Illinois great Devon Witherspoon selected to Pro Bowl as rookie

Illinois legend Devon Witherspoon was selected Wednesday to the NFL Pro Bowl during his rookie season.

According to Illinois, the Seahawks’ star cornerback is the first Illini to finish his UI career then earn a spot in the Pro Bowl as a rookie since Dick Butkus, who died last year.

Witherspoon was also named one of the candidates for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year; he finished with 16 passes defensed, 68 tackles and 3 sacks for Seattle.

There is no “Pro Bowl Game” anymore; instead, it’s a series of competitions for players to take part in. Anyway, still very, very cool for Spoon to go from zero-star recruit to top-five pick to Pro Bowler in about five years.