Ahkello Witherspoon

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.

Ahkello Witherspoon
Witherspoon in 2017
No. 23 – San Francisco 49ers
Position:Cornerback
Personal information
Born: (1995-03-21) March 21, 1995
Sacramento, California
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High school:Christian Brothers
(Sacramento, California)
College:Colorado
NFL Draft:2017 / Round: 3 / Pick: 66
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Total tackles:117
Forced fumbles:1
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:24
Interceptions:4
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

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
Height Weight Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump
6 ft 2 3⁄4 in
(1.90 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 7 in
(3.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine[9][8]

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

2017 season: Rookie year
Witherspoon in 2017

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.[12]

Witherspoon competed with Dontae Johnson, Rashard Robinson, Keith Reaser, and K'Waun Williams throughout training camp for the starting cornerback position.[13] 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 year. On October 8, 2017, he made his NFL debut and recorded one tackle during a 23-26 overtime road loss to the Indianapolis Colts.[14] On October 29, 2017, Witherspoon earned his first NFL start and recorded three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and picked off a pass attempt by Carson Wentz for his first NFL interception as the 49ers lost to the Philadelphia Eagles by a score of 10-33.[15] 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 Eagles and credited him with allowing three receptions on eight targets.[16] During a Week 16 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Witherspoon recorded his second interception of the year by picking off Blake Bortles as the 49ers won by a score of 44-33.[17]

Witherspoon finished his rookie year playing in 12 games with nine starts, recording 32 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions.[18]

2018 season

Witherspoon entered the 2018 season as a starting cornerback alongside Richard Sherman. He played in 14 games with 12 starts, recording 37 tackles and four passes defended. On December 18, 2018, Witherspoon was placed on injured reserve due to a knee injury he suffered in Week 15 against the Seattle Seahawks.[19]

2019 season

In the season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Witherspoon intercepted Jameis Winston and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown in the 31-17 road victory.[20] He missed Weeks 5-10 with a foot injury but returned in Week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals.

Witherspoon finished the regular season with 28 tackles, a career-high nine pass deflections, and an interception returned for a touchdown. In the playoffs, he was demoted to a backup role to Emmanuel Moseley after a poor performance in the Divisional Round against the Minnesota Vikings. The 49ers went on to reach Super Bowl LIV, but lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Witherspoon finished the Super Bowl with one tackle.

2020 season

In Week 16 against the Arizona Cardinals, Witherspoon recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Kyler Murray during the 20–12 win.[21]

Regular season
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSckPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2017SF 129322840.0724221.023010
2018SF 1412373070.04000.00001
2019SF 108282440.0912525.025T100
2020SF 114201730.041000000
Career473311799180.02446716.825T111

Postseason
Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GPGSCombTotalAstSckPDIntYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2019SF 314220.00000.00000
Career314220.00000.00000

Personal life

Witherspoon is the grandson of bluesman Jimmy Witherspoon.[22][3]

References
  1. Kosmider, Nick (October 6, 2016). "Colorado Buffaloes reaping benefits of Ahkello Witherspoon's late switch to football". Denver Post. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  2. "Colorado football: Buffs land commitment No. 16 with defensive back Witherspoon". Boulder Daily Camera. December 8, 2013. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  3. Davidson, Joe (October 7, 2016). "Late bloomer Ahkello Witherspoon helps boost Colorado". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  4. Howell, Brian (September 15, 2016). "Colorado Buffaloes' Ahkello Witherspoon excelling in pass coverage". Denver Post. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  5. Kensler, Tom (October 7, 2014). "Colorado CB Ahkello Witherspoon makes most of breakthrough opportunity". Denver Post. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  6. Megay, Ryan (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. "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. "2017 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  12. "Spotrac.com: Ahkello Witherspoon contract". Spotrac.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  13. "Ourlads.com: San Francisco 49ers' depth chart: 08/01/2017". ourlads.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  14. "49ers-Colts inactives: Ahkello Witherspoon active for the first time". ninersnation.com. October 9, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  15. "N Player Stats: Ahkello Witherspoon". NFL.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  16. Wagoner, Nick (November 1, 2017). "Penalties, belief in Ahkello Witherspoon led to Rashard Robinson trade". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  17. "Ahkello Witherspoon: Why 49ers cornerback will have a breakout year in 2018". Niner Noise. January 31, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  18. "Ahkello Witherspoon 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  19. "49ers Place Ahkello Witherspoon on IR, Sign Tyvis Powell". 49ers.com. December 18, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
  20. "Sherman, 49ers upend Winston, Buccaneers 31-7". www.espn.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2019. Retrieved September 8, 2019.
  21. "San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals – December 26th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  22. "San Francisco 49ers: Ahkello Witherspoon". 49ers.com. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
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