Tag: Charles Woodson

When was the last time Michigan won a national championship in football?

The Wolverines finally have a recent national championship to their name!

Update: This article was previously published in 2022, but has been updated for 2024.

Michigan football has a rich history filled with tradition, and after years of failing to reach the top, the Wolverines have finally claimed a national championship once more!

After a long season, Michigan finally won its latest national championship to cap off the 2023 season. The Wolverines bested the Washington Huskies 34-13 on January 8, 2024, capping off a perfect 15-0 record on the season.

The Wolverines previous national championship finish was in 1997 when the team finished with a perfect 12-0 record and were voted No. 1 in the final Associated Press Poll. It was a national championship shared with Nebraska as well.

1997 was also the same year then-junior cornerback Charles Woodson won the Heisman Trophy, marking the last time a defensive player took home college football’s most prestigious individual award. And, although he only played in four games, Tom Brady was also on this Michigan roster.

In addition to Michigan’s 2023 and 1997 titles, per NCAA.com, the Wolverines have also earned national championships in 1965, 1948, 1933, 1923, 1918, 1904, 1903, 1902 and 1901.

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Charles Woodson and Urban Meyer perfectly react to Rod Moore’s game-sealing INT

This is too perfect — from both! #GoBlue

The perfect reaction doesn’t exis–wait, it appears to. At least for Michigan football fans.

Though the Wolverines appeared to have control through much of The Game, Ohio State made things interesting late. In the second half, the Buckeyes had tied the game at 17-all before Michigan went up 24-17. The maize and blue added another field goal to go up 27-17, but OSU battled back, making it 27-24 with eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter.

Then, Michigan did something incredible — it drove the field with a seven-minute drive, ending in a field goal. Though that meant The Game was still in reach, the Wolverines were up by six, and the Buckeyes only had 60 seconds to drive the entire field and score.

Try, they did. And they came close to succeeding. But down on Michigan’s end of the field, Kyle McCord attempted to go to Marvin Harrison Jr., but was picked off by Rod Moore.

While The Big House erupted, the reaction from Michigan football legend Charles Woodson and former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer couldn’t have been more perfect.

Meyer and Woodson are now coworkers at Fox Sports, and you can be assured that Woodson won’t let Meyer live this one down anytime soon.

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Charles Woodson and Urban Meyer adjacently reacting to game-winning INT perfectly captured Ohio State-Michigan rivalry

Charles Woodson and Urban Meyer had very different reactions to the game-sealing Michigan pick.

Michigan snagging a game-winning interception on archrival Ohio State came with a fascinating dual reaction from two of the school’s most notable figures.

As Wolverines defensive back Rod Moore picked off Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord to seal the victory, Michigan alumnus Charles Woodson and former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer both reacted with expected emotions.

Woodson immediately celebrated the big play, while Meyer winced and looked away as his former team squandered the opportunity for a last-minute touchdown to win the game.

If you’re a fan of either of these teams, you absolutely understood where both sports media personalities were coming from.

This is the kind of reaction clip you can’t plan for, as it perfectly captured the mood on what’s sure to be one of the biggest college football plays of the day.

Woodson will undoubtedly be thrilled for the rest of the weekend, while we’re guessing Meyer would rather talk about something else.

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‘NFL Icons’ episode reveals why Ohio’s own, Charles Woodson, chose Michigan over Ohio State

Have you ever wondered?

If you are an Ohio State fan, you know by now that some of Michigan’s best players came from the state to the south of them. That Team Up North likes to say that the best players from Ohio know to go to Michigan, but we know the real story. Michigan’s past history wouldn’t be what it is today without utilizing the historically football talent-rich Buckeye state.

Some of those players that left Ohio to star for Michigan no doubt sting, and maybe none of them caused more pain than Fremont, Ohio native, Charles Woodson. Not only did Woodson shun the colors of Scarlet and Gray to don the Maize and Blue, but he became an All-American and Heisman Trophy winner as a defensive back that got some run on the offensive side as a wide receiver as well.

If you’ve ever wondered why Woodson left Ohio for the state of Michigan, thanks to an NFL Icons episode on MGM+, you can stop the inquiring mindset.

NFL Icons is a docuseries that explores some of the most iconic and noteworthy personalities in NFL history, detailing their lives before, during, and after football with some never before seen footage. It has featured players like Walter Payton, Brett Favre, Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith. There’s even a fantastic episode on former Buckeye receiver, Cris Carter that we encourage you to digest. In fact, there are three very entertaining seasons, and if you want to catch up on any of it, you can go to MGM+ and sign up to watch them all.

Season 3 has one of the episodes centered around Woodson, and if you are an Ohio State fan, you have to wonder what his career in college would have been if he landed in Columbus instead of Ann Arbor.

According to Woodson, it wasn’t really a slight towards Ohio State, but rather, his upbringing.

“It’s a very simple reason. You know, there’s really nothing complex about it … “you have to blame my older brother. You have to blame Terry. He was a Michigan fan,” Woodson said in the episode.

“And so him being my first childhood idol, that’s who I liked, Woodson continued. “To me, it didn’t make any difference that it was Ohio State and they were right there down the road from an hour and a half south of where we grew up. That was their rival, so it was — in the back of my mind, I could never really like them because they were the rival to Michigan, and that was my team.

“I was in love with that winged helmet, in love with the Maize and Blue, and so I feel like my decision was made a long time before I even made the decision.”

And there you have it.

Ohio State never really stood a chance apparently and that’s OK. We can appreciate what Woodson did in college and during his remarkable 18-year NFL career, but still not loathe those winged helmets that one of the game’s Hall of Famer’s fell in love with at an early age.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on X.

Charles Woodson dropped an expletive on Big Noon Kickoff while defending Michigan, Jim Harbaugh

Michigan alumnus Charles Woodson is not happy about the whole Jim Harbaugh suspension thing.

The Michigan sign-stealing controversy reached a new nadir on Friday after coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended from the sidelines for the rest of the regular season by the Big 10.

No matter how you feel about this latest Wolverines fracas, the Michigan alumni have been the most vocal in sharing their malcontent about the whole situation and how Harbaugh has gotten roped in.

The Big Ten suspended Jim Harbaugh: The Michigan sign-stealing scandal, explained

The latest Michigan alumnus to jump into the discussion is former defensive back Charles Woodson, who did not mince words when describing Harbaugh’s suspension while appearing on Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff.

In fact, he said the whole controversy was, in his words, “bull[expletive].”

Naturally, some NSFW language to follow.

Well, that is certainly one read of the situation!

Everyone seems to have an opinion on the Michigan sign-stealing fiasco, but few have gone the lengths of swearing on national television to get their point across.

It’s not likely any Michigan fans will be thrilled with what’s going on right now, regardless of if they feel the program is innocent or guilty.

No matter the charge, Harbaugh isn’t coaching this week, and some folks like Woodson are not happy about that.

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FOX Sports analyst Charles Woodson likes Derek Carr’s Saints to win the NFC South

FOX Sports analyst Charles Woodson says Derek Carr will benefit from a better supporting cast than he had with the Raiders: ‘And I know because I was part of a couple of them’

Derek Carr’s got one national analyst in his corner: his former Raiders teammate Charles Woodson. The Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive back is covering the NFL with FOX Sports these days, and he’s very encouraged by what he saw from Carr in the New Orleans Saints’ season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans.

Woodson says he sees a sustainable formula for Carr to lead the Saints to a lot of wins in 2023, now that Carr has a defense which can help take some pressure off him.

“Derek Carr has played on some teams with piss-poor defenses, and I know because I was a part of a couple of them,” Woodson began. “And he’s never played with a defense that’s been one of the tops in scoring defenses in the league. But now he gets to play with the Saints, who have been at the top in scoring defenses the last three years. So he’s going to be able to play with some leads now and keep the lead, and not have to worry about going out and bringing teams back.”

Woodson also talked up Carr’s supporting cast on offense, pointing to a receiving corps that is awful talented at the top. Carr connected with four different players on receptions of 20-plus yards in Week 1, and Woodson sees more big-play opportunities ahead for them.

He continued: “And the great thing is he has other weapons (than just Michael Thomas). And I like Chris Olave. People talk about those Ohio State receivers, Garrett Wilson and (Jaxon Smith-Njigba), they think that Njigba was the best of the three? But for my money I like Olave.”

Hey, Woodson has an eye for receiving talent, too. Olave led that trio in receptions (50), receiving yards (729), and touchdown catches (7) when they were together in Columbus back in 2020, and the extra attention he demanded from defenses in 2021 help both of his teammates break out and improve their draft stock. Olave left college with the school record in touchdown receptions, too (35).

He may have been snubbed for Offensive Rookie of the Year last season, but Olave’s 112 receiving yards last week were the second-highest in a game of his NFL career so far. If the Saints defense can create opportunities for Carr to hit the field in good position, it shouldn’t take long for him and Olave to get to work.

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The best defensive player of all time for all 32 NFL teams

Who has terrified quarterbacks and coaches the most for every team?

The modern NFL game is not built for defenses to thrive. Heck, even in times of “three yards and a cloud of dust,” it’s arguable the league never actually wanted defenses to win. At least, once the powers that be learned that offense sells like hotcakes.

Suffice it to say, playing defense in the NFL can be an impossible job. So the men that have courageously taken on the assignment of slowing down high-flying attacks stand out all the more.

In pro football lore, the best defenders ever are those who made offensive coordinators lose countless hours of sleep as they game-planned. They are the players who made quarterbacks quite literally see ghosts when standing in the pocket. They are pictures of reliability and dependability and are the preeminent warriors of the West’s favorite gladiator sport.

The below list examines the greatest defender in the history of all 32 NFL teams. My criteria was simple and rooted around these questions: What was their production like? Did they have a high intimidation factor? How available were they for their teammates? Did they pioneer a new way of playing their position?

It’s not easy playing defense in the NFL. But these fine gentlemen sometimes made the impossible seem like a casual task.

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Marcus Peters takes Raiders No 24 once worn by fellow Oakland native Marshawn Lynch

Marcus Peters chooses legendary No 24 which was once worn by his old friend Marshawn Lynch

Taking the field today for the Raiders was newly signed cornerback Marcus Peters. And he was wearing the number 24. The same number 24 that was worn by close friend and fellow Oakland native Marshawn Lynch when he signed with the Raiders back in 2017.

Wearing the same number as Marshawn probably gives the selection personal meaning for Peters. But the number holds a whole lot more meaning to the franchise.

No number in NFL history is more legendary to a team than the number 24 is to the Raiders.

Two Hall of Fame cornerbacks wore it in Charles Woodson and Willie Brown. Making for the greatest to ever wear the number 24 on any team, let alone in Silver & Black. Two fold.

It was two years after Woodson retired that Marshawn took it over.

The last Raiders player to wear the number was former first round pick Johnathan Abram. Needless to say, he didn’t live up to the legends before him to wear it. Peters surely hopes he can do it justice.

Charles Woodson continuing to recruit Aaron Scott for Michigan football

When the GOAT tweets at you, you’ve gotta listen! #GoBlue

When you’re a Michigan football legend who is from Ohio but spurned the Buckeyes to play for the Wolverines, you’re looking for some company.

The only primarily defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy, Charles Woodson, has already let 2024 Springfield (Ohio) four-star cornerback Aaron Scott know he’s strongly desired in Ann Arbor, but he’s not taking the heat off just yet.

Last time, Woodson quote tweeted Scott’s official visit pictures from Columbus, letting him know that he’d look better in maize and blue. Now, Scott is on Woodson’s mind, even without any tweet-prompting. Unabated, Woodson tweeted at Scott showing off Michigan’s prized possession on the defensive side of the ball — the ‘turnover buffs,’ which are given to a player for a picture after they force a turnover.

Woodson also tweeted at Scott after an Ohio State fan noted the engagement on a tweet from Troy Smith, which seemed to get the younger Ohio native’s attention.

Scott is set to make his college choice on July 30, his father’s birthday, and is choosing among Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon.

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Charles Woodson responds perfectly to Aaron Scott’s Ohio State OV tweet

This is the most epic tweet of all time. #GoBlue

Michigan football was hoping to lure an unlikely duo north to Ann Arbor after growing up in enemy territory.

Though it lost out on Cleveland (Ohio) Glenville four-star cornerback Bryce West, who committed to Ohio State on Saturday, hope still remains for Springfield (Ohio) four-star corner Aaron Scott, who took his official visit to Columbus this past weekend.

Unlike West, Scott did not pledge to the home state Buckeyes, leaving the door open for the Wolverines. And one prominent Wolverine is letting him know where he’s wanted most.

Charles Woodson knows a little something about growing up in Ohio and then wearing a winged helmet. He shocked the world choosing the maize and blue before coming to Ann Arbor and winning the only Heisman Trophy given to a defensive player.

Generally, when recruits tweet, you don’t see many former players chiming in, let alone full-on legends. But when Scott tweeted his pictures from his visit to Columbus, Woodson had to have a say.

Epic.

No matter what one thinks of the visit, if you’re truly on the fence and you’re getting the greatest of all time chiming in to indicate what school is better, you’re probably going to listen.

Fans certainly hope Scott does.

Update: Scott acknowledged the shout out.

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