Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time

Eric Wood is arguably the greatest center to ever snap the football for Louisville over the course of program history.

It took the former three-star recruit of Cincinnati, Ohio, just one year to earn the starting position up front, snapping the ball to another member on our list, Brian Brohm, for three years.

He went on become the model of consistency for the Cards during his career, starting 25 out of 26 games played, showing real durability, which would become what he’d be known for at the next level for the Buffalo Bills.

Not only was he a powerful, athletic bulldozer for Bobby Petrino during his first era as the Louisville head coach, but he also was one of the smartest players on the team. He earned Academic All-Big East accolades throughout his career.

Wood was tough and never afraid of anyone attempting to get after his quarterback. He punished opposing linemen game-after-game, helping to keep Brohm and the other quarterbacks upright. Wood paved the way for some of the most dynamic rushing attacks during the Petrino era.

During the four years that Wood played as a Cardinal, Louisville’s offense ranked in the top in total offense three times (2005-07), never allowed more than 3.5 sacks per game and had at least three running backs average over four yards per carry for a full season.

Wood left the program in 2009 as one of the most decorated linemen in program history. He was named as a First-Team Freshman All-American in 2005, before being named Second-Team All-Big East and 2006 and First-Team All-Big East in 2007 and 2008.

After Wood was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, a void was left on the Louisville offense opening the door for even more struggles during the Steve Kragthorpe era.

Wood without question supplanted himself as one of the top 20 greatest players in program history. And with his impact, one could argue for an even higher spot for him on this list.