Danny Woodhead Is a Big Talent in a Small Package Built for another position, cornerback or placekicker, Danny Woodhead takes handoffs from Tom Brady, catches passes out of the backfield, returns kickoffs and allows Coach Bill Belichick yet another snicker at the expense of Rex Ryan. Remember when Ryan and the Jets waived the 5-foot-maybe-8-inch, possibly 200-pound Woodhead in September 2010, after signing him as an undrafted free agent out of little Chadron State College two years earlier? It was then speculated that Belichick, master of reconnaissance, was merely interested in pumping Woodhead for information for that week's showdown against the Jets. Inactive that week, Woodhead proceeded to gain 926 yards in 14 games for the 2010 Patriots, was re-signed to a two-year contract and sat down for an interview Wednesday at the Patriots" Super Bowl hotel to insist that he never once considered himself to be Belichick's tool of subterfuge. No more, at least, than he ever succumbed to the notion that his dream of a career in football was actually more of a fantasy. Woodhead said he did not think that when he wasn't offered a scholarship to play football for his beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers or from any other major program, or when he went undrafted after smashing N.C.A.A. rushing records, or when Ryan and the Jets cut him loose after 15 carries and 8 receptions during the 2009 season. "People always ask me, "If you could change anything, what would it be?" " Woodhead said, his shaggy hair poking free from his wool hat. "I always say: "I wouldn't change anything. It's all been part of my journey." " Woodhead will not be the only undrafted player in Sunday's Super Bowl rematch between the Patriots and the Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium. He will be far from the most accomplished, considering that he plays behind BenJarvus Green-Ellis in the New England backfield and the breakout season that Victor Cruz has had for the Giants. But every Super Bowl brings with it a name or two with a college next to it that makes us think, "He played where?" In Woodhead's case, it was Chadron State, a small-town school of about 2,800 students in the northwestern corner of Nebraska. "We got a lot of rural kids, off the ranch," said Brad Smith, the athletic director at Chadron State who recruited Woodhead out of North Platte (Neb.) High School, made him the program's first full scholarship player and coached him in his freshman season. Here is one place where the "Rudy" (of Notre Dame screen lore) simile fails to hold up: Woodhead may have been too small for major college recruiters - much less N.F.L. scouts - but he was a superior athlete, a track and basketball star in high school, with enough hops to throw down a dunk. "Went to one of his high school basketball games when I was recruiting him and if he scored 28 or 29 points, 20 of them were penetrating to the basket because the guys guarding him just couldn't keep up," Smith said in a telephone interview. He was just too fast. However disappointed that Nebraska contacted him once and never called back, Woodhead chose Division II Chadron State not so much as a consolation prize but as an opportunity to reunite with his older brother, Ben, a wide receiver. In his first game, Woodhead ran for a 16-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown and moved past two upperclassmen into the starting lineup by the following week. "I didn't even have to say anything to them, they approached me and said, "Coach, you've got to play this kid," " Smith said. That's how obvious it was. Woodhead spent four years chewing up yardage in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference against the likes of Western New Mexico, Colorado School of Mines and Chadron's intrastate rival, Nebraska-Kearney. There were few star perks, no glamorous bowl games and a lot of 10- to 12-hour bus rides. At least there was a pathway to the pros, walked by Don Beebe as a third-round pick (82nd over all) by the Buffalo Bills in 1989. Beebe went on to play in six Super Bowls, winning one with Green Bay. Back in Chadron, they named the small football stadium after him. He, in turn, reached out when Woodhead was a senior, telling him, "I did it, so can you." "I don't know if playing at a smaller school has motivated me more," said Woodhead, who often cities his faith and the ability not to look back as he runs forward. It was just the fact that I wanted to be the best I could be, big school or smaller school. Who knows what would have happened if I had gone to a bigger school? He might have had to beg some dismissive coach for a spare minute. If there was one true "Rudy" moment for Woodhead on the way to his first Super Bowl, it was early last season during a practice when Ivan Fears, the Patriots" running backs coach, wanted to see what he was made of. "We had the linebackers blitzing and you could see he wanted to light them up, wanted the contact," Fears said. He's a little guy with a big heart. If you say to him, "You can't," he's going to tell you, "How do you know?" " Chances are, Belichick will know enough not to risk Woodhead's having to protect Brady on obvious passing downs against the Giants" oppressive rush, but he may well be of value in the Patriots" hurry-up offense given his ability to catch and run. First things first: Woodhead got a call from Smith in Chadron on Tuesday night, and his old mentor offered this advice. "Look around this week, take it all in and keep it there," he said. You made it to the Super Bowl.