Wesley Woodyard

Wesley "The Lumberjack" Woodyard (born July 21, 1986) is an American football linebacker for the Denver Broncos. He played collegiately for the University of Kentucky, where he helped lead the team to a victory in the Music City Bowl over Clemson in 2006.

High school career
Woodyard was born in LaGrange, Georgia and attended LaGrange High School. He was named the Georgia Class AAA Defensive Player of the Year by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and was first-team all-state as a senior by the Georgia Sportswriters Association and the Journal-Constitution. As a four-year letterman and two-year starter at outside linebacker, the team posted a 51-3 record during his three seasons, winning a pair of state championships.

College career
As a freshman in 2004, Woodyard played in the first 10 games and midway through the season, he switched from Strong safety to Inside linebacker. He recorded 34 tackles for the season and was selected for the Freshman All-SEC Team by SEC coaches. As a sophomore in 2005, he started all 11 games at linebacker. For the season he recorded 100 tackles, seven for-a-loss and four fumble recoveries. He was named second-team Sophomore All-American and All-SEC Honorable mention.

As a junior in 2006, Woodyard started all 13 games at linebacker, leading the team with 122 tackles and tackles-for-loss with 9.5. For the season he earned Defensive MVP honors in the Music City Bowl. As a senior in 2007, he started all 13 games at linebacker, leading the team with 139 tackles. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Professional career
Woodyard went unselected in the 2008 NFL Draft, however he was later signed by the Denver Broncos. As a rookie, he filled in for the injured starter, D. J. Williams. Woodyard recorded 10 solo tackles in his first NFL start against the Cleveland Browns on November 6, 2008.