The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? love Woodley. He knows Michigan fans appreciate him, too, and he'll forever have a support system of former coaches and teammates that will encourage him as he has them his entire career. "I've always been his biggest fan," Jackson said. "He was my fullback in middle school, and if he wasn't out there knocking guys around I probably wouldn't have had the opportunities I did to be a running back at Michigan. "He was just such a freak athletically, but he's an even better person than he is an athlete. He's a great friend, and he's someone that has walked the walk because he keeps going back to Saginaw every chance he gets to make a difference. "I'm rooting for him to be a big success in Oakland and I'm confident he will be. He's got that swagger back that he had at Michigan. He's excited about getting down on the line and getting after quarterbacks, and I think we're all going to see him back to being at his best." ❑ Michigan Accomplishments: Started for three seasons from 2004-06 … Finished his career with 52.5 tackles for loss (third all time) and 24 sacks (fourth all time) among 177 total stops … The only player in school history to record at least 16 tackles for loss in three different years (2004-06) … Tied David Bowens' 1996 school single-season record for QB sacks with 12 in 2006 … Also ranks first all time in career forced fumbles with 10 … Named a unanimous first-team All-American, the Ted Hendricks Award winner (nation's top defensive end), the 2006 Big Ten Defensive Lineman of the Year and first-team All-Big Ten. Michigan Memory: "The two that stand out are the 2004 Michigan State game because we had that crazy comeback in the fourth quarter and we beat them in triple overtime. I knocked [Michigan State QB] Drew Stanton out of the game with a sack. I wasn't trying to injure him, but I was trying to hurt him in the way a defensive end hits a quarterback to make him ache and feel him coming. "And the other one was the Penn State game in 2006 because the entire defense was just killing the quarterback. I think I had two sacks in the game and we knocked out both their starter and their backup quarterback. Again, we weren't trying to injure those guys, but there is no better feeling than see- ing that quarterback on the ground, just struggling to get up because you've done your job." Professional Accomplishments: Begins his eighth season in the NFL and first with the Oakland Raiders … Started at outside linebacker for six seasons (2008- 13) with the Pittsburgh Steelers during his seven-year run with the organization … Named All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl in 2009 … Won a Super Bowl with the Steelers during the 2008 season and played in a second Super Bowl in 2010. Education: Earned a degree in general studies from U-M. Family: Wife, Jordan, and two kids. The LaMarr Woodley File