Free Republic

Putting freedom above football By Michelle Malkin   ·   December 27, 2006 08:39 PM The Baltimore Sun publishes a deeply inspiring story about a young college football player who puts service first. Wow: There were signs. They were small signs, but they were there, and they suggested that Maryland guard Donnie Woods was serious about quitting football to defend his country. An American flag hung from his locker, and he kept another in his room. Favorite movies? United 93 and World Trade Center. The hunter green camouflage Terps football hat he always wore. His criminal justice major. Nobody, though - not...

Maryland offensive lineman Donnie Woods is healthy, recovered from a head injury that required him to be airlifted from the playing field earlier this season. He remains on track to graduate with a criminal justice degree thanks to a full-ride scholarship earned with his aptitude for a game he started playing at age 7. He smiles easily under a mop of scruffy dark hair and has a face that looks as if it hasn't seen a razor since spring camp. And unlike where he's going, nobody will yell at him for it. It's one of the perks that comes with...