Norfolk State University Athletics

Tory Woodbury joins the Norfolk State coaching staff ahead of the 2025 season as the Spartans’ special teams coordinator, bringing over 20 years of coaching experience serving student-athletes and his community – including eight years at the collegiate level and two years at the professional stage.
 
Woodbury comes to Norfolk State from Howard where he spent one year as the team’s tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.
 
In his lone season with the Bison, both of Woodbury’s position groups excelled. Under his leadership, Howard’s special teams unit blocked six field goals, ranking fifth in all of FCS.
 
Howard was also one of just two teams in the MEAC that did now allow a blocked punt the entire season. Fueled by Woodbury’s leadership, true freshman Anthony Reagan Jr. earned All-MEAC Second Team honors as a return specialist, racking up 458 kick return yards in 20 attempts.

Before joining the Howard staff, Woodbury served as the special teams coordinator for the XFL’s Saint Louis Battlehawks during the 2023 campaign. Under Woodbury’s guidance, returner Darrius Sheppard won the XFL Special Teams Player of the Year award, leading the league with 907 kick return yards while averaging 24.8 yards per attempt. Saint Louis kicker Donny Hagemen also benefitted from Woodbury’s leadership, knocking down a league-record 59 yard field goal against the Houston Roughnecks.
 
Prior to his time with the Battlehawks, Woodbury enjoyed coaching stints at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels, including positions at Delaware State, Morgan State, and the Los Angeles Rams.
 
Woodbury spent seven years on the Rams’ staff, contributing to the organization as an assistant special teams coach as well as a college scout. He played a crucial role in the team’s rise through the league, helping the team accomplish the sport’s ultimate achievement: a Super Bowl title (2022).
 
An exceptional quarterback talent at Winston-Salem State, Woodbury enjoyed an eight-year professional playing career in the NFL. His time within the pro ranks included stints with the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Buffalo Bills where he played quarterback, wide receiver, and special teams throughout his career.
 
Woodbury rose from walk-on to stardom at Winston-Salem State, breaking 13 school records and leaving as the team’s all-time leading passer at the time. He went his entire junior season without throwing an interception, earning the Black College National Player of the Year award in 1999 and two Pioneer Bowl MVP honors.
 
Inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 2016, Woodbury is also a member of the Winston-Salem State Hall of Fame and Glenn High School Hall of Fame. He has been considered as a candidate for the Black College Football Hall of Fame as well.
 
Woodbury has also made a decades-long impact within the community, founding the Tory Woodbury foundation in 2002 – a charitable organization dedicated to providing school supplies, clothing and meals to underprivileged children in Winston-Salem, N.C.