Stephen Weatherly

Stephen Dian Weatherly (born March 19, 1994) is an American football defensive end for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a defensive end and linebacker at Vanderbilt University.^[1] Having nearly completed his degree, Weatherly declared as an early draft entrant following his junior season. He was drafted in the seventh round by the Vikings.

High school career

Weatherly attended North Atlanta High School, where he was a three-year starter at outside linebacker, defensive end and wide receiver. As a junior, he posted 66 tackles and 14 sacks. He also starred in basketball at North Atlanta, helping lead the Warriors to two sub-region titles. He then transferred to Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia for his senior year. He was named team captain and contributed with 79 tackles, 8.5 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and a pair of forced fumbles on defense, while also hauling in eight catches and two receiving touchdowns on offense, helping lead his team to the postseason in the Gwinnett County All-Star Game. For his season efforts, he earned All-Gwinnett County honors.^[2] He was the first and only Gwinnett County player to be invited to and play in the inaugural Georgia High School Senior Allstar Bowl as an OLB at the Georgia Dome.

During his time at North Atlanta, Weatherly was also a stand out as a the leader of the school's robotics team that won the Georgia regional championship and went to the world championships in St. Louis, where they competed against other teams around the world.^[3] In addition, Weatherly also excelled in track and field; he competed as a sprinter and long jumper for the Warriorss, recording personal-bests of 11.13 seconds in the 100-meter dash, 22.98 seconds in the 200-meter dash and 5.87 meters (19'3") in the long jump as a junior.^[4]

College career

Professional career

Pre-draft

External video

Weatherly's NFL Combine workout

Weatherly gets drafted by Minnesota

Minnesota Vikings

Weatherly was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round, 227th overall of the 2016 NFL Draft. He became the first Vanderbilt defensive lineman or linebacker drafted since the Indianapolis Colts selected Tim Fugger in the seventh round of the 2012 NFL Draft and also the second Vanderbilt alum ever drafted by the Vikings. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Vikings as part of final roster cuts.^[6] The next day, he was signed to the Vikings' practice squad.^[7] After spending the first 11 weeks of his rookie season on the practice squad, Weatherly was signed to the active roster on November 21, 2016.^[8]

Personal life

Weatherly majored in sociology at Vanderbilt University. His first and middle names are a tribute to his grandmother, who received degrees from both MIT and Harvard. Weatherly was part of the Fulton County Youth Commission, which was designed to address youth issues in the community by using the leaders of the youth to work in policy making and community service. He traveled throughout Germany with the program while in high school. Weatherly has an affinity for chess and math, can solve a Rubik's Cube and enjoys puzzles, paintball and skateboarding. He is also able to play up to nine musical instruments. “It came from my elementary school. It was mandatory for people to play in the band or orchestra and I chose the band.” Weatherly said. “From there, I just started in the front with flute and moved back. I played flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, baritone, tuba, tenor saxophone and then in college I took up steel drums and piano.”

References