Steelers take Michigan DE Woodley in 2nd round

By John Grupp
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Saturday, April 28, 2007


Michigan first-team All-American defensive end LaMarr Woodley used to pretend he was Jerome Bettis while growing up outside Detroit.

"When I was in junior high, I was a big guy playing fullback," Woodley said. "I put on number 36 and called myself the Bus. Ever since then, I've been rolling."

Woodley's next job is trying to be another Joey Porter or Jason Gildon.

The 6-foot-2, 266-pound Woodley joined the team he grew up rooting for, when the Steelers selected the Saginaw, Mich., native with their second-round pick, 46th overall.

Woodley will attempt to make the transition to outside linebacker in the Steelers' 3-4 scheme, following similar -- and successful -- switches by Clark Haggans, Gildon and Porter.

"No big deal at all," Woodley said. "I've got linebacker blood in me."

Woodley is familiar with the position. He played outside linebacker as a sophomore and junior at Michigan, before returning to defensive end this past season. He was among the top pass rushers in the nation with 12 sacks, and he teamed with fellow second-rounder Alan Branch to help the Wolverines lead the nation in rushing defense.

As a rookie, Woodley is expected to provide depth behind starting outside linebackers James Harrison and Haggans, rush the passer on third down and play special teams.

"LaMarr Woodley is going to help us quite a bit," Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler said. "We feel real good about it. We need to have somebody who we can bring in on third down who can spell Clark and James Harrison."

Woodley, 22, is one of the most decorated defensive linemen in Michigan history. He won the Lombardi Award (top lineman) and Ted Hendricks Award (top defensive end), but saw his draft value plummet after an injury-plagued, unproductive offseason.

A hamstring injury forced him to drop out of the Senior Bowl after two days and later prevented him from working out at the NFL Combine. Woodley was a regular on virtually every NFL draft experts' list of players with falling stock.

But Woodley, ranked the No. 2 linebacker in the nation coming out of high school, used his pro day workout at Michigan in the spring to catch the eye of Steelers' coaches.

"Before that day, no one knew what LaMarr Woodley had," Woodley said. "I had to put all my eggs in one basket and show everybody what I can do. Everything happens for a reason. I'm going to go out and make the best of the opportunity that I've got. I'm not going to complain about it. I'm going to go out and compete every day like I would if I were a first-rounder.

"I can come in and contribute, because I am going to come in and work hard right away."

Woodley's days at fullback ended after junior high. He started at left tackle as a freshman for Saginaw High School -- helping them to the state title -- and has been punishing players ever since.

"The first time I asked him what position he wanted to play, he said, 'I just want to hit,'" Saginaw coach Don Durrett said. "Most guys want to catch or run. He wanted to hit and block. When he said that, I knew I had something there. ... You got a good one."


John Grupp can be reached at jgrupp@tribweb.com or (412) 320-7930.