NFL DRAFT: Andre opens up about draft day disappointment (05/09)

The News-Enterprise

The Associated Press

Former North Hardin High School and University of Kentucky standout quarterback Andre Woodson was selected by the New York Giants with the 32nd pick of the sixth round of the NFL Draft on April 27.

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LEXINGTON — Disappointed. Upset. Confused. Those were some of the emotions Andre Woodson has experienced since being drafted with the 198th overall selection in the NFL Draft by the New York Giants on April 27 — about 100 picks later than he was projected to go.  For the past week, the former North Hardin High School and University of Kentucky standout quarterback has been mum about his sixth-round selection, but after having time to get over his initial reaction Woodson opened up to the public Tuesday. “It was very disappointing because I was informed I was going to go in the second round the entire time,” Woodson told WKYT following a speaking engagement at Lexington Henry Clay High School. “I really don’t understand why I went as low as I did, but things happen. … You just really have to be positive and use all this as motivation to prove to people that you should have been a top two-round pick.” Woodson admitted that at first he wasn’t very happy to be selected by the Giants, who already have four quarterbacks under contract, but after thinking about the situation more he is now excited and anxious to go to training camp in New York. Woodson will first head up for rookie mini camp, which begins today and runs through Sunday before going back for another mini camp, which could include veterans, on June 11-13. “I really got over it just thinking about (how) I have been blessed to still play in the NFL and I was still drafted and a lot of players weren’t,” Woodson said. “Even though I was disappointed in what round I went, the positive side was I did get drafted, a team was interested and I can still prove people wrong that I should have been picked a lot higher than I was. “Hopefully a situation or a chance comes up where I get on the field and I do show people that I do belong in this league and I do belong on the field.” For Woodson to get that chance, he will likely have to outperform former Kentucky teammate Jared Lorenzen, who was the Giants’ No. 1 backup quarterback last season. Eli Manning — last season’s Super Bowl MVP — is the Giants’ starting quarterback, while former No. 1 draft pick David Carr and former South Carolina standout Anthony Wright are set to back him up. At least one quarterback is expected to be released from the team, which can only activate 53 players in all. “I guess the battle started Sunday when they drafted him,” Lorenzen told The New York Post. “Hopefully they’ll take me to camp.” Woodson spent one season learning under Lorenzen while he was a red shirt freshman and Lorenzen was a senior, before going on to break many of the records Lorenzen set. “You don’t ever really want to compete against someone you went to college with and you learned from,” Woodson said. “It’s a weird situation and I have always respected him and the way that he helped me become a better player. It’s just going to be tough competing against him, but it’s kind of the name of the game.” But it won’t be the first time Woodson has had to fight his way into the lineup. After a mediocre sophomore season at Kentucky, in which Woodson threw as many interceptions as touchdowns, it was unclear if he would be replaced as he entered his junior season. However, Woodson quickly proved that he deserved his spot atop the depth chart as he had a breakout junior season, passing for 3,515 yards and 31 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions while completing 63 percent of his throws. He capped the campaign by leading the Wildcats to a victory in the Music City Bowl before improving his numbers even further his senior season, when he once again led Kentucky to a Music City Bowl win. Now, Woodson is once again looking to prove wrong his doubters. “There are always ways of bouncing back and overcoming obstacles and right now is a big challenge for me,” he said. “You always have to look at it in a positive way, and I am trying to do a great job of that right now and just getting myself ready to go up to New York and do some great things.”