Devon Witherspoon
Devon Marquis "Spoon" Witherspoon (born December 11, 2000) is an American football cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Illinois, where he was named the 2022 Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year. Witherspoon was selected by the Seahawks fifth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
.png.webp) Witherspoon in 2023 | |
| No. 21 – Seattle Seahawks | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Cornerback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | December 11, 2000 Pensacola, Florida, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Pine Forest (Pensacola) |
| College: | Illinois (2019–2022) |
| NFL Draft: | 2023 / Round: 1 / Pick: 5 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Unsigned draft pick |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |
| Player stats at NFL.com · PFR | |
High school career
Devon Witherspoon attended Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida. Initially concentrating his athletic abilities on basketball, Witherspoon did not begin playing football until his junior year of high school.[1] As a senior in 2018, he was the Pensacola News Journal Defensive Player of the Year after recording 74 tackles, seven interceptions and two touchdowns.[2] He committed to play college football at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[3]
College career
Witherspoon was the only true freshman to start on defense for the Illinois Fighting Illini in 2019.[1] He wound up playing in every game, making 33 tackles. As a sophomore in 2020, he recorded 33 tackles and two interceptions.[4][5]
He played and started 10 games his junior year in 2021, finishing with 52 tackles and one sack.[6] Witherspoon returned to Illinois his senior year in 2022, beginning the year as the Big Ten Conference leader in passes defended.[7]
A supremely confident player, Witherspoon was regarded as the leading trash-talker on the Fighting Illini team during his tenure. When asked about the biggest talkers on the squad, offensive teammate Isaiah Williams joked that "Spoon is number one. Spoon is at one and then we go to like five."[8]
"I gotta talk, it's just me. I can't live without doing it," Witherspoon acknowledged.[8]
During his senior year Witherspoon was named one of twelve finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented to the nation's top defensive back.[7] He was selected as the 2022 Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year, an award given to the top defensive back in the Big Ten Conference, and was named a consensus All-American at the season's conclusion.[9]
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 ft 11+1⁄2 in (1.82 m) |
181 lb (82 kg) |
31+1⁄4 in (0.79 m) |
8+7⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.45 s | 1.58 s | 2.55 s | ||||||
| [10] | ||||||||||||
Witherspoon was selected by the Seattle Seahawks fifth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.[11] The Seahawks obtained the fifth overall selection as part of the blockbuster deal that sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos in the previous offseason.
References
- Anderson Kimball, "Climbing the Charts: Devon Witherspoon Succeeding as Illinois' Top Cornerback," [Carbondale] Southern Illinoisan, Aug 7, 2022, p. A6.
- Brian Achatz, "Witherspoon's Lockdown Defense was Equally Important as his Enthusiasm and Spark," Pensacola News-Journal, Dec. 24, 2018.
- Eric J. Wallace, "Pine Forest standout Devon Witherspoon to Play Football at Illinois," Pensacola News-Journal, July 30, 2019.
- Pete Hayes, "Lovie: Pound-for-Pound, Witherspoon is Illini's Toughest," The Telegraph, Nov. 10, 2020.
- Brian Achatz, "Devon Witherspoon's Growth for Illinois Football Proves He's Always Had Great Potential," Pensacola News-Journal, Dec. 11, 2020.
- "Watch now: Devon Witherspoon succeeding as Illinois' top cornerback and trash-talker".
- Anderson Kimball, "Witherspoon a Jim Thorpe Award Finalist: Illini Corner Leads Big Ten in Total Passes Defended," [Matoon, IL] Journal-Gazette, Oct. 26, 2022, p. B1.
- Anderson Kimball, "Illini's Witherspoon Backs Up His Talk," [Davenport, IA] Quad-City Times, Aug. 6, 2022, p. B3.
- Doug Farrar, "Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon's Hit-Stick Tackle was Based on his Football Smarts," USA Today, Sept. 2, 2022.
- "Devon Witherspoon Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- "Seahawks Select CB Devon Witherspoon With 5th Overall Pick". Seahawks.com. April 27, 2023.
External links
