Devon Witherspoon

Devon Marquis Witherspoon (born December 11, 2000) is an American football cornerback for the Illinois Fighting Illini. In 2022, he was a consensus All-American and named the Tatum–Woodson Defensive Back of the Year.

Devon Witherspoon
Witherspoon with Illinois in 2022
Illinois Fighting Illini – No. 31
PositionCornerback
ClassJunior
MajorCommunication
Personal information
Born: (2000-12-11) December 11, 2000
Pensacola, Florida, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career history
College
High schoolPine Forest (Pensacola)
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Witherspoon attended Pine Forest High School in Pensacola, Florida. He did not start playing football until his junior year of high school. 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.[1] He committed to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to play college football.[2][3]

College career

As a true freshman at Illinois in 2019, Witherspoon played in all 13 games with three starts and had 33 tackles. As a sophomore in 2020, he played seven of the Illini's eight game season, recording 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 junior year in 2022 where he would be named a consensus All-American at the seasons conclusion.[7]

References
  1. "Witherspoon's lockdown defense was equally important as his enthusiasm and spark".
  2. "Pine Forest standout Devon Witherspoon to play football at Illinois".
  3. "Illinois adds 2019 defensive back".
  4. "Lovie: Pound-for-pound, Witherspoon is Illini's toughest". 10 November 2020.
  5. "Devon Witherspoon's growth for Illinois football proves he's always had great potential".
  6. "Watch now: Devon Witherspoon succeeding as Illinois' top cornerback and trash-talker".
  7. "Illinois CB Devon Witherspoon's hit-stick tackle was based on his football smarts". 3 September 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.