By Bianca Bryant <\/b>
\n<\/b>Medill Reports<\/i><\/p>\n
SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2013 Before Devon Witherspoon was preparing for Super Bowl LX as a lockdown cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, he was a kid in Pensacola, Florida, who wasn’t even playing football.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Pensacola, known for its white-sand beaches and sunny weather on the panhandle of Florida, is where Witherspoon developed his athletic prowess. He already stood out in basketball and track at Pine Forest High School. During his junior year, his persistent mother and a lifelong mentor convinced him to give football a try.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI knew from the way he handled the ball (in basketball), he\u2019d be intangible as a (defensive back),\u201d said Marquette Oliver, his coach and mentor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Oliver coached Witherspoon in Amateur Athetlic Union basketball and saw his NFL potential.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After receiving his first Division I scholarship offer in football, Witherspoon said he knew he needed to stick with the sport. That decision changed Witherspoon\u2019s life and gave the Pensacola community a hometown hero who hasn’t forgotten where he started.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt means everything. It\u2019s where I grew up, it\u2019s my natural home,\u201d Witherspoon said. \u201cWithout that community, I wouldn\u2019t be who I am today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite his athleticism, Witherspoon\u2019s path to the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday almost required a detour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Andrew Krause, who recruited the Pensacola area for Hutchinson Community College, recalls Witherspoon practicing for a week at the Kansas junior college while waiting on a final standardized test score. That score would determine if Witherspoon could officially commit to and attend the University of Illinois.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDid I know he was good enough to go to a Power Five (school)? No question about it,\u201d Krause said. \u201cThose are the only guys we recruit. The physical part isn’t hard to tell.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The score eventually cleared, allowing Witherspoon to bypass the junior college route and join the Fighting Illini. There, he blossomed into a consensus All-American and the highest-drafted defensive back in the school\u2019s history, being selected fifth overall by the Seahawks in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n Oliver, who has known Witherspoon since he was an infant, says success hasn’t changed the man.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s that guy, and we knew it from the first day,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a leader, always been a leader.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Oliver is organizing a community watch party for the Super Bowl, an event that will feature Seahawks merchandise and a raffle for an autographed jersey. It\u2019s a reflection of a community Oliver says is fully behind their star.<\/span><\/p>\n Witherspoon has quietly reciprocated that support. He recently donated money and backpacks filled with school supplies to local students, often insisting on doing so anonymously.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe loves the kids and the community,\u201d Oliver said. \u201cHe\u2019s never too busy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n On the field, Witherspoon is known for a high-octane playing style and occasional trash talking. For him, the vocal energy is simply a byproduct of his passion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI love what I do, and I like to express that on the field,\u201d Witherspoon said.<\/span><\/p>\n As he prepares for his next challenge on Sunday, Witherspoon\u2019s message to young athletes is to stay present, even as the world of sports becomes increasingly monetized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEnjoy your process on the way up,\u201d Witherspoon said. \u201cI know it moves pretty fast nowadays …\u00a0 but don\u2019t forget to enjoy the moments you have being a kid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n For Pensacola, Witherspoon is more than just a top-five NFL draft pick; he is a testament to what happens when talent meets a community that refuses to let it go to waste.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAs long as you put your mind to it, anything you wanna do, you can do it,\u201d Witherspoon said. \u201cAnd we accomplished that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Bianca Bryant is a sports media specialization graduate student at Medill.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Bianca Bryant Medill Reports SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2013 Before Devon Witherspoon was preparing for Super Bowl LX as a lockdown cornerback for the Seattle Seahawks, he was a kid in Pensacola, Florida, who wasn’t even playing football.\u00a0 Pensacola, known for its white-sand beaches and sunny weather on the panhandle of Florida, is where Witherspoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":765,"featured_media":106283,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5545,5543,31,5546,5544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medill-explores-2026","category-msj26","category-sports","category-super-bowl-lx","category-winter-2026"],"yoast_head":"\n