Woodward was larger than life

Woodard, who terrorized Southwest Conference defenses from 1975 to 1979, died in Arlington at age 69, according to his family, A&M said in a news release.

Few players captured the imagination of college football fans like Woodard, who was inducted into the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018.

Woodard, known as “Big Woo,” passed for 2,911 yards and 35 touchdowns.

“I don’t know how much George weighs,” Bellard told Sports Illustrated during his playing days. “All I know is that he weighs more than he did when he was born, but less than King Kong.”

Former Texas Tech coach Steve Sloan said Woodard isn't a fullback, “he's a Winnebago.”

While at Van Vleck High School, Woodard won district in the 100-yard dash and shot put, a rare combination.

He was an instant success at Texas A&M, setting the school's freshman rushing record with 604 yards, which included 100-yard games against LSU, Baylor, SMU and Rice, and helping the 1975 team to a No. 2 ranking Associated Press Reach the top 25 and secure a share of the SWC title.

Woodard had 1,000-yard rushing seasons as a sophomore and junior. Woodard had 1,153 yards with a school record and SWC-best 17 touchdowns in 1976 when he helped the Aggies reach the Sun Bowl. He added 1,107 yards in 1977 when the team went to the Bluebonnet Bowl. A freak injury kept him out of action in 1978, and as a fifth-grader in 1979 he was limited to just 47 rushing yards.

Woodard's weight was always part of the conversation.

“Our athletic department did a test and dunked George in a tank of water,” said legendary A&M athletic trainer Billy Pickard. “They found that he had only 3% more body fat than a normal person of his stature. They told us they didn’t think George would ever get much below 260.”

Woodard's name is scattered throughout A&M's record book. He had 39 runs against Kansas State in 1976 and also 39 against Michigan in 1977. He had 239 runs in 1976 and 245 in 1977, with both still in the top 10. He had 16 100-yard rushing games.

Woodard was drafted by New Orleans in the 11th round of the 1980 NFL Draft.