‘Woody’ returns to end zone for Ti-Cats

2026 EAST COUNTY ALUMNI

WOODEN SR. TAKES PUNT 100 YARDS FOR FIRST TD OF CFL SEASON

Former Helix star completes journey from shoulder injury, Cleveland opportunity to return to Hamilton

EastCountySports.com staff report

MONTREAL — Isaiah Wooden Sr. is back in the end zone.

The former Helix High School star broke three tackles and raced 100 yards for a punt-return touchdown Sunday, providing the biggest highlight for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in a 31–18 loss to the Montreal Alouettes.

Wooden finished with 201 return yards, fielding four punts for 148 yards and four kickoffs for 53 yards. He also caught one pass for 11 yards, giving him 212 all-purpose yards against Montreal.

It was Wooden’s first touchdown of the 2026 Canadian Football League season and his fourth return touchdown as a Tiger-Cat.

Wooden fielded Jake Zema’s 46-yard punt at the Hamilton 10-yard line, eluded the first wave of Montreal’s coverage unit and powered through three attempted tackles before breaking into the open field.

The 100-yard house call gave Hamilton a 7–3 lead with 5:20 remaining in the first quarter against an Alouettes team that entered with a 5–1 record.

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Wooden’s lower-body strength showed his ability to break tackles separates him from many smaller return specialists. Wooden was easily compred in this game to Montreal return standout DeVonte Dedmon among the league’s most dangerous returners.

The Alouettes recovered to take a 10–8 lead into halftime before pulling away in the second half. Montreal improved to 6–1, while Hamilton dropped to 3–4.

“It helped set the tone a lot,” Wooden said during an on-field interview coming out of halftime. “That’s something we preach every week—get it started fast. I feel like we did that tonight. We got started fast, but we’ve just got to keep going.”

Asked about playing in a close, hard-hitting game, Wooden said he embraced the physicality.

“These are the games you love to play in,” Wooden said. “Everybody loves that football—hard-nosed football. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Three touchdowns, one painful interruption

Sunday’s touchdown completed a journey that began during Wooden’s breakout 2025 season, his second north of the border in the steel town.

Wooden established himself as one of the CFL’s premier return specialists by accumulating 1,755 yards on kickoffs and punts in 14 games. He returned 45 kickoffs for 1,185 yards and two touchdowns while adding 570 yards and another score on 38 punt returns.

He led the CFL with a 15.0-yard punt-return average and ranked second with a 26.3-yard kickoff-return average. Hamilton also used him sparingly on offense, where he caught two passes for 22 yards.

His first touchdown of the season came on a 105-yard kickoff return against Calgary. He added an 86-yard kickoff-return touchdown against Toronto on July 4 as part of a career-best performance in which he amassed 264 return yards.

That return also made someone else famous. And welthier.

Toronto’s Janarion Grant had already returned a kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown, putting Save-on-Foods’ Million Dollar Touchdown to Win prize into play. Wooden’s fourth-quarter score completed the required combination and made Roy Lyster of New Westminster, British Columbia, the contest’s first winner since 1999.

Wooden later added an 84-yard punt-return touchdown against the B.C. Lions in August. However, he injured his shoulder during the same game and missed Hamilton’s next four contests.

He returned to the lineup in September and completed the season, finishing with three return touchdowns despite the month-long interruption.

Hamilton released Wooden from his contract on Jan. 8 so he could pursue another NFL opportunity. The Tiger-Cats credited him with bringing “energy and explosiveness” to their return units while supporting the move.

Another NFL opportunity

The Cleveland Browns signed Wooden to a reserve/futures contract on Jan. 9, one day after Hamilton released him.

A reserve/futures agreement allowed Cleveland to retain Wooden for its 2026 offseason roster and gave him another opportunity to reach the NFL. Wooden had worked out for five teams—the Browns, New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons—before signing with Cleveland.

It was his latest NFL opportunity after previous stints with Atlanta and the Los Angeles Chargers following the 2024 NFL Draft.

However, Wooden did not receive an extended opportunity to showcase his return skills in Cleveland. The Browns primarily evaluated him as a receiver and in other special-teams roles during their offseason program before waiving him May 19.

Six days later, Wooden was back where he had become one of professional football’s most explosive return men.

Hamilton signed him May 25 and released veteran returner Mario Alford to make room on the roster. Wooden said he had added several pounds of muscle during his NFL training, increasing his weight from approximately 174 pounds to 178 while improving his acceleration.

Although disappointed by the outcome in Cleveland, Wooden said returning to Hamilton had remained in his thoughts throughout the process.

“It was always in my mind to come here,” Wooden told the Tiger-Cats’ team website. “Come back home.”

Hamilton coach Scott Milanovich called Wooden a potential difference-maker who was only beginning to discover how dangerous he could become in the CFL return game.

“He’s explosive, brings great energy,” Milanovich said when Wooden returned. “He was on the verge of being an elite returner last year. I think his second year is only going to make him better.”

Back where it began

Wooden’s return ability was evident long before his professional career.

At Helix, Wooden caught 52 passes for 922 yards and 14 touchdowns as a senior while accumulating more than 900 return yards. His memorable performances included two 60-yard punt-return touchdowns against Steele Canyon and a 98-yard kickoff return in the CIF championship game.

He began his college career at Dixie State, now Utah Tech, before playing at Kent State and Southern Utah. During his final two seasons at Southern Utah, Wooden caught 100 passes for 1,726 yards and 20 touchdowns and earned first-team All-United Athletic Conference honors in 2023.

Wooden went undrafted in 2024 and had brief stops with the Falcons, Chargers and B.C. Lions before joining Hamilton late that season. He made his Tiger-Cats debut in their final regular-season game and then broke out as a full-time returner in 2025.

After the shoulder injury, the NFL detour and the return to Hamilton, Wooden needed only one opening Sunday to show that his game-breaking ability had not gone anywhere.

Three broken tackles and 100 yards later, Woody was home again in the end zone. It’s a familiar place.

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