Elbert Woods was given the nickname "Ickey" based on his little brother's pronunciation of his given first name, which sounded like "E-E." He attended Edison High School in Fresno, California, where he played sports.

As a freshman in 1984, the Rebels, led by future NFL star quarterback Randall Cunningham, went 11-2 and won the California Bowl 30-13 against the Toledo Rockets, a game in which Woods rushed nine times for 53 yards and one touchdown.

Jovante was an honor student and a member of the Princeton High School football team who suffered a fatal asthma attack at home.

Since retiring from the NFL, he has been a sales representative for a meat company, sold security systems, and has owned a flooring store in Cincinnati.

[16] In 2014, he was featured in a national GEICO Insurance commercial in which he reprised his "Ickey Shuffle" while gleefully buying cold cuts at a deli counter.

[17] On May 1, 2015, Woods announced at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, Illinois that the Cincinnati Bengals had selected offensive tackle Jake Fisher of the University of Oregon as the 21st pick in the second round (53rd overall) of the 2015 NFL draft.

After replicating his signature move, the "Ickey Shuffle" and making the pick announcement, Woods said, "gonna get me some cold cuts," a line from the aforementioned GEICO television commercial.