Donte Whitner is an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 safety for the San Francisco 49ers

San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 in the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. He was drafted by the Bills in the first round (eighth overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft

2006 NFL Draft

The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with additional coverage offered by ESPNU and, for the first time, by...

. He played collegiately

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 at the Ohio State University

Ohio State Buckeyes football

The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

. He is the older brother of former Uconn defensive end, Lindsey Witten

Lindsey Witten

Lindsey Rashaun Witten is an American football defensive end for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He was cut at the end of camp and signed by the Hartford Colonials of the United Football League...

.

Early years

Whitner attended Glenville High School

Glenville High School

Glenville Academic Campus is a public high school in the Glenville neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland, Ohio. The school is part of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Founded in 1905, the school's original campus was located at Everton and Parkwood. The current campus was built in...

 in Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

. After his senior season he was invited to the U.S. Army All-American Bowl

U.S. Army All-American Bowl

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game held in early January in San Antonio, Texas. Currently played in the Alamodome, the game brings 90 of the nation's top high school football players in an East versus West matchup. In addition to the Bowl game, there is the U.S...

game. An excellent student, Whitner graduated with a 3.7 grade point average while majoring in Consumer Affairs.

Buffalo Bills

Whitner was drafted by the Buffalo Bills with the 8th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. In his first career game, Whitner recorded his first career interception against Tom Brady. The ruling on the field was a touchdown, but was later overruled and said Whitner stepped out of bounds. He finished 2006 with 104 total tackles and one interception for 10 yards. In 2009, Whitner recorded his first career touchdown on a 76 yard interception return from Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Byron Leftwich in Week 2. His most productive game to date was in Week 12 of the 2010 season, where he recorded 18 total tackles against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

San Francisco 49ers

On August 4, 2011, Whitner signed with the San Francisco 49ers. After previously announcing on Twitter he would be going to the Cincinnati Bengals, he changed his mind and signed with San Francisco. He agreed to a 3-year, $11.75 million deal with $4 million guaranteed.

External links

• Donte Whitner's Official Yardbarker Blog