Sept. 12, 2016
It is not uncommon for an athlete to pick up a nickname by his teammates or from other sources. And for former First Team All-SEC Vanderbilt football player Will Wolford (1982-85) his moniker was “The Tractor” The offensive tackle was known for plowing down opposing defensive players.
“That was strictly from the sports information department,” Wolford said recently from his Louisville home. “That was more of a marketing deal than anything else. They just tried to get my name out there with something catchy to have people write about me. I had very little to do with that. There is a promotional photograph of me sitting on a tractor on Dudley Field. That was the first time in my life I’d been on a tractor. But it sounded good and I guess it helped me get some publicity.”
Wolford was born in Louisville, Ky and graduated from St. Xavier High School where he was First Team All-State in football and an Honorable Mention All-American as a senior. He was also named All-District in basketball and was a member of the track team. In choosing his college football destiny, Wolford had help.
“It really came down to Kentucky and Vanderbilt,” said Wolford. “Notre Dame was in the running then they pulled their scholarship before the signing day. I didn’t visit many places because I was playing basketball and didn’t want to miss any time or games. Mickey Jacobs was the guy that recruited me to Vanderbilt.
“The deciding factor was my future wife who I had been dating since high school. We went to different high schools in Louisville. I went to an all boys’ catholic high school and she went to an all girls’ catholic high school. We wanted to go to school together. She graduated at the very top of her class and pretty much decided that we would go to Vanderbilt rather than Kentucky.”
George MacIntyre was the Commodores head coach entering his fourth season in 1982. Vanderbilt was coming off a 4-7 (SEC 1-5) season the previous year. Not expecting to play much as a true freshman, Wolford became a starting tackle on the Commodores’ offensive line and earned Second Team All-Freshman by Football News magazine.
“I was sixth on the depth chart at the beginning of training camp,” Wolford said. “There were a lot of injuries in front of me. I got the opportunity and things just worked out. I was not supposed to be a starter that year and thought I would probably be red-shirted. It was wild. I played against a lot of future NFL players and first-round picks. It was a baptism by fire because I never played in the offensive line. I played defense in high school.”
In Wolford’s freshman year, Vanderbilt had an historic season that was capped by an invitation to the Hall of Fame Bowl in Birmingham. The season was highlighted with a victory over 14th ranked Florida and Tennessee. The Commodores were (8-4, SEC, 4-2) with a season-ending bowl loss to Air Force (36-28).
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I was just young and along for the ride,” said Wolford. “As inexperienced as I was, I was just happy to get from one place to the next much less week to week. It flew by for a wild ride. That team had a deep senior leadership that did a great job. We had Whit Taylor, Allama Mathews and Joe Staley as our captains.”
In Wolford’s sophomore season the Commodores slipped to 2-9 (SEC, 0-6) losing the final seven games to end the season. In the weight room the 6-foot-6, 275-pounder could handle 634 lbs in the squat, 430 lbs in the bench press and 303 lbs in the power clean event. Wolford had key blocks on five touchdown runs that season including two against Tennessee.
That season was very disappointing,” Wolford said. “We had high hopes going into that year. It just didn’t work out. We found some incredible ways to lose games. We were in a lot of those games, but just couldn’t finish. For me, as a player, it was strange because I played a lot better in my second year when the team didn’t win than my first year when we won. We lost too many experienced players which led to the losses.
The 1984 season was strange as the Commodores began the season 4-0 with a win over Alabama (30-21) in Tuscaloosa. That was the first victory over the Tide since 1969. Vanderbilt would lose the next 7-of-8 games to conclude the season at 5-6 (SEC, 2-4). Wolford is remembered for a crushing downfield block that wiped out an Ole Miss defender to spring Carl Woods loose on 16-yard touchdown play after Woods caught a short swing pass in 37-20 win over the Rebels.
“We were 4-0 and ranked in the Top 20 having just beaten ’Bama,” Wolford said. “I remember having a couple of nice blocks on a counter play and a screen that helped out and I made some nice hits. To get off to that great of a start and then to fall off down the stretch was sickening. To beat Alabama down there was certainly the highlight of my football career at Vanderbilt.
“The very next week after beating Alabama we played Tulane and they were 0-4. They ended up beating us on the last play of the game a Hail Mary type of thing. It was a game that we played terribly. We were in a position to win and they make the big play at the end to get it done.
“It seemed like the wheels fell off at that point. We had so much going on for us and then to lose to a team we had no business losing to. We put up some good numbers offensively and still found a way to lose like setting records for turnovers, but still had chances.”
In Wolford’s senior season the Commodores were 3-7-1 (SEC, 1-4-1). He was named a pre-season All-American and First Team All-SEC. Wolford played in the Senior Bowl and the Blue-Gray Classic.
“The tie was against Georgia (13-13),” Wolford said. “We had a change to win that one at the very end with a field goal that wasn’t much longer than an extra point. Here we are playing Georgia whistle to whistle and again we didn’t take care of the games we should have won. I remember my last game playing at Tennessee where we lost (30-0) that wasn’t a very close game at all.
“There was a screen play where the ball got batted up in the air that I actually caught as a tackle. I started running and ran out bounds. I think if I’d stayed in bounds I could have gone a long way. I ended up running over Johnny Majors (UT head coach), which was kind of funny. That was the only highlight of the game for me. The rest of it we took on the chin pretty good.”
At the end of that season, Watson Brown who had been the head coach at Rice University replaced MacIntyre.
“Coach Mac was a father figure,” Wolford said. “He was very consistent and fair with the way he handled us. I coach high school football right now and I think of Coach Mac and a lot and of the former coaches I had over the years. I try to handle the kids the best way I can. I take the best from the guys that taught me and Coach Mac taught me a great deal.”
Wolford was asked about the toughest players in faced as an offensive tackle in the SEC and most memorable blocks.
I remember playing guard as junior going up against Reggie White,” Wolford said about the Tennessee Vol. “It took our entire team to go up against Reggie White. Reggie wasn’t that great of a football player until his last year in college when he kind of figured things out. On one play he was rushing the center when I was pass blocking and there wasn’t anybody for me to pick up on a blitz.
“So I was free to tee off and hit him as hard as I could. As a guard you usually get that opportunity a couple of times every game. At that time I was usually successful and I hit Reggie. It was like hitting a solid wall. I think I hurt myself more than I hurt him. I’m not sure he felt it. Then I had a chance to play against him at the next level. He was truly one of the greats.
“Against Georgia, Jimmy Payne and Freddie Gilbert were both first and second-round picks in the NFL. To play against those types of guys in my freshman year was amazing. I didn’t play very well, but the guys around were so good it enabled me to get it done. Then fast forward to my senior year where I did play pretty well. I played against Jon Hand and Larry Roberts of Alabama and they would rotate every three or four plays.
“Hand was a first-round pick and Roberts was a second-round pick in the NFL draft. You go through the SEC and play against the very best. I was fortunate to do that because it helped my career personally.”
Wolford was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first-round with the 20th selection overall in the 1986 NFL draft. On draft day, Buffalo made a trade for the 20th pick. They had already picked at No.16 (running back Ronnie Harmon) and traded two later picks in the draft to the 49ers for the 20th spot.
“I was over the top happy,” said Wolford. “I was the last one to really believe I was a first-round pick. I had plenty of people telling me that. I was like ‘really?’ At that time there was not an Internet for information. What I got was word of mouth. A lot of times when people tell you something that’s too good to be true it is not. I thought I’d be drafted in the second-round.
“Back then you literally had to buy a magazine to see what people were really saying about the pre-draft. Most people had me in the second-round. I did have a scout from the 49ers tell me when I was in the Senior Bowl that I was going to be a first-round selection. He was the first one to tell me that. At that point Buffalo was not very good at all. I was so happy to go in the first-round.”
Wolford was asked about the biggest adjustment going from being a college football player to an NFL player.
“It is similar from high school to college as far as the speed of the game,” said Wolford. “Every once in a while in college, like playing against Alabama, you are playing against first and second-round picks, which is rare. Many times you play against a team that had four or five standouts. In the NFL everybody is a standout. Every single play is a battle.
“My rookie year was very similar to my first year at Vanderbilt. I got thrown in there. I didn’t think I played very well. If I hadn’t been a high draft pick I probably wouldn’t have been on the field. At that point I was very late to mature. I was not shaving yet and was 21 years old. It was a very difficult year because when you combine it with a losing record and you watch players get fired week in and week out because that’s what they do in the NFL when you are losing.
“Physically, there were days when I’d wake up and I didn’t care what they were paying me. I’m not doing this very much longer. I had body splints much less shin splints. I was able to survive that first season and I played a lot better the next year.”
In 1986, Wolford’s rookie season, the Bills were 4-12 in fourth place of the AFC East. Wolford started all 16 games. Hank Bullough who was replaced by Marv Levy during the first week in November coached them. That coaching change would eventually place Buffalo into a dynasty team and Levy into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“It was a night and day change when Marv took over,” said Wolford. “When Hank Bullough was our coach, I felt like I was living in the movie “North Dallas Forty.” It was very strange. We had some veteran players who had been around for a while. They did not care for Coach Bullough at all. And it didn’t look like he cared for them either. I had never seen coaches and players cursing each other out, but that was taking place.
“We were getting killed on the field and practicing hours on end. Some of the toughest practices I had ever seen were taken during that season. Coach Bullough was not happy with the way the team was playing. Game day was like a day off because we were so exhausted from all of the practicing during the week. When Marv Levy came in that all changed on a dime.
“Hank would talk to us for an hour in the morning. Marv would talk 10 minutes. He went over the agenda and we moved on. Practice times were cut in half. That was a risky plan for a coach taking over during the season with a losing team. Soon as Marv took over we won the first game with him. After that the whole attitude really started to change. And in a couple of years the team turned into truly one of the all-time greats.”
In the next few years the Bills were 7-8 (fourth in the AFC East), 12-4 (lost to Cincinnati in the AFC championship game) and 9-7 (first in the AFC East). In 1990, the Bills were AFC champions and headed to their first of four consecutive Super Bowls.
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When you lose in the NFL you get to draft higher,” said Wolford. “We were able to add some top quality talent. Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith were high draft picks. Next thing you know you are loaded with a bunch of first and second-round draft picks. We finally came together as a team.
“That 1990 team was very talented. You are adding Thurman Thomas and Cornelius Bennett to the mix and pick up James Lofton, Shane Conlan, Andre Reed and Nate Odomes. Across the board it started to pay off. It took a while to put them all together. Marv did a great job of keeping some very talented, but also some very strong egos together for many years in a row.”
Super Bowl XXV was played in Tampa, Fla., between Buffalo and the New York Giants. This would be known throughout NFL lore as the “Wide Right” game. The Bills had the ball on its 10-yard line with 2:16 on the fourth quarter clock and the Giants leading 20-19.
“We knew going in that game we were a pretty good no huddle offense,” said Wolford. “That wasn’t going to be an issue. We had a lot of success in the second half. Most of our success was running the ball, which would be a problem concerning the clock. We felt very confident that we could move the ball on the Giants. I remember thinking we need to get to at least the 30-yard line. I wish we would have gotten a little closer; getting to the 30 didn’t quite get it done.”
The Bills were able to move the ball to the Giants 30-yard line with four seconds remaining. Buffalo kicker, Scott Norwood, was called upon to attempt the game-winning field goal from 47 yards. The ball sailed just outside of the right upright.
“The ball was on the right hash and I was playing left tackle on that kick,” Wolford said. “Kent Hull was the left guard, and we knew with that set up they were going to bring everybody and they did. I kept thinking we can’t have this field goal attempt blocked that would be the hell of a way to lose a game. Especially when they did load up everybody on our side.
“We held them long enough. I remember holding up long enough to see that the ball did not go through. I’m not sure if we deserved to win that game. I didn’t think we played very well and the Giants played as well as they possibly could. We threw the ball the entire first half and got behind. Then we ran the ball and Thurman (Thomas) had over 100 yards rushing in the second half to get us back into it.”
The next season Buffalo was 13-3 and AFC Eastern Division champions. A playoff victory over Kansas City was followed by a win over Denver in the AFC championship game. Super Bowl XXVI was played in Minneapolis against Washington. The Redskins were victorious 37-24 after building a 24-0 lead.
“That was the game where we had quite a few issues during the week leading up to the game,” said Wolford. “A couple of guys were out after having run-ins with the police. A couple of other guys had run-ins with the media. It seemed like there was just one distraction after another that year.
“The team was not very close knit for whatever reason. We actually earned the nickname the “Bickering Bills” throughout the year. It was obvious we weren’t getting along very well. It didn’t really show until the Super Bowl. On the opening play Thurman Thomas doesn’t have his helmet so Kenny Davis is the starter. There was a mix-up on the first play where we came out with two tight ends for the first time in two years. We ran the same offense quick as possible in the no-huddle.
“The Redskins made a mistake and we missed the handoff. If we get the handoff correct on the very first play of the game, Kenny Davis might have scored because they blew it open. There was a hole from tackle to tackle in the middle of the field. Jim Kelly missed the handoff when Kenny went the wrong way.
“Jim fell down and we lost two yards. From then on we had so many turnovers. The Redskins played very well and we did not. The first Super Bowl I played in was a great football game that came down to a field goal. I don’t think the Redskins were as good as the Giants, but they beat us worse.”
The Bills were 11-5 the next season to finish in second place of the Eastern Division. They defeated Houston in the Wildcard Game, 41-38 in overtime. In that game the Bills were down 35-3 and recorded the biggest comeback in NFL history with Kelly missing the game due to an injury. Buffalo won over Pittsburgh the following week and Miami in the AFC Championship Game. Super Bowl XVII was played in the Rose Bowl against Dallas. The Cowboys slaughtered the Bills, 52-17.
“That was easily the worst one and the scoreboard really told the tale,” said Wolford. “We scored first and I remember thinking Dallas hasn’t been here and we have the Super Bowl experience. Wow, Dallas was crazy talented, but nobody really knew it at that time. They had built their team with nothing but first round picks for a couple of years in a row.
“We just fell a part. After the first quarter we didn’t put up much of a fight at all. It was an embarrassing game that you wouldn’t want to be a part of. I went into that game with a torn rotator cuff in one shoulder and came out of it with two of them.”
In 1993, Buffalo lost in the Super Bowl for the fourth consecutive season, but without Wolford. He signed a contract with the Indianapolis Colts becoming the highest paid offensive lineman ever at that time ($7.65 million for three years). Ted Marchibroda coached the Colts.
“Ted was our offensive coordinator before in Buffalo,” said Wolford. “He was a great man and one of the best I’ve ever been around. I was a restricted free agent. The Bills had the right match any contract offer that I received. Teams knew to get me out of Buffalo they were going to have to offer me a big number.
“I think Buffalo put the word out that whatever that number was they were going to match it. The Colts came up with two clauses in my contract that would guarantee me to be the highest paid offensive player on the team. They knew that Buffalo could not match that part because Jim Kelly was on our team and Thurman Thomas’ contract was going to be up. My three-year contract guaranteed me being the highest paying offensive player and Buffalo couldn’t match it.
“It went to arbitration and they awarded me to the Colts and outlawed that type of contract going forward. That clause was thought up by Jim Irsay who was the Colts general manager at the time. That was the business side of the deal. I knew I need shoulder surgery. The day I signed the contract I flew to Indianapolis and had surgery.”
In his three seasons in Indianapolis, the Colts were 4-12, 8-8 and 9-7. The 1995 Colts that were 9-7 finished in second place in the AFC East. They advanced in the playoffs to win the Wildcard Game over San Diego and defeated Kansas City to appear in another AFC championship game for Wolford. The Colts would lose to Pittsburgh in that game.
“That first year with the Colts for me was a struggle because I didn’t have my surgery until after contract negotiations in April. So I had to rest and rehab. I played, but not very well. At the end of that season I had rotator cuff surgery on my other shoulder that had been worn down over the years.
“I played with that shoulder hurt and torn it up even more. My third year there was a lot of fun. Jim Harbaugh was the quarterback and Marshall Faulk was a rookie. When I went to Buffalo I was a young kid that developed and grew up. When I went to Indy with Ted Marchibroda I was a team captain.
“I knew the players well and that 9-7 team snuck into the playoffs and almost got to the Super Bowl. It was a magical postseason run that really changed the city of Indianapolis into huge football fans. Before that year Indiana basketball was more popular than Indianapolis football much less the Pacers. After that year the Colts became a good football talent.”
Jason Mathews played for the Colts (1994-97) and the Titans (1998-2004) that was a teammate of Wolford in Indianapolis. In 1995, Wolford was the starting left offensive tackle for the Colts while Mathews was the starting right tackle. Mathews is currently the Admissions Director and offensive line coach at Brentwood Academy.
“When I was a rookie with the Colts, Will was a Super Bowl veteran,” said Mathews. “He was the perfect mentor to me coming into the league. I not only learned from him how to play the game, but how to conduct myself off the field. When you are a rookie you know there is something bad about being a rookie. Those guys (teammates hazing) are going to treat you horribly. You are going to sit there and put up with it. The worst they made us do is sing our school songs in meetings. It was purely for entertainment. They didn’t shave our heads or anything like that.
“Everyday we had to bring the offensive linemen a Wall Street Journal and a USA Today because they loved trading stocks. That was our rookie bullying. Kirk (Loudermilk) and Will took us under their wings. When the coaches would tell us something Will would come up afterwards and say ‘you don’t know what they’re talking about, do you?’ He would teach me. I went over to his house and met his family. It was a brotherhood. He treated us like one of his equals.
“In my second year we limped to the AFC championship game with a 9-7 record. I was right tackle and Will was left tackle. In our first playoff game against San Diego, Marshall Faulk got hurt and we still beat the Chargers. In the second game we went to Kansas City and they lost three games all year. And we won at Kansas City. Then we played Pittsburgh in the championship game. I was wide-eyed and tense. They had Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene who were linebackers.
“They were the rush guys for the Steelers. Will was calm. He’d been there before. I don’t know why, but the tackles were getting the headlines before the game. On Saturday before the game Will had me believing we could win that game. I was watching an ESPN special about Lloyd and Greene. Then they called out Will and me. They said Greg Lloyd will run around Will Wolford more times than they can count. And ‘let’s not talk about Kevin Greene and what he’s going to do with Jason Mathews.’
“They showed all of mine and Will’s sacks given up that year. All my family and friends in Texas saw that. They were dogging me on the phone. Will called me ‘Moose’ for some reason. He said, ‘hey Moose I see you got some TV time today.’ He was laughing and I was stressed out. We lost the game on a dropped ball in the end zone. We played our tails off and I don’t believe Lloyd or Greene got a sack that day. Will pulled me along when we were the underdogs”
In 1996, Wolford was on the move again as a free agent. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers that had lost to Dallas the previous season in Super Bowl XXX.
“At that point I felt that I was in control and I wanted the best option to win a Super Bowl,” Wolford said. “Pittsburgh was going to give me an opportunity to play guard. I always thought I was a better guard than tackle in the NFL.
“Playing for a team with Bill Cowher an excellent football coach influenced me to sign with the Steelers. They were in there every year. Going to Pittsburgh was a very strategic play. The first time I was a free agent I was waiting to see who was interested. In my second time around I had the idea where I wanted to go.”
Wolford played three seasons in Pittsburgh where the Steelers were 10-6, 11-5 and 7-9. The 1997 Steelers won the AFC Divisional Playoff, but lost to Denver in the AFC Championship Game, a place where Wolford was familiar.
“In my second season we lost in the AFC Championship Game,” said Wolford. “I was lucky with the three teams I played all were in AFC championship games. It was a real long shot to play with Indianapolis in the AFC Championship Game and actually lose to Pittsburgh. Then my second year in Pittsburgh to lose at home to the Broncos that ended up winning the Super Bowl was very disappointing.
“We were at home and had a really good team. Denver came in and pulled the upset. It was a year that Kordell Stewart had a great year, but we weren’t able to get it done. Then in my last year in Pittsburgh we were Super Bowl favorites going into the season. It was not a very good year. I was older. I tore a pec muscle and did not have it surgically repaired because I knew it was going to be my last year. I didn’t play very well.”
It was after his third season in Pittsburgh that Wolford decided to retire from professional football.
“You get to the point where you cannot play any better, but only play worse,” said Wolford. “The way my body felt I knew I was going to play a lot worse. It was very flattering that Coach Cowher wanted me to come back to play another year.
“He made me a really nice offer. I was done. When you are done mentally you’re done. With your mind you can mentally get over some stuff, but when you check out mentally you can’t do it anymore.”
Wolford was asked about the toughest defensive players that he faced on the line of scrimmage.
“In my very first year I played against Joe Klecko of the Jets and somehow he’s not in the NFL Hall of Fame because he should be,” said Wolford. “Joe is a Hall of Famer’s Hall of Famer. He made the Pro Bowl at nose tackle, defensive guard and defensive end. He was one of the most respected and best players I ever played against.
“Then I had the luxury of going up against Bruce Smith everyday in practice. When I left Buffalo and played against Bruce it wasn’t until then that I realized how good he was. I played against Lawrence Taylor who is considered one of the all-time greats.”
What was it like blocking for Pro Hall of Fame member Jerome Bettis?
“It was a blast,” said Wolford. “Jerome was a lot of fun. He has a huge personality. He gets really fired up in games that really get you going. Even though he’s a big guy, he was a finesse runner.
“You knew if you got a good angle or position on a block that he would make the right cut and get through there. For a big fellow he sure was light on his feet. He didn’t mind chucking people if he had to. I still see him once in a while when he comes to the Kentucky Derby.”
Wolford played in 191 NFL games, which were all starts in 13 seasons. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times (1990, 1992, 1995). “The Tractor” was enshrined into the Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Since 2013, Wolford has been the head football coach at his alma mater St. Xavier High School.
Vanderbilt named Wolford as their SEC Legend in 2001 and inducted him in the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010. Wolford was asked about being a Vanderbilt graduate and former Commodore football player.
“It has definitely been one of my highest achievements,” Wolford said. “There are not a lot of guys out there that can say they graduated from Vanderbilt and played in the NFL as long as I did.
“I love that my football career lasted as long as it did, but I’m very thankful of my college degree. I went to work for Morgan Stanley back in 2009 for almost eight years. I would not have that job without my degree. When you have a Vanderbilt degree people assume you are smart. I just keep my mouth closed and let them assume that.”
Traughber’s Tidbit: Will Wolford appeared on the cover in the1994 NFL Preview Issue of Sports Illustrated dated September 5, 1994. Wolford was in his second season in Indianapolis at the time. The five-page feature story contains photos of Wolford as a St. Xavier player, a Colt, a Commodore and with his horse Marfas Twist. The article reviews Wolford’s football career and his love for thoroughbred horses as an owner and his passion for racing at Churchill Downs.
If you have any comments or suggestions contact Bill Traughber via email WLTraughber@aol.com.
