LEXINGTON ? That didn’t take long.

Less than 72 hours after leading his University of Kentucky Wildcats to a 35-28 win over the Florida State Seminoles in the 10th annual Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl at LP Field in Nashville, Tenn., senior quarterback Andre Woodson announced Thursday that he will join the football division of Blue Equity, LLC, an independent, private equity firm based in Louisville.

Woodson joins two big names in Kentucky, University of Louisville football coach Steve Kragthorpe and former Kentucky men’s basketball coach Tubby Smith, on the Blue Equity roster.

“I’ve had a great run with the University of Kentucky and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to play at the next level,” the former North Hardin High School star said in a statement. “Blue Equity appealed to me because of its local roots and proven track record with top-rated quarterbacks. I am working hard preparing for the draft and anticipate a great showing for the scouts.”

According to his mother, Robin, Andre met with four agencies before finalizing his deal with Blue Equity at the firm’s Louisville offices on Wednesday.

I think with any of the agents he would have been in good hands, but this is who he felt comfortable with,” Robin said Thursday. “I liked all of them. But it wasn’t about me, it was about Andre. I just sat in the room and helped ask questions.

“There was something with Joel (Segal, Blue Equity’s football division president) that clicked with Andre,” Robin added. “As soon as it was over, you could see it in Andre’s eyes. You knew then that’s who he was going with.”

The 2008 NFL Draft will be held April 26-27 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. As of Dec. 20, Andre Woodson was a projected top-12 pick according to the popular NFLDraftCountdown.com. And on Wednesday, USA TODAY’s NFL Insider, Jim Corbett, mentioned Woodson has 1-of-5 potential quarterbacks to be selected in the 31-selection first round of the draft.

Other members of Blue Equity’s football division include Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, New Orleans wide receiver Marques Colston, Atlanta Falcons defensive back DeAngelo Hall, Chicago Bears receiver Muhsin Muhammad, Minnesota safety Darren Sharper and New Orleans defensive end Will Smith.

Woodson will be primarily represented by Segal, who has also represented NFL stars Bobby Engram, Jerry Porter and Michael Vick.

“He’s not only one of the leading football agents, he’s one of the top 20 sports agents in the world,” Blue Equity chairman Jonathan Blue was quoted in a Sports City online story last year.

In the 2007 NFL Draft, three first-round selections ? Levi Brown (No. 5), LaRon Landry (6) and Craig Davis (30) ? were represented by Segal, who was the only agent to represent a pair of top-10 picks.

Both Segal and Robin Woodson confirmed Thursday that Woodson has accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Senior Bowl three weekends from now in Mobile, Ala.

But before he plays in that game, Woodson is heading to Orlando, Fla., to train with Tom Shaw (www.CoachTomShaw.com), who has worked with six Super Bowl MVPs, nearly 100 NFL first-round draft picks and six No. 1 picks.

Woodson’s signing comes on the heels of his impressive Music City Bowl performance in which he threw a record-setting four touchdown passes and 358 yards passing against Florida State while finishing his senior season with a Southeastern Conference record 40 touchdown passes. Woodson put the finishing touches on his stellar college career by winning two consecutive bowl games which had not been accomplished by Kentucky since 1951-52. Woodson was also named Most Valuable Player of both bowl victories.

Scouts from at least seven teams were in attendance at the Music City Bowl according to the bowl’s press box seating chart.

As a junior, Woodson earned Team MVP honors while completing 63 percent of his passes for 3,515 yards and 31 touchdowns. He also led the SEC in passing yardage per game (270.4), total offense (259.8) and touchdown passes (31), was second in the SEC in passing efficiency with a 154.5 rating and had a 31-to-7 touchdown -to-interception ratio.

Woodson’s impressive resume at Kentucky began with his freshman and sophomore years. As a freshman, Woodson played in seven games and completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 492 yards, two touchdowns, and only one interception. Andre Woodson continued to delight fans and coaches in his sophomore season. He started all 11 games, completing 57.7 percent of his passes for 1,644 yards and six touchdowns as well as leading the team in passing and total offense.

“We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to guide Andre’s NFL career,” Segal said in a statement. “Andre is an extremely high character individual and his impressive college career speaks for itself.”

Blue Equity’s star-studded clients also include Minnesota Timberwolves wing Corey Brewer, Los Angeles Clippers point guard Brevin Knight, Chicago Bulls post Joakim Noah and Detroit Pistons center Rasheed Wallace, tennis players Justine Henin, Andy Roddick and brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, mixed martial artist Houston Alexander and Ole Miss men’s basketball coach Andy Kennedy.

[More at www.newsenterpriseonline.com]