Woodrow Dantzler
Encyclopedia
Woodrow "Woody" Dantzler III (born October 4, 1979 in Orangeburg
, South Carolina
) is an American Football
player who is currently a free agent. He attended Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, in Orangeburg
, South Carolina
. Dantzler played College Football
at Clemson University
, where he played Quarterback
. Dantzler played for the Dallas Cowboys
and the Atlanta Falcons
during his NFL Career. Dantzler has also played for The Frankfurt Galaxy
, of NFL Europe
, The Chicago Rush
, of the Arena Football League, And The Harrisburg Stampede
of the American Indoor Football Association.
for the 1997 season and went on to letter
in 1998, 1999, and 2000. He wore number 11 during the 1998 season. He made his Clemson debut in Week 1 against Furman
. However, Dantzler did not start until week 5 against the North Carolina Tar Heels
. He only threw for 82 yards with no touchdowns all season. He also only rushed for 84 yards with no touchdowns that season. In 1999, Dantzler became the starter. He threw for 1,506 passing yards, and 9 touchdowns. He also rushed for 723 yards, and 4 touchdowns. In 2000 Dantzler had also changed his number from 11 to 1. The Tigers record was 9-3 that season. That year, Dantzler threw for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns. 956 of those yards and 6 of those touchdowns went to future NFL Receiver
Rod Gardner
. Dantzler rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2001, Dantzler became the first player in NCAA
history to pass for more than 2000 yards and rush for more than 1000 yards in a single regular season when ended the year throwing for 2,360 and 21 touchdowns, and rushing for 1,004 yards. He was also a Heisman trophy
candidate that year. In August 2001, Dantzler graduated from Clemson with a degree in marketing. Dantzler was inducted into the Clemson Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Dantzler holds 53 Clemson Football Records.
, on April 29, 2002. Dantzler was in the 2002 Dallas Cowboys
"Hard Knocks
" TV Show, where fans get an inside look at an NFL Team's Training Camp. Dantzler failed to make the 53-man roster for Dallas in 2002, however, he was signed to the Practice Squad. But on November 27, 2002, Dantzler was signed off the Practice Squad to play Running Back
, Free Safety, and Kick Returner
. 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
. Dantzler went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons
(as a running back
, where he rushed for one touchdown in 2003, and had a few reps at Quarterback for the first time in his NFL Career. Near the beginning of the 2004 season, Dantzler was released by the Falcons due to a knee injury. Dantzler, again, signed with the Dallas Cowboys in January 2005, for the second time. In February 2005, The Cowboys sent Dantzler to play for the Frankfurt Galaxy
of NFL Europe
. He played Free Safety for the Galaxy. The Cowboys released him on September 3, 2005.
of the Arena Football League in December 2005. He won a championship in 2006, as the Rush defeated the Orlando Predators
69-61.
(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.
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) is an American Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player who is currently a free agent. He attended Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School, in Orangeburg
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
. Dantzler played College Football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Clemson University
Clemson University
Clemson University is an American public, coeducational, land-grant, sea-grant, research university located in Clemson, South Carolina, United States....
, where he played Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
. Dantzler played for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
and the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
during his NFL Career. Dantzler has also played for The Frankfurt Galaxy
Frankfurt Galaxy
The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...
, of NFL Europe
NFL Europe
NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...
, The Chicago Rush
Chicago Rush
The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...
, of the Arena Football League, And The Harrisburg Stampede
Harrisburg Stampede
The Harrisburg Stampede is a professional indoor football team in American Indoor Football. The team plays its home games at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center....
of the American Indoor Football Association.
College career
Dantzler redshirtedRedshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
for the 1997 season and went on to letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
in 1998, 1999, and 2000. He wore number 11 during the 1998 season. He made his Clemson debut in Week 1 against Furman
Furman University
Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
. However, Dantzler did not start until week 5 against the North Carolina Tar Heels
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
. He only threw for 82 yards with no touchdowns all season. He also only rushed for 84 yards with no touchdowns that season. In 1999, Dantzler became the starter. He threw for 1,506 passing yards, and 9 touchdowns. He also rushed for 723 yards, and 4 touchdowns. In 2000 Dantzler had also changed his number from 11 to 1. The Tigers record was 9-3 that season. That year, Dantzler threw for 1,691 yards and 10 touchdowns. 956 of those yards and 6 of those touchdowns went to future NFL Receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
Rod Gardner
Rod Gardner
Roderick F. Gardner is an American football wide receiver in the National Football League, who is currently a free agent.-College career:...
. Dantzler rushed for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns. In 2001, Dantzler became the first player in NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
history to pass for more than 2000 yards and rush for more than 1000 yards in a single regular season when ended the year throwing for 2,360 and 21 touchdowns, and rushing for 1,004 yards. He was also a Heisman trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
candidate that year. In August 2001, Dantzler graduated from Clemson with a degree in marketing. Dantzler was inducted into the Clemson Football Hall of Fame in 2007. Dantzler holds 53 Clemson Football Records.
National Football League
Dantzler was not selected in the 2002 NFL Draft. However, Dantzler was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, on April 29, 2002. Dantzler was in the 2002 Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
"Hard Knocks
Hard Knocks (TV series)
Hard Knocks is a reality sports documentary television series produced by NFL Films and HBO. The series follows a select National Football League team through its training camp and provides an in-depth perspective of the team's preparation for the upcoming season. The series is described as one of...
" TV Show, where fans get an inside look at an NFL Team's Training Camp. Dantzler failed to make the 53-man roster for Dallas in 2002, however, he was signed to the Practice Squad. But on November 27, 2002, Dantzler was signed off the Practice Squad to play Running Back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, Free Safety, and Kick Returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
. He scored his first National Football League touchdown on December 8, 2002 when he returned a kickoff
Kickoff (American football)
A kickoff is a method of starting a drive in American football and Canadian football. Typically, a kickoff consists of one team – the "kicking team" – kicking the ball to the opposing team – the "receiving team"...
for 84 yards against the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. Dantzler went on to play for the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
(as a running back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...
, where he rushed for one touchdown in 2003, and had a few reps at Quarterback for the first time in his NFL Career. Near the beginning of the 2004 season, Dantzler was released by the Falcons due to a knee injury. Dantzler, again, signed with the Dallas Cowboys in January 2005, for the second time. In February 2005, The Cowboys sent Dantzler to play for the Frankfurt Galaxy
Frankfurt Galaxy
The Frankfurt Galaxy was a professional American football team that originally played in the World League of American Football and later in the resurrected NFL Europe. The team was based in Frankfurt, Germany and played in the Commerzbank-Arena, formerly called the Waldstadion.-History:In 1991, the...
of NFL Europe
NFL Europe
NFL Europe was an American football league which operated in Europe from 1991 until 2007. Backed by the National Football League , the largest professional American football league in the United States, it was founded as the World League of American Football to serve as a type of spring league...
. He played Free Safety for the Galaxy. The Cowboys released him on September 3, 2005.
Arena Football League
Dantzler was signed to a two-year contract with the Chicago RushChicago Rush
The Chicago Rush is an arena football team based in Rosemont, Illinois. It is a member of the Central Division of the National Conference of the Arena Football League. The team was founded in 2001 and is co-owned by Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame player and coach.The Rush have qualified for the...
of the Arena Football League in December 2005. He won a championship in 2006, as the Rush defeated the Orlando Predators
Orlando Predators
The Orlando Predators are an Arena Football League team based in Orlando, Florida that was founded in 1991. Their playoff streak is currently 19 seasons in a row, as of the season, becoming the ArenaBowl champions in 1998 and 2000...
69-61.
All-American Football League
In 2008, Dantzler was drafted and signed by Team Tennessee of the All American Football LeagueAll American Football League
The All American Football League was a proposed professional American football league. The league, which was to combine a professional pay structure with the requirement that all players be college graduates, had originally been scheduled to start in the spring of 2007, but later postponed its...
(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.