Not even the greatest player in modern Michigan football history knew where his son was headed.
Charles Woodson, who spoke on WTKA while he was in town on Thursday, June 18, to help raise money for the Charles Woodson Clinical Research Fund at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital event, met with a group of reporters at the Kensington Hotel in Ann Arbor and said he was almost certain his son, Charles Woodson Jr., was going to another school.
To his relief, Woodson Jr., a three-star defensive back out of Lake Nona, Florida, did commit to U-M on May 15.
“Absolutely [there was doubt at one point], I was 90% sure he was going somewhere else,” Woodson said. “It just so happened one day he came downstairs and was like, ‘I’m going to Michigan,’ and I was just like, ‘OK, let me know when you’re going to commit.’
“It’s funny because when I thought he was going to commit, he didn’t. And then I was like, ‘Oh [expletive], what’s going on?’ But he ended up committing, and now I’m just excited. Still has work to do … he’ll be a senior in high school, so the focus is to be the best player he can be this year.
The 5-foot-10½, 173-pound defensive back out of Orlando plays both safety and nickel for his high school and was originally recruited by the previous staff in Ann Arbor. When Kyle Whittingham was hired in late December following Sherrone Moore’s firing, he and defensive coordinator Jay Hill continued to prioritize the legacy recruit.
On one visit, Woodson was walking around the facilities and noticed the “legacy wall” at Schembechler Hall, where there’s a large shrine to key figures in program history like Desmond Howard, Tom Harmon and, of course, Woodson.
It went up in 2023 under former coach Jim Harbaugh, but this was the first time Woodson truly noticed it.
“I don’t know if it was there before or somewhere, I don’t know, but I happened to look at it and it really caught my attention,” Woodson said. “I was just like, ‘Man, that would be awesome for him to commit and be that possibility to have my picture and his picture up there, that would be everything.'”
Woodson said he was “trying to contain himself” throughout the process. He would let his son know “what Michigan has to offer” since he has firsthand knowledge but also “tried not to be too pushy with it.” But once it was clear that Hill had a multiple defense that could use the pieces at his disposal in multiple ways, that was a major selling point.
Woodson Jr. had 73 tackles, eight pass breakups, two interceptions and one fumble recovery on defense last season for 8-4 Lake Nona and also returned one kickoff for a touchdown on special teams.
“Having those conversations, got a chance to meet with coach Hill, the D-coordinator and really liked his overall philosophy of the game,” Woodson said. “That to me is the best part of it because I know my son playing under him, he’s going to play with a coach that’s not stuck in one way of doing things.
“Whatever the game calls for, that’s what we’re going to do, and I love that part of it.”
Woodson spoke with the Free Press last December just days after Whittingham was announced as the head man, less than three weeks after Moore was fired and subsequently arrested. It was the latest black eye on the program Woodson has cared about for three decades, one which followed a pair of NCAA investigations, numerous show-cause penalties, probation and multiple staffer firings.
Of course, there was the height of the program from 2021-23 which included three straight Big Ten titles and a national championship, but in the moment under the sun on that Florida day, some of that felt much further removed than just a few years.
Now, Woodson feels there’s a new chapter being written in Michigan history and that the Wolverines hired the right man for the job to do just that.
“It’s hard to watch − I mean, it’s your school,” Woodson said of the fallout. “When you hear things happen to other peoples school you kind of look at it and poke fun, but then when it’s your school, it’s like, oh [expletive], because the egg is on your face and everybody is talking about you.
“But I would say hats off to [athletic director] Warde [Manuel]. I know he was getting pulled in a bunch of different ways … I know Warde was under pressure to go one way, but he waited until where [Whittingham left Utah] then, boom, we get our man. I think it was the right deal, but yeah, it was tough for Michigan to go through what they went through at that point in time.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan legend Charles Woodson was ‘90% sure’ son was going elsewhere
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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By Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
