Witherspoon's father served in the US Air Force, and so Witherspoon moved around as a child. However, his family never lived on the military bases, instead deciding to live in the community so the children could experience the culture. In addition to speaking English, he knows how to speak German, and is learning both Arabic and Swedish. He attended Good Shepherd Lutheran School in middle school. He played running back for Rutherford High School in Panama City, Florida, but switched to linebacker before his senior year. He was chosen as the USA Today Florida Player of the Year for his efforts as a senior, where he posted 112 tackles, 3 sacks, and three interceptions.
Witherspoon and his wife Rebecca have three daughters.[1]
College career
He played college football at the University of Georgia, where he was a starter for three years. After playing every game as a true freshman, he started most of the Bulldogs' games for the remainder of his time at Georgia, switching between the middle, strong-side, and weak-side linebacker positions. He graduated with 211 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He was a landscape architecture major.
Witherspoon was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round (73rd overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft. He was the latest addition to new coach John Fox's overhaul of the defense, and Witherspoon's versatility at linebacker helped the Panthers total the second-best defense in the league. He replaced Dan Morgan at middle linebacker halfway through the season after Morgan went down with injury. He finished the season with 71 tackles and 1.5 sacks, his first half sack coming at the Cleveland Browns on December 1. During the 2003 NFL season, Witherspoon was the only Panther linebacker to start every game, where he once again filled in for an injured Morgan at middle linebacker.
He intercepted his first pass off New Orleans SaintsquarterbackAaron Brooks. During Super Bowl XXXVIII, Witherspoon posted a career-high 16 tackles. He ended the campaign with a total of 99 tackles, one sack and one interception. The following year, "Spoon" was one of the few defensive players to start every game for the Panthers, who were wracked with injuries. Despite the loss of key personnel like defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, the Panthers led the league in interceptions. Witherspoon set personal bests with three sacks and four interceptions and a then career-high of 103 tackles. In 2005, his final year with the Panthers, Witherspoon played in 15 games and finished the season 81 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions.
Witherspoon at the Panthers training camp in 2005.
St. Louis Rams
On March 12, 2006, as an unrestricted free agent, he signed a six-year, $33 million contract (including $15 million guaranteed) with the St. Louis Rams In his first season (2006) with the Rams, he played in all 16 games and recorded a career-high 113 tackles and three sacks. In 2007, he recorded 110 tackles and a career-high seven sacks and was named Team MVP for 2007.[3][4]
Philadelphia Eagles
On October 20, 2009 Witherspoon was traded from the Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for wide receiverBrandon Gibson and a fifth round draft pick in 2010. In his first game as an Eagle against the Washington Redskins on October 26, 2009, he recorded six tackles, an interception (returned for a touchdown), sack, and a forced fumble. During the season, he played in 17 games, becoming the fifth player since bye weeks were reintroduced in 1990 to do so, as he was traded prior to St. Louis's bye week to the Eagles after the Eagles bye week.[5]
He was released on March 5, 2010.
Will Witherspoon during second stint with Rams. 2013
On July 18, 2013, Witherspoon signed with the St. Louis Rams.[7]
After football
After not being signed by any team in the 2013-2014 off season, Witherspoon announced his retirement and took a job as the St. Louis Rams sideline reporter for Rams Radio Network.
Personal life
Witherspoon owns the sustainable Shire Gate Farm near Owensville, MO.[8]
References
^"ST. Louis Rams Bio". from the original on July 1, 2010. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
^"- , : 2002 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". www.nfldraftscout.com. from the original on September 11, 2017. Retrieved August 26, 2009.
^NFL.com December 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Stats courtesy of NFL.com
^"STLtoday - Sports - Rams". from the original on December 30, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
^"Former Eagle Witherspoon Producing for Titans". TitansOnline.com. October 20, 2010. from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
^"Ed Block Courage Award Recipients | the ed Block Courage Award Foundation". from the original on July 7, 2012. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
^"Will Witherspoon reportedly rejoining St. Louis Rams". NFL.com. from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
^Gunther, Andrew (February 1, 2013). "A Meat-Free Superbowl Party? Not for Me..." HuffPost. from the original on February 5, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
External links
St. Louis Rams profile
March 13, 2023
will, witherspoon, william, cordell, witherspoon, born, august, 1980, former, american, football, linebacker, drafted, carolina, panthers, third, round, 2002, draft, played, college, football, georgia, professionally, played, louis, rams, philadelphia, eagles,. William Cordell Witherspoon born August 19 1980 is a former American football linebacker He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2002 NFL Draft He played college football at Georgia Professionally he played for the St Louis Rams Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans Will WitherspoonWitherspoon at Al Asad Airbase in 2009No 54 51 92Position LinebackerPersonal informationBorn 1980 08 19 August 19 1980 age 42 San Antonio Texas U S Height 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m Weight 242 lb 110 kg Career informationHigh school Panama City FL RutherfordCollege GeorgiaNFL Draft 2002 Round 3 Pick 73Career historyCarolina Panthers 2002 2005 St Louis Rams 2006 2009 Philadelphia Eagles 2009 Tennessee Titans 2010 2012 St Louis Rams 2013 Career NFL statisticsTotal tackles 951Sacks 26 0Forced fumbles 11Fumble recoveries 8Interceptions 14Defensive touchdowns 3Player stats at NFL com PFR Contents 1 Early years 2 College career 3 Professional career 3 1 Pre draft measurables 3 2 Carolina Panthers 3 3 St Louis Rams 3 4 Philadelphia Eagles 3 5 Tennessee Titans 3 6 Second stint with Rams 4 After football 5 Personal life 6 References 7 External linksEarly years EditWitherspoon s father served in the US Air Force and so Witherspoon moved around as a child However his family never lived on the military bases instead deciding to live in the community so the children could experience the culture In addition to speaking English he knows how to speak German and is learning both Arabic and Swedish He attended Good Shepherd Lutheran School in middle school He played running back for Rutherford High School in Panama City Florida but switched to linebacker before his senior year He was chosen as the USA Today Florida Player of the Year for his efforts as a senior where he posted 112 tackles 3 sacks and three interceptions Witherspoon and his wife Rebecca have three daughters 1 College career EditHe played college football at the University of Georgia where he was a starter for three years After playing every game as a true freshman he started most of the Bulldogs games for the remainder of his time at Georgia switching between the middle strong side and weak side linebacker positions He graduated with 211 tackles 3 5 sacks one forced fumble and one fumble recovery He was a landscape architecture major Professional career EditPre draft measurables Edit Pre draft measurables Height Weight 40 yard dash 10 yard split 20 yard split 20 yard shuttle Three cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press6 ft 1 1 2 in 1 87 m 231 lb 105 kg 4 58 s 1 73 s 2 76 s 4 21 s 7 09 s 38 in 0 97 m 10 ft 2 in 3 10 m 25 repsAll values from NFL Combine 2 Carolina Panthers Edit Witherspoon was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the third round 73rd overall of the 2002 NFL Draft He was the latest addition to new coach John Fox s overhaul of the defense and Witherspoon s versatility at linebacker helped the Panthers total the second best defense in the league He replaced Dan Morgan at middle linebacker halfway through the season after Morgan went down with injury He finished the season with 71 tackles and 1 5 sacks his first half sack coming at the Cleveland Browns on December 1 During the 2003 NFL season Witherspoon was the only Panther linebacker to start every game where he once again filled in for an injured Morgan at middle linebacker He intercepted his first pass off New Orleans Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks During Super Bowl XXXVIII Witherspoon posted a career high 16 tackles He ended the campaign with a total of 99 tackles one sack and one interception The following year Spoon was one of the few defensive players to start every game for the Panthers who were wracked with injuries Despite the loss of key personnel like defensive tackle Kris Jenkins the Panthers led the league in interceptions Witherspoon set personal bests with three sacks and four interceptions and a then career high of 103 tackles In 2005 his final year with the Panthers Witherspoon played in 15 games and finished the season 81 tackles 2 5 sacks and two interceptions Witherspoon at the Panthers training camp in 2005 St Louis Rams Edit On March 12 2006 as an unrestricted free agent he signed a six year 33 million contract including 15 million guaranteed with the St Louis Rams In his first season 2006 with the Rams he played in all 16 games and recorded a career high 113 tackles and three sacks In 2007 he recorded 110 tackles and a career high seven sacks and was named Team MVP for 2007 3 4 Philadelphia Eagles Edit On October 20 2009 Witherspoon was traded from the Rams to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for wide receiver Brandon Gibson and a fifth round draft pick in 2010 In his first game as an Eagle against the Washington Redskins on October 26 2009 he recorded six tackles an interception returned for a touchdown sack and a forced fumble During the season he played in 17 games becoming the fifth player since bye weeks were reintroduced in 1990 to do so as he was traded prior to St Louis s bye week to the Eagles after the Eagles bye week 5 He was released on March 5 2010 Will Witherspoon during second stint with Rams 2013 Tennessee Titans Edit Witherspoon was signed by the Tennessee Titans on March 9 2010 He was voted by his teammates as the Titans Ed Block Courage Award recipient 6 Second stint with Rams Edit On July 18 2013 Witherspoon signed with the St Louis Rams 7 After football EditAfter not being signed by any team in the 2013 2014 off season Witherspoon announced his retirement and took a job as the St Louis Rams sideline reporter for Rams Radio Network Personal life EditWitherspoon owns the sustainable Shire Gate Farm near Owensville MO 8 References Edit ST Louis Rams Bio Archived from the original on July 1 2010 Retrieved September 5 2008 2002 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile www nfldraftscout com Archived from the original on September 11 2017 Retrieved August 26 2009 NFL com Archived December 24 2009 at the Wayback Machine Stats courtesy of NFL com STLtoday Sports Rams Archived from the original on December 30 2007 Retrieved December 27 2007 Former Eagle Witherspoon Producing for Titans TitansOnline com October 20 2010 Archived from the original on December 16 2019 Retrieved December 15 2019 Ed Block Courage Award Recipients the ed Block Courage Award Foundation Archived from the original on July 7 2012 Retrieved June 28 2012 Will Witherspoon reportedly rejoining St Louis Rams NFL com Archived from the original on July 22 2013 Retrieved July 19 2013 Gunther Andrew February 1 2013 A Meat Free Superbowl Party Not for Me HuffPost Archived from the original on February 5 2013 Retrieved February 3 2013 External links EditSt Louis Rams profile Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Will Witherspoon amp oldid 1135825587, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
