Illinois Football: Seattle Seahawks select Devon Witherspoon in the 2023 NFL Draft

Illinois football officially has a player selected in the top 10 of the 2023 NFL Draft.

If you are an Illini fan who is 27 years old or younger, you weren’t alive the last time this program had a top 10 pick in the draft. You have to go back to 1996 when the Orange and Blue had two players selected in the top 10.

But now Illinois fans can rejoice, as cornerback Devon Witherspoon is off the board. With pick No. 5, the Seattle Seahawks selected the talented Illinois defensive back. This is a great pick and one that should pay dividends for this franchise.

Illinois football cornerback Devon Witherspoon is going to be a big-time player for the Seattle Seahawks

Coming into the draft, Witherspoon was looked at as a top 10 pick. He climbed draft boards quickly once the season ended, and now he is going to be playing on Sundays.

But things weren’t always this smooth for Witherspoon. He didn’t start out with a silver spoon in his mouth. Witherspoon was underrated and earned everything he ever received.

The class of 2019 produced a lot of top talent. Some of the familiar names include Derek Stingley, No. 3 overall, George Pickens, No. 24 overall, George Karlaftis, No. 59 overall, and Kyle Hamilton, No. 60 overall, to name a few.

You won’t find Witherspoon up there in the top 100 recruits for 2019. You also won’t find the top 10 pick in the top 1000. Shoot, if you continue to look at the rankings, you won’t even find him in the top 2000.

Witherspoon didn’t have stars or a fancy number by his name. 247Sports didn’t have him ranked at all. Coming out of Pine Forest High School in Florida, Witherspoon was a relative unknown with, I believe, only one power-five scholarship and that was from Illinois.

From day one, Witherspoon was thrown to the wolves and asked to perform. Throughout his career, he would start in 32 games for the Illini and would perform with class. His final two seasons were his best, as Witherspoon ended the 2021 campaign with 52 tackles and nine pass deflections. He would then cap his time off at Illinois with 41 tackles, 14 pass deflections, and three interceptions in 2022.

I can’t believe Witherspoon’s time is done at Illinois. I am going to miss watching him play on Saturdays. This kid was one of the best to ever do it. One of only 21 consensus All-Americans in Illinois history. Now let’s sit back and watch him blaze a trail in the NFL.