Rod Woodson is the career leader in interception returns for touchdowns and interception return yardage. He was the 1993 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, an 11-time Pro Bowler, a Super Bowl champion and one of five active players to be named to the NFL’s 75th anniversary team in 1994.
Still, somehow, he was surprised to learn that he was selected as part of the 2009 NFL Hall of Fame class as a first-ballot entrant.
“You just never know. When you get 44 writers in a room who have never played football, you don’t know what you’re gonna get,” Woodson, 44, told The Post. “It’s a huge honor. I wasn’t gonna take it for granted, and when I got the call I was relieved and excited.”
Woodson, out of Purdue, was taken by the Steelers with the 10th overall pick in the 1987 NFL Draft. He spent 10 of his 17 years in the NFL playing all-world cornerback for Pittsburgh.
The second chapter of his career included stops in San Francisco, Baltimore and Oakland, completing the transition with a move to safety before retiring in 2004.
“For a player in the NFL, the ultimate individual honor for a pro player is to make the Hall of Fame,” Woodson said. “Just to put my name in the category with Gale Sayers, Joe Namath, [John] Elway … all those guys. It’s pretty amazing to say that I’m one of the best players to play in the National Football League.”
Woodson will be inducted with the 2009 class — Bruce Smith, Derrick Thomas, Randall McDaniel, “Bullet” Bob Hayes and Bills owner Ralph Wilson — tonight at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. The Hall of Fame game between the Bills and Titans kicks off the preseason tomorrow night.
Woodson took his time while searching for words appropriate of the once-unfathomable honor. Though elated and proud, he said eternal enshrinement was never that important to him.
“Honestly, I never thought about it. If I didn’t make the Hall of Fame, I would hope my wife would still love me and my kids would accept me as a father,” Woodson said with a hint of laughter. “I guess it’s really kind of like icing on the cake.”
He remains involved with his two great loves — family and football — by helping coach his son’s high school football team in northern California. He has been an analyst with the NFL Network for the past five years, but he has turned down opportunities to coach in the NFL and doesn’t see himself going that route anytime soon.
