Raiders legend Charles Woodson was recruited to the University of Michigan by a coaching staff he never got to play for. A sudden regime change elevated Lloyd Carr to head coach and put Vance Bedford in charge of Woodson’s development.
Woodson met Michigan’s new defensive backs coach before the 1995 season and came away with a distinct impression.
“I thought he was a cocky, arrogant young coach,” Woodson said. “He reminded me a lot of myself. That’s probably why we related to each other.”
Woodson was the best prep football player in the state of Ohio that year, a supreme talent who knew exactly how good he was.