to acquire Brett Favre from the Packers– officially ending what felt like the longest, most drawn out process in recent memory– I was listening to talk radio.  All day, the analysts and sports radio talk show hosts were breaking down what it meant, how good the Jets could be, even what would happen to Chad Pennington.

And I remember vividly the analysts proclaiming that Favre made the Jets an 8-9 win team, 10 tops, but that was only if the stars truly aligned. He will make them better I remember them saying, but he will not make them great.

Not even a year later, the Jets were better, but not great.  They weren’t even good enough after an 8-3 start to make the playoffs, and they couldn’t break the 10 win mark.  I just remember thinking, for once, the analysts were spot on.  They had this thing pegged from the start.  Brett Favre was not what he once was.  The Jets found that out the hard way.

And so today, Brett Favre, the man, the mystery, the larger than life Wrangler Jean wearing quarterback from Mississippi called it quits– for good, leaving behind him the game that he just could not leave.  His last game, a disappointing loss to the Miami Dolphins.  His last pass, an illegal forward pass.  His final moment on the football field: running off the field as the Dolphins celebrated an improbable, unbelievable, unexplainable AFC East title.

It is what it is, were along the words that Favre used.  He looked frusturated, but not devestated. The experiment, playing for Gang Green resulted in a five win improvement from the year before’s four win nightmare, but it still cost Eric Mangini his job, and ultimately now that Favre is retiring for good, leaves the Jets with one heck of a mess at the QB spot.

If you’re a glass half full/glass half empty person, then it was only fitting that Favre’s final game netted him 20/40 for 233 yards passing, and one touchdown.  And he left the game he loved doing what he did best- throwing interceptions (three of them in fact).  For all of Favre’s greatness and for all of his remarkable records, he also leaves the game with the dubious distinction of being one of the NFL’s greatest risk-takers, and the career leader in all time interceptions.

Who could have possibly foreseen the former Southern Miss star becoming one of the NFL’s most iconic figures?  No one, that’s who!

But that was how Favre played.  Sometimes his decisions were baffling, other times shocking, but he darted that pigskin all across the the field during his long and illustrious 18 year NFL career, one of the most spectacular and exhilarating careers the NFL has ever seen.  Favre was a gritty, hard nosed player, whose passion for the game probably caused him to overstay a little longer than he probably should have, but that was who he was, a great player, who for the longest time refused to give in, and give it up.

He leaves the game with some remarkable numbers:

Ever since the start of the 1993 season he has played all 16 games each season, and holds the all-time record, a mark that may never ever be touched, never-mind threatened of starting the most consecutive games ever, 291 including the playoffs.  Constantly labeled a warrior, one of the most enduring memories of Favre was when he decided to play a Monday Night football game against the Raiders in Oakland, even after his father had passed away.  Number four had one of his greatest games that night, and dedicated his performance to his father, and that captivated a nation to embrace the man who was already larger than life in Green Bay.

Favre’s marvelous career began in Atlanta, where as a rookie he played in two games, going 0-4 on pass attempts, while throwing up a pair of picks, and a 0.0 QB rating.  Needless to say, the Falcons and most likely every other NFL team probably weren’t too devestated when Favre was traded to the Packers after the 1991 season.  Who could have possibly foreseen the former Southern Miss star becoming one of the NFL’s most iconic figures?  No one, that’s who!

It’s kind of entertaining, the idea that Favre started his career on a forgettable note, and ended it not on a magic carpet ride, singing “I’m going to Disney” but in a statement to the Jets that said he was done.  Favre started as a relative unknown and closed his long and incredible career almost as quietly as he started (at least the second retirement that is).

Favre’s dumbfoudningly insane numbers go like this: 273 regular season games, 5720 completions, 9280 incompletions, 65,127 yards passing,  464 touchdowns, 310 picks, and 169 regular season victories.  While many of his records were achieved during not his prime, but during the tail end of his long career, it’s undeniable that he earned everything he got.

So while we will never forget Favre’s horrible handling of a botched retirement with the Packers, and the summer long circus that followed it, until he was shipped to the Jets,  it’s important to remember that before he became a side show, Favre was the show.

A three time league MVP, Favre led the Green Bay Packers to a 35-21 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI, and at the time, few probably thought that would be his first and only Super Bowl title.  But after leading the Packers back to the Big Game the ensuing season, and losing to John Elway and the Broncos, Favre never got back.  He got close, such as the 2007 season when the Packers were a Favre pick away from possibly winning the NFC title, but never got over the hump.

So however you choose to remember him: just keep this one thing in mind: Favre was great.  He failed spectacularly, he succeeded epically, and he played the game the right way.  Like anybody, he made mistakes, many of them on the field, and a few off of it, but he was only human.  And while he probably should have hung up his cleats about three to four years earlier, his retirement as a battered Jet and not a glorified Packer doesn’t tarnish a legacy that stacks up there with any of the NFL’s greats.

So farewell Mr. Favre.  It’s been one hell of a run.

The show is over.  It’s the end of an era.

All of the dominant quarterbacks of the 1980’s and 1990’s have officially hung up their cleats, and moved on.  Favre joined that group today, and surely in due time he will join them in the Hall of Fame as a first ballot Hall of Famer.

It’s been fun.  It’s been interesting.

Photo: Reuters

SCOTT JACOBS

Pop the corks Miami!  Your perfect run lives on another year.  With the Titans falling, and falling hard today34-13 to the all of a sudden red hot New York football Jets, every team in the NFL officially has at least one blemish on their record.  Brett Favre, who was a calm cool 25-32 for 224 yards, two scores, and one pick did everything he needed to, and New York (a year after a miserable 4-12 season) doubled their 2007 win total to eight, with five games left to play.  New York wanted to win, and they wanted to win now, and the move to acquire Favre, and the big money they spent on free agents has really paid off.  They maintained their one game lead in the AFC East over the Patriots, but the Jets proved with their win in Nashville that they may be a Super Bowl contender.  I didn’t think that was possible earlier in the year, but now?  Well, the Jets are well on their way to the post-season, and with a little help, could get a first round bye.

And with Tennessee’s loss, comes the end of a Thanksgiving tussle that could’ve been epically awful.  The Titans failed to extend their record to 11-0, and with it, ended any hope that we could see an 11-0 team play an 0-11 team on national television Thanksgiving Day.  The Lions did their part today, blowing a 17-0 lead at home to Tampa Bay, and getting practically run off the field the rest of the way in a 38-20 laugher.  The Lions were within four after halftime, but were run off the field in the second half, as the Bucs outscored Detroit 17-3.  Ford Field sounded like a ghost-town.  Faint sounds of boos echoed throughout the game, but it’s as if the Motown support has left the building.  The Lions are 0-11, and practically sprinting to a 0-16 ending.  Rumors have run rampant that the Lions could actually fail to sell out their annual Turkey Day nightmare, which would create a blackout in Detroit.  But would that be a bad thing?  Probably not.  Afterall, the Lions are just atrocious.  The Dolphins were bad last year en route to their 0-13 start, but they were in most of their games.  The Lions?  Well, in their last two home games, Detroit has been outscored by 42!  Ouch.

So that means that this year’s Turkey Day lineup may be the lamest ever.  In addition to the Titans-Lions game, the later game is Seattle-Dallas.  Hope springs eternal though that the Cardinals-Eagles game on NFL Network will provide some fireworks.  Afterall, the Eagles are now a .500 team with a tie, and their season is over with a loss at home to Arizona.

However, New York wasn’t the best place for him to get traded. Want media coverage? New York is the home of media coverage. If Favre could get all those reporters to the nowhere-land of Green Bay, imagine what he could accomplish in New York. All you have to do there is say, “Coach Mangini might have made a few mistakes last game,” and it’s a national story.

My man Colin Linnwweber hails from New York. He hasn’t commented much on Brett Favre yet, but you can never be sure. Colin is the blogging equivalent of the New York media. And since the average blogger is already as over-the-top as the New York media, that would make Colin like a New York journalist on acid, like Hunter S. Thompson on acid–or maybe like Hunter S. Thompson off acid, if that’s possible to imagine.

A selection of some of his past few article titles reads like so:

The “Idiot” Is Not Wrong…Edwar Ramirez Should Be Suspended
The 5 Most Villainous Athletes Of The Past Decade
Jose Canseco Is “Rotted Inside Out”
Injuries to Yanks Hughes and Kennedy are as real as Pam Anderson’s breasts
Manny Ramirez Is A Thug

What do you have to say about Favre now? Are you gonna jump on his bandwagon as he turns you into a “Super Bowl contender” like the New York media did with Eli Manning when they first got their hands on him?

Are you going to come crashing down on him the minute he becomes a distraction or doesn’t play well enough like the New York media had been doing to Manning with headlines like this every year until he won the Super Bowl?

SHOULD HAVE PASSED ON ELI DEAL
WHAT KIND OF MANN IS HE?
STRUGGLES FUELING QUESTION OF GIANT MISTAKE

Up in Green Bay, I know what those idiots are going to be doing: “Oh, no, Aaron Rodgers sucks! Lets throw bottles at him!”