Danny Woodhead hasn't had the look of the most imposing player wearing a green or white practice jersey as the Jets rookies and free agents have been participating in this weekend's minicamp at Weeb Ewbank Hall at Hofstra. But he shouldn't be counted out despite his 5-foot-7 1/2, 195-pound frame. That's a direct warning from Woodhead's coach, regarding the dynamic running back from tiny Division II Chadron State College in Nebraska. Despite his small stature, Woodhead is hoping to become another NFL success story, like Jets great Wayne Chrebet. "I'm telling you, the teams that passed on him made a mistake," Chadron State coach Bill O'Boyle told The Post by phone from Nebraska. "You're not going to find a better athlete. He's one of those guys that, when you see him in practice, every day he's going to do something that's going to make you shake your head. He's one of those kids." The numbers tell a good part of the story. Woodhead finished his collegiate career as the NCAA's all-time leading rusher with 7,962 yards. In 2006, he rushed for 2,756 yards, an NCAA record for any level. In the NFL, running backs are measured by how many 100-yard rushing games they have had. In his career, Woodhead had 19 200-yard games, averaged 181 yards per game and scored 109 touchdowns. Nevertheless, as the NFL Draft unfolded last weekend and 252 players were picked by the 32 NFL teams, Woodhead's name never was called. But he's OK about that. "I've had so many people doubt me, this really isn't something new to me," Woodhead said. "The guy's just been doubted so much it just makes me sick," O'Boyle said. "The more he's doubted the more he's going to step up. He's one of those guys. I talked to him (before he left for New York), and he was going in there with the right frame of mind. He's got nothing to lose. He's going in with a chip on his shoulder. "He's always had that. He might not admit it, but I saw it when we played Division I teams. There was just something in him that he was go out, and he was going to show the people that, 'Hey, you guys made a huge mistake.' " O'Boyle is right in that when you speak to Woodhead his humble nature doesn't make one believe he has a chip on his shoulder. "I'm just excited to get the chance," Woodhead said. "I'm just going to work hard and not change who I am." Asked if he plays the game with a chip on his shoulder, Woodhead said, "I don't know if it was a chip, but I knew I could play the game. I really believe I can play at a really high level." When O'Boyle was told Woodhead doesn't sound like a kid who has a chip on his shoulder, he said that's not the case. "Don't let him fool you," O'Boyle said. "You're not going to find a more competitive kid. He reminds me so much when he runs of Barry Sanders. He's a slasher that can go lateral just as fast as he does straight ahead." Woodhead also doesn't dwell on his NCAA rushing record. "The record has worn off," Woodhead said. "If you ask any NFL player, they're not going to care what I did in college. This is a new start." Coach Eric Mangini doesn't sound like he's counting Woodhead out because of his size or the fact he played in a Division II program. "When you have that kind of production that's hard to do whatever level you're at," Mangini said. "He's a little smaller than (Jets 6-foot-3 1/2, 264-pound first-round draft pick Vernon) Gholston," Mangini said jokingly. "Leon (Washington, the Jets RB) isn't the biggest guy to get off the bus. I've been around a lot of players people may consider undersized who have become incredibly effective. "He has a great story. This is an excellent opportunity for him."
It's rare when you find anyone voluntarily leaving Miami to come to Staten Island, but that's exactly what Al Phillips did when he left his South Florida hometown and enrolled at Wagner College to play football. "Wagner was my only offer coming out of high school, so I took it and ran with it," Phillips said. Phillips, a 5-11, 195-pound free agent defensive back competing in the Jets' rookie minicamp this weekend, made the most of his experience on Staten Island, last season leading the Northeast Conference in interceptions with seven and passes defended with 18. Phillips, who recorded 17 career interceptions at Wagner, also returned kickoffs, averaging 27.2 yards and punts (11.2-yard average). It was a conversation with Jets defensive backs coach Jerome Henderson that swayed Phillips to sign with the Jets. "He seemed real genuine and he said I have a chance to compete for a spot," Phillips said. "I think I can bring a lot to the team. I can return kicks and cover." One interested observer of Phillips' game while he was in college was former Jets head coach Rich Kotite, who played his college ball at Wagner. "He would come to the practices sometimes and talk to us about working hard and playing hard," Phillips said. * The Jets have three Hofstra players in minicamp as unsigned tryouts trying to follow the Wayne Chrebet path to making the team: WR Charles Sullivan, RB Kareem Huggins and G Shawn McMackin. "We've had good success with a couple of Hofstra players," Eric Mangini said. "Every year, it seems like a player goes into the league from [Hofstra] and does very well." Sullivan, a Nanuet native who went to St. Joseph Regional High School in Montvale, N.J., is the career reception and receiving-yardage leader at Hofstra with 238 catches for 2,869 yards. He capped his career with 86 catches for 991 yards last season, setting the school single-season mark for receptions. Zach Catanese, a former Arizona State S, was already preparing for life without the NFL before the Jets invited him to the minicamp. He had been working out for the Canadian Football League's Saskatchewan Roughriders.
The long, impatient wait to return to the football field ended yesterday for the Jets' two first-round draft picks. Since former Ohio State defensive end/linebacker Vernon Gholston and Purdue tight end Dustin Keller played their last college games, they've been poked, prodded, overanalyzed, praised and criticized by some so-called experts and some people who've never even seen them play a down of football. Gholston, picked No. 6 overall in the draft, and Keller, picked 30th overall after the Jets traded up to get him, heard their fair share of criticism by the inundation of pre-draft pundits. For each player, there was a specific bugaboo they heard over and over again. For Gholston, the phrase "took plays and games off," words that painted him as a player who mailed it in at times and lacked effort, resonated like a broken alarm clock. For Keller, his suspect blocking ability was picked and nitpicked until the bone had no more meat on it. Beginning with yesterday's Jet rookie minicamp, which runs through tomorrow at Hofstra, it was a chance for those players to at least begin to dispel the doubts. Gholston's criticism comes from the fact he recorded 11 of his 14 sacks last season in four games. He had some statistically quiet games with no sacks and few tackles that left some with the impression that he somehow wasn't playing hard in those games. One of Gholston's quietest games - no sacks and one tackle - came against Keller's Purdue team. "It's their job to pick all the guys apart on things, and in this case, that was what they labeled me with," Gholston said. "I'm with the Jets now, and as long they know me well and know what I'm about, that's all that matters. I'm a team-oriented player. All I can control is to come here and contribute, and if we win everyone is going to be quiet." Jet coach Eric Mangini recalled the first time he saw Gholston on tape, and he didn't see a player who was dogging it on occasion. "I was on the treadmill pretty soon after the season watching tape of him," Mangini said yesterday. "I remember thinking, 'This could be the sixth pick in the draft.' I remember going to my office afterward and looking the guy up on our [scouting computer] system. "I liked his strength setting the edge, his ability to rush the passer with not only the number of sacks, but the amount of times he was able to affect the quarterback. Things like that kept popping off the screen." As for Keller, moments after he was drafted, ESPN ran a graphic detailing his strengths and weaknesses. Under the weakness category, the graphic said, "Won't block," as if Keller refused to block in college. When asked about it yesterday, Keller said he knew about the graphic because his brothers saw it on TV and told him. "Some people may perceive me one way, and if it's in a negative way, I've just got to go out there and prove those people wrong," Keller said. "It's not that I have a negative attitude toward it. It's kind of positive reinforcement. "My brothers saw [the ESPN graphic] and they were mad. But I kind of take it for what was said and try to work on that." Mangini said, "Blocking, to me, is a skill set that you can get a lot better at. Some things you can't get better at. For example, it's hard to get faster. He'll keep working at it and make a lot of strides." That, of course, is what getting back onto the football field is about for all of these NFL newcomers.
Chris Fry created this group on SportProjections.com. 
