Ahkello Witherspoon

Ahkello Witherspoon
refer to caption
Witherspoon in 2017
No. 23 – San Francisco 49ers
Position: Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1995-03-21) March 21, 1995
Oak Park, California
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school: Christian Brothers
(Sacramento, California)
College: Colorado
NFL Draft: 2017 / Round: 3 / Pick: 66
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career NFL statistics as of Week 4, 2018
Total tackles: 46
Forced fumbles: 1
Fumble recoveries: 0
Pass deflections: 8
Interceptions: 2
Player stats at NFL.com

James Ahkello Elec Witherspoon (born March 21, 1995) is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Colorado.

High school career

Witherspoon attended Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, California. He played only one season of football in high school.[1]

College career

Witherspoon played at Sacramento City College for one year before transferring to the University of Colorado Boulder.[2][3] He played at Colorado from 2014 to 2016.[4][5] During his career he had 71 tackles and three interceptions.

Professional career

Coming out of Colorado, Witherspoon was projected to be a second or third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He received an invitation the NFL Combine and performed nearly every combine drill, but opted to skip the bench press. On March 8, 2017, he chose to participate at Colorado's pro day long with, Chidobe Awuzie, Tedric Thompson, Sefo Liufau, and ten other prospects. All 32 NFL teams had team representatives and scouts present.[6] He had five private workouts and visits with the Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle Seahawks.[7] He was ranked the 14th best cornerback prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[8]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
6 ft 3 in
(1.91 m)		 198 lb
(90 kg)		 33 in
(0.84 m)		 9 7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.45 s 1.53 s 2.57 s 4.13 s 6.93 s 40 1⁄2 in
(1.03 m)		 10 ft 6 in
(3.20 m)
All values from NFL Combine[9][8]

The San Francisco 49ers selected Ahkello in the third round (66th overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft.[10] He was the 11th cornerback selected in the 2017 NFL draft.

On May 12, 2017, the San Francisco 49ers signed Witherspoon to a four-year, $3.88 million contract with a signing bonus of $973,572.[11]

He competed with Dontae Johnson, Rashard Robinson, Keith Reaser, and K'Waun Williams throughout training camp for the starting cornerback position.[12] Head coach Kyle Shanahan named him the fifth cornerback on the depth chart behind Dontae Johnson, Rashard Robinson, K'Waun Williams, and Asa Jackson.

Witherspoon was a healthy scratch for the first four games of the 2017 season. On October 8, 2017, he made his professional regular season debut and recorded one tackle during a 23-26 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.[13] On October 29, 2017, Witherspoon earned his first career start and recorded three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and picked off a pass attempt by Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Carson Wentz for the first interception of his career during the 49ers' 10-33 loss.[14] Witherspoon earned the start in place of Rashard Robinson who was benched after repetitive Penalties and then traded to the New York Jets, two days later. Head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that Witherspoon would be the starting cornerback, opposite Dontae Johnson, moving forward and his development was one of the key factors in trading Robinson. Pro Football Focus graded Witherspoon the best player on the San Francisco 49ers during the matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles and credited him with allowing three receptions on eight targets.[15]

Personal life

Ahkello is the grandson of bluesman Jimmy Witherspoon.[16][3]

References

  1. ↑ "Colorado Buffaloes reaping benefits of Ahkello Witherspoon's late switch to football". 6 October 2016.
  2. ↑ "Colorado football: Buffs land commitment No. 16 with defensive back Witherspoon".
  3. 1 2 Davidson, Joe (7 October 2016). "Late bloomer Ahkello Witherspoon helps boost Colorado" – via Sacramento Bee.
  4. ↑ "Colorado Buffaloes' Ahkello Witherspoon excelling in pass coverage". 15 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon makes most of breakthrough opportunity". 7 October 2014.
  6. ↑ Ryan Megay (March 8, 2017). "Record Setting Attendance at CU Pro Timing Day". cubuffs.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Walter Football: 2017 NFL Draft Prospect Visits/Workouts". walterfootball.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  8. 1 2 "Ahkello Witherspoon, DS #14 CB, Colorado". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  9. ↑ "NFL Draft Profile: Ahkello Witherspoon". NFL.com. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  10. ↑ Fann, Joe (April 28, 2017). "San Francisco 49ers Draft Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon". 49ers.com.
  11. ↑ "Spotrac.com: Ahkello Witherspoon contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Ourlads.com: San Francisco 49ers' depth chart: 08/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. ↑ "49ers-Colts inactives: Ahkello Witherspoon active for the first time". ninersnation.com. October 9, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  14. ↑ "N Player Stats: Ahkello Witherspoon". NFL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  15. ↑ Nick Wagoner (November 1, 2017). "Penalties, belief in Ahkello Witherspoon led to Rashard Robinson trade". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  16. ↑ "San Francisco 49ers: Ahkello Witherspoon".
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