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After landing Devon Witherspoon with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Pete Carroll knew he'd selected a special player; someone who could impact the game in a similar way to another player he coach back in his days at USC: Troy Polamalu.
… wait what? Why is Carroll comparing Witherspoon, a perimeter cornerback, to a strong safety? Well, allow the Super Bowl-winning head coach to explain.
“Devon Witherspoon, he's a rare player,” Carroll said. “And we've been through this draft – since the year we've been here – we haven't seen a guy like this. We have not drafted corners high, just because we haven't come across a guy of this makeup. It's his athletic ability, it's his speed, it's his playmaking, it's his mentality. I haven't come across a guy like this in a long time; the last time I recognized this kind of makeup was back at SC, we had a guy that you guys might know, Troy Polamalu, was a guy who had an extraordinary way about the way he played the game.
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“And I saw this connection between what Devon does and how he looks at the game, and how he approaches it. It just knocked me out. So I'm just really excited about this. He's physical, he's tough, he's got an attitude he's gonna bring, and he's gonna fit right in with our guys. It's a great matchup for us.”
Alright, so that makes much more sense; Devon Witherspoon isn't going to magically move to strong safety or even necessarily kick it inside to play slot cornerback; he just has that mentality that made Troy Polamalu a star at the NFL level, and will hopefully do the same for Witherspoon in Seattle under Carroll's watch too.
Pete Carroll said Devon Witherspoon’s makeup reminds him of Troy Polamalu. “He’s physical, he’s tough, he’s got an attitude, he’s gonna bring it.” John Schneider said Witherspoon is one of the most physical players in this draft regardless of position. pic.twitter.com/SP6X6rv6FT
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) April 28, 2023
