Bob Lectress Whitfield III (born October 18, 1971) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was an

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

in the National Football League (NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

Early career

Whitfield played high school football at Banning High School in Wilmington, California, where he was teammates with Mark Tucker. He then played

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, where Dennis Green served as head coach. Whitfield won a starting position as a true freshman and following his junior season, he declared his eligibility in the NFL Draft.

Professional career

Whitfield was drafted in the first round (eighth overall) of the

1992 NFL Draft The 1992 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1992, at the Marriott Mar ...

by the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He played for the Falcons from 1992–2003 before he was released by the team. He then played for the Jacksonville Jaguars for the 2004 season. Whitfield, a 1999 Pro Bowler, was a fixture on the Falcons offensive line that finished 14‐2 in the regular season. The team went on to upset the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game and advance to Super Bowl XXXIII. Whitfield attended Stanford University, where he was a consensus All-America student-athlete in his junior season. Although he made an early draft departure, Bob returned to the university to complete a Bachelors Degree of Arts in Economics in 2012. He was inducted in the Stanford Sports Hall of Fame in 2012. Whitfield started for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

at left tackle during the 2006 season filling in after starter

Luke Petitgout Lucas George Petitgout (born June 16, 1976) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants 19th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. Petitgout played college football at Notr ...

went down with injury. His time as a starter was marked by two episodes of him losing his cool and drawing costly personal fouls, twice on headbutts in key spots against the Dallas Cowboys and later in a week 16 loss against the New Orleans Saints. These actions lead to him receiving the nickname "Head-butt Bob" from many Giant fans as well as local columnists. Due to these actions and general inconsistent play, Whitfield was benched for the final game of the season against the Washington Redskins and the subsequent playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles. On February 12, 2007, he announced his retirement on Sirius NFL radio.

Post-playing career

Whitfield is the founder and C.E.O. of Patchwerks, Inc., established in 1993, which operated

PatchWerk Recording Studios Patchwerk Recording Studios is a recording studio located at 1094 Hemphill Avenue, West Midtown in Atlanta, GA. It was established in 1993 by former NFL offensive tackle Bob Whitfield of the Atlanta Falcons, and is currently owned and opera ...

in Atlanta, GA. Offering recording, production, mixing and mastering services, the studio has recorded and/or mixed more than 500 gold and platinum albums, including portions of OutKast's ''ATLiens'', and Goodie Mob's ''Still Standing''. The studio has also worked with the likes of T.I.,

Nelly Cornell Iral Haynes Jr. (born November 2, 1974), better known by his stage name Nelly, is an American rapper, singer, actor and entrepreneur. He embarked on his music career with the hip hop group St. Lunatics in 1993 and signed to Universal ...

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

112 112 may refer to: *112 (number), the natural number following 111 and preceding 113 *112 (band), an American R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia **112 (album), ''112'' (album), album from the band of the same name *112 (emergency telephone number), t ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after NFL and CFL wide receiver ...

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, Whitney Houston, Ras Kass, Toni Braxton,

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Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the New wave music, new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician D ...

, and many more. The studio was divested from the parent company in 2009 in order to focus investment in film and television. Whitfield also serves as a guest analyst for the UK's NFL Coverage on Sky Sports as well as contributing on local Atlanta television and radio. On November 11, 2011, Whitfield was inducted into Stanford University's Hall of Fame and in an interview, Whitfield admitted he was considering a return to his alma mater to complete his degree. Whitfield returned to Stanford in 2012 and received a degree in economics during a commencement ceremony held Father's Day with his kids present. Whitfield was married to '' The Real Housewives of Atlanta'' cast member Shereé Whitfield, with whom he has two children. The couple divorced in 2008. Sheree alleged that during their marriage Bob was abusive. He has a son, Kodi, who also played football at

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Bob 1971 births Living people All-American college football players American football offensive tackles Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Jaguars players National Conference Pro Bowl players New York Giants players Sportspeople from Carson, California Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California Stanford Cardinal football players Players of American football from Los Angeles Phineas Banning High School alumni