Heisman winner Charles Woodson 'not excited' about Wolverines

Angelique S. Chengelis / The Detroit News

Ann Arbor -- For former Michigan Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, watching the Wolverines has been tough.

Michigan (5-4) has lost four straight in the Big Ten and is coming off a dismal setback at Illinois.

When asked his impressions of the current program, now in the second year under Rich Rodriguez, Woodson didn't mince words.

"I'm not excited about it ... I'm not excited about losing," Woodson said Tuesday during a visit to Ann Arbor. "It started out on fire (this season) and looked good for a short period, but it's hard to watch.

"A place you love and played, and to see your team struggling like that is hard."

Woodson said he has been getting ribbed by Green Bay Packers teammates because of Michigan's tough season.

"We're taking a beating," he said. "I'm getting flak from a guy who went to Cincinnati. I never thought a day in my life I'd be taking flak from somebody from Cincinnati."

Woodson, of course, was referring to the Cincinnati Bearcats football team, 8-0 and the No. 4 team in the country.

Woodson, a cornerback and return man for the Wolverines, won the Heisman Trophy in 1997. He has played for Oakland and Green Bay in the NFL.