Jonathan Woodard excited for new opportunity with Riders

Jonathan Woodard’s long journey has lead him to the top of the CFL’s 2021 sack leaderboard after two weeks.

Woodard, who is playing his first season in Canada with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, had three sacks and a forced fumble in the team’s 30-8 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, making the defensive end the CFL’s sack leader. It was the first time a Rider had three sacks in a game since Charleston Hughes accomplished it on July 20, 2019, against the B.C. Lions.

Woodard was named one of the CFL’s top performers for week 2.

“I had a lot of family and friends reach out and congratulate me on my performance,” Woodard said. “It feels good just to have that many people supporting me and watch me play.”

It has been a whirlwind few months for the defensive end. Just weeks before making the journey to Saskatchewan for training camp, he married his wife, Amy, on June 26.

“It was small. We were able to virtual for friends and everyone who couldn’t make it but everybody who was there was immediate family and it was amazing,” Woodard said.

And after getting a chance to spend some time with his new wife, Woodard was on a plane to the Land of Living Skies.

Woodard making a pro roster wasn’t something many expected of him coming out of high school. The Brentwood, Tennessee-product, who was also a track and field athlete, was a zero-star recruit.

“I wasn’t highly recruited at all. I used a recruiting service to get my name out there,” Woodard said.

Woodard ended up going to the University of Central Arkansas, where he played 46 games.

His career there would lead to the Jacksonville Jaguars taking him in the seventh round (226th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft.

But after achieving his dream of getting drafted to the NFL, just days into his first mini-camp lead to a season-ending Achilles tear.

“It was one of the tougher things I’ve been through because I just came off the high of being drafted,” Woodard said. “That’s the first serious injury I ever had and that rehab was really tough but it challenged me and I think it helped me grow and I learned a lot from the experience.”

In 2017, Woodard was waived by the Jaguars and spent 2017 on the Atlanta Falcons practice roster. The following year, he signed with the Miami Dolphins where he spent the next two seasons before briefly joining the Buffalo Bills.

And then his football journey brought him to Saskatchewan in 2021. He admitted that prior to joining the Riders, he doubted he would ever get another chance.

“There was a lot of times over the past year or so where I kind of wondered if I would take the field again, if I would experience all the things I am experiencing now,” Woodard said.

“(My wife and I) were kind of just wondering if this was going to be something that was going to happen and she was always in my corner and encouraging me and that meant the world to me.”
Woodard will look to continue to improve as he grows more accustomed to the Canadian game and add to his sack total Saturday.

The Riders (2-0) host the Ottawa Redblacks (1-0) at Mosaic Stadium with kickoff at 5 p.m.

The Green Zone pre-game show gets underway at 3 p.m.

Notes: Defensive end AC Leonard (Hip) was limited in practice but is expected to suit up for the game … Slotback Paul McRoberts is expected to dress for his first CFL game on Saturday. This is due to the injury to wide receiver Shaq Evans (broken foot) … Fullback Albert Awachie (ankle) once again missed practice and is expected to miss Saturday’s game.