Richard Wood (American football)
| No. 58, 54 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Linebacker | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | May 31, 1953 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Elizabeth, New Jersey | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| College: | USC | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1975 / Round: 3 / Pick: 68 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||
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| Games played - started: | 146 - 94 |
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| interceptions: | 9 |
| fumbles recovered: | 6 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Richard Marlon Wood (born May 31, 1953) is a former American football All-American linebacker who played for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was the team captain and leading tackler of the Buccaneers' early teams, coached by John McKay.
Wood played high school football for Thomas Jefferson High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Wood attended the University of Southern California as a student and football player. There he was a three-time All-American for the University of Southern California Trojans during the 1972-74 seasons. The Trojans football team won two National Championships during Wood's years there. He was a modest-sized player for an NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly NCAA Division I-A) linebacker, but made up for his lack of size with lightning speed, stamina, and hard-hitting tackles.
His trademark Batman "band of black" painted across his nose and around both eyes, as those eyes peered out from his helmet, was celebrated by his teammates, the sports press, and Trojan football fans, and they were a gesture to intimidate opponent's linemen and running backs.
Wood came to the varsity as a sophomore in 1972, and he not only led the undefeated Trojans in tackles, but also surpassed the total of his closest teammate by 30 tackles. He was given the responsibility of calling his team's defensive signals.
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