Josh Woodberry selected for NFF’s 2024 Team of Distinction

The email came from the National Football Foundation, informing Woodberry that he was one of 84 high school football players to be named to the 2024 NFF Team of Distinction as a scholar-athlete. NFF chapters from 40 states picked a winner out of a pool of 3,500 applicants, with Woodberry becoming the first winner from Montana.

Woodberry’s father, Mike, knew exactly what the award was from his playing days and promptly “freaked out,” Josh said. Once Josh learned about it, he understood the honor.

“It makes you feel lucky,” Woodberry said. “I feel like there’s a lot of luck involved. I don’t feel like I did anything that 1,000 other kids haven’t done. But I got selected and I’m super thankful for that.”

Woodberry received a certificate noting the honor from NFF Montana Chapter’s Roger Thesing Wednesday at Gallatin High. Along with being a first team all-state selection at inside linebacker and fullback as a senior, Woodberry held a 4.0 GPA and was named Academic all-state all four years. He also earned a 34 on the ACT and was a two-time team captain.

“Never got in trouble, not once in high school,” Gallatin head coach Hunter Chandler said. “Just all the way around he was really special and really unique. He’s just got such a great work ethic for such a young kid that I don’t know if we’ll ever see again.”

Woodberry added that he likes to “break the mold” of the dumb jock stereotype with his dedication to academics. That will continue once he’s at Montana State; along with being a preferred walk-on for the football team, Woodberry plans to major in civil engineering.

“I think football especially teaches you to just strive for excellence in everything you do,” Woodberry said. “A quote I hear a lot of the time is, ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ It’s just easy after the coaching and experience that I had in football to just take that to school.”

Along with coaches, Woodberry said both of his parents were key contributors to his success and helped him balance school and sports. Woodberry’s father was notably a linebacker at MSU from 1998-2001.

Woodberry will follow in his father’s footsteps this fall. Before he makes his debut as a Bobcat, Woodberry has spent the summer finishing that transition from high school to college football. The first step was at the Montana East-West Shrine Game last month in Billings. He was one of five Gallatin players selected, joining four Bozeman players on the East roster.

Woodberry enjoyed sharing war stories with the Bozeman contingent, especially when they rehashed key moments from crosstown matchups. He also appreciated suiting up with Gallatin teammates Ryan Nansel, Kyle Mounts, Jace Thompson and Oakley Woody one final time.

“Just another football game is a blessing,” Woodberry said. “You never know what one is going to be your last. Just one more is an awesome opportunity that the Shriners (Hospital for Children) created for us.

“And I know it’s not about us, it’s about the kids. But it’s awesome that we get to benefit from that as well.”

The next step was enduring the summer training block with MSU. That has included strenuous workouts like running laps on Peets Hill at 5 a.m. — a humbling experience for Woodberry.

“I know I’m at the bottom of the food chain,” he said. “But I like a challenge and I like being there. There’s a lot to learn.”

Woodberry has been impressed by MSU defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Bobby Daly so far, especially in how Daly focuses on each individual. It’s also been nice to get to know the fellow incoming freshmen, several of whom are “twice as athletic as I am,” Woodberry said.

“And then the older guys, I was kind of expecting to get picked on,” he added. “But there’s not any of that and they’re all super nice, which is almost frustrating because I like to have someone to not like to try and beat. But they’ve been awesome.”

Woodberry is already preparing himself for the emotions of walking into Bobcat Stadium on game day as a player, a moment that might bring the lifelong Bobcat fan to tears, he said. Chandler added that Woodberry is “a student of the game” and will bring his outstanding work ethic to the next level.

“I think what separates him is his mental game,” Chandler said. “And I think over the course of his time there, he’ll get on the field and he’s going to shine. They’re going to look back and feel really glad that they got him because he’s a special one.”

The NFF award allowed Woodberry a moment of reflection on all the work put in over the past four years before he takes this next step to MSU.

“Sometimes it’s really hard to be the one guy that’s kind of on the outside,” Woodberry said. “You’re kind of stuck between worlds with sports and school and everything else. I just think it’s important to always remember that it’s something worth working for.”