Woodrow Dantzler

Woodrow "Woody" Dantzler III (born October 4, 1979) is a former American football quarterback, running back, safety and return specialist. He played college football at Clemson. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys in 2002.

College career

Dantzler attended Clemson University where he majored in marketing. As a freshman in 1997, he redshirted. He made his Clemson debut in Week 1 of the 1998 season against Furman. However, he did not start until Week 5 against the North Carolina Tar Heels. In 1999, he became the starter over Brandon Streeter. He passed for 1,506 passing yards and nine touchdowns in 1999. He also rushed for 723 yards, and four touchdowns. In 2000, he also changed his number from 11 to 1. The Tigers record was 9–3 that season. That year, he threw for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns. Of those yards, 956 along with six touchdowns went to wide receiver Rod Gardner, who went on to be selected in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins with the 15th pick overall. In 2001, Dantzler rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns. He became the first player in NCAA football history to pass for more than 2,000 yards and rush for more than 1,000 in a single season. For 2001 he recorded 2,360 yards and 17 touchdowns (passing) and 1,004 yards and 10 touchdowns (rushing). He was also a Heisman trophy candidate in 2001. He was inducted into the Clemson football Hall of Fame in 2007. He holds 53 school records.^[1][2]

Professional career

National Football League

Dantzler was not selected in the 2002 NFL Draft. However, Dantzler was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys on April 29, 2002. He was included in Hard Knocks for the Cowboys in 2002. He would be signed to the practice squad. On November 27, 2002, he was promoted to the active roster to return kickoffs. He scored his first National Football League touchdown on December 8, 2002 when he returned a kickoff for 84 yards against the San Francisco 49ers. He went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons, where he rushed for one touchdown in 2003 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and had a few plays at quarterback for the first time in his NFL Career. Near the beginning of the 2004 season, he was released by the Falcons due to a knee injury. He signed with the Cowboys again in January 2005. In February 2005, The Cowboys assigned him to the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. He played free safety for the Galaxy. He was released by the Cowboys on September 3, 2005.

Arena Football League

Dantzler was signed to a two-year contract with the Chicago Rush of the Arena Football League (AFL) in December 2005. He won a championship in 2006, as the Rush defeated the Orlando Predators 69–61.

All-American Football League

In 2008, Dantzler was drafted and signed by Team Tennessee of the All American Football League (AAFL). He was one of five current Quarterbacks on the roster. However, his contract was terminated when the AAFL postponed its debut season for the second time.

American Indoor Football Association

In 2009, Dantzler was signed to the newly founded Harrisburg Stampede of the American Indoor Football Association.^[3] He missed the entire season due to a knee injury. He was released at the end of the season.

See also

• List of Arena Football League and National Football League players

References

External links

• NFL.com profile