When a 24-year-old Steelers quarterback made headlines last month, another local 24-year-old player could relate to the motorcycle accident that created such a buzz.

Two years ago, Dan Woodard, who is a linebacker for the semipro Pittsburgh Colts, shattered his right shin while riding a motorcycle.

Woodard had just finished his playing career as a starting linebacker the previous fall at Slippery Rock University. Woodard started his collegiate career by playing for two years at Rutgers.

"The doctors needed seven hours of surgery to reconstruct the bone that I shattered," said Woodard, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound inside linebacker for the Colts (2-2) of the North American Football League.

The Colts play their home games at Canon-McMillan High School's stadium and Woodard has been a surprisingly good first-year player.

"I thought this was going to be one of those injuries where I was going to limp for the rest of my life," he said. "But I had a good doctor who put me back together nice. And once I could play [pickup] basketball and some other sports, I realized I could still play [football]. I actually feel faster now than I did before I broke my leg, which is weird. I didn't have any health insurance so I had to do my own [rehab].

"I'll take shots on that leg and I won't even know it until I see a scratch or something after the game. I don't feel any pain there at all."

Unlike Ben Roethlisberger's accident, in which a woman driving a car was responsible for the facial injuries of the Steelers' quarterback, Woodard lays the blame on himself.

"It was just me being stupid," Woodard said. "I still ride a motorcycle. I guess I haven't learned my lesson yet, but I'm a lot more cautious now. I don't ride like I used to."

Woodard's leg injury left him unable to walk for several months. That forced him to drop out of Slippery Rock just 12 credits short of graduating in sociology and criminal justice.

"I had my scholarship taken away and I couldn't afford to go back to school," said Woodard, who plans on returning to college to complete his degree.

Woodard, a Coraopolis resident, works as an auto mechanic in Monroeville and practices twice a week with the Colts at a municipal field in Ross.

"I'm working hard to make the money to get back in school," Woodard said. "I was hoping that by playing [for the Colts], I might get noticed [by an NFL scout]. That was the best-case scenario. It's something that I would like to happen, but I'm going to play, regardless.

"I thought this was a good way to test myself because after the accident I was always wondering, 'Can I still play?' "

Woodard is among the team's leading defensive players with 10 solo tackles, six assists and two quarterback sacks.

"He's your atypical linebacker with that linebacker mentality and demeanor," long-time head coach Ed Brosky said. "He's nasty, but he's friendly, with a great sense of humor."

Although the Colts have played only two home games to date, Woodard is one of the team's top fan favorites as a rookie.

"There were some people who had high expectations of me [for an NFL career] coming out of college," Woodard said. "Right after college, a few [pro scouts] were looking at me. This made me think there could be some NFL things going on and then the accident happened [ending any hope for a professional career]. Now when everybody sees me playing, they all want to see how I'm doing, so they show up to watch."

The motorcycle accident delayed Woodard's quest to get back on the field, but it did not dampen his zest for playing football, at one of the more glamorous positions.

"I went crazy during those couple of months after the accident while I was laid up," Woodard said. "As soon as I stopped playing football, ugh, life was different. Now it's back to normal for me."