Corliss Waitman was born in Belgium, grew up in the Netherlands and owns the obscure distinction of being the only left-footed Black player at his position in NFL history.
There is, quite literally, no one quite like the San Francisco 49ers punter, but so many can relate to what drove him to the highest level of professional success: He wanted to honor his father.
Advertisement
In 2013, Waitman, a senior at Milton (Fla.) High School, was being recruited by Oregon and Auburn, two years after the Ducks and Tigers played in the national championship game. But he passed on the bluebloods. His heart was set on a startup: the University of South Alabama, which began playing football in 2009.
Waitman’s dad, Jose, played basketball at South Alabama before embarking on a 15-season professional career in Europe. In 1987, he was named MVP of a Dutch league.
Jose Waitman, 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds during his playing days, was a towering presence in Corliss’ life. He died at 48 on April 17, 2013, when Corliss was 17. Months later, Corliss sent an email to a coach at a fledgling program a year removed from a 2-11 season that didn’t know he was interested. He asked if the staff could recruit him.
“I went to South Alabama,” Corliss said, “solely to honor my dad.”
Advertisement
During a stellar debut season with the 49ers, Waitman, 31, recently reflected on his improbable journey and the role his father played in it. After signing a one-year deal in March, Waitman ranks fifth in the NFL in net punting average (44.0 yards) and has dropped 47.6% of his kicks inside the 20-yard line, ranking 10th. He was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after pinning all five of his punts inside the 20, including three inside the 10, in the 49ers’ 32-29 win at Seattle on Oct. 11.
Niners punter Corliss Waitman was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after pinning all five of his punts inside the 20 in a 32-29 win in Seattle on Oct. 11. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
The honor was another step in Waitman’s nomadic NFL career, a journey he didn’t see coming. He grew up playing soccer in Europe and was blessed with a bazooka left leg. But when he was introduced to football shortly after arriving in the United States at 14, he was comically inconsistent. He didn’t become Milton’s full-time punter until his senior season.
Waitman quickly ascended to all-state, a transformation that began in the months after his father died from the complications of a stroke. Chafan Marsh, Waitman’s high school coach who was close friends with Jose, said Jose’s death gave Corliss purpose as he dealt with his pain.
Advertisement
In the months that followed, Corliss, alone, began climbing a fence to enter Milton’s locked stadium to practice punting.
“His efforts and commitment to football changed dramatically,” Marsh said. “It just kind of lit a fire into him. He was dealing with a lot of grief, but I think he made a commitment to being the very best he could be.”
Marsh knew that kind of intensity. He was an all-conference guard at Southern Mississippi, where he played with quarterback Brett Favre. But he said Jose’s competitiveness was on another level. After retiring, Jose coached and played on a community men’s team in a league he sponsored. Marsh played on the team, too.
“Jose always wanted to win,” Marsh said, laughing.
Advertisement
When his parents divorced, Corliss spent summers with his father. He eventually left the Netherlands to live with Jose full time. He and his mother, Adolfine Chaar, agreed that Corliss – a gifted, highly emotional athlete with an inconsistent work ethic – could benefit from Jose’s firm guidance and exacting standards.
Asked about Jose’s tough-love approach when it came to athletics, Corliss smiled and offered an example. He used to run wildly around soccer fields to celebrate individually when he scored goals. Jose put a stop to that: Always celebrate with your teammates. Watch Waitman the next time he drops a punt inside the 10-yard line. The lesson stuck.
“My mom thought it would be good to have my dad more in my life to kind of push me and get me mentally more ready for what might be ahead – to kind of get the engine going,” Waitman said. “It was great. He was really hard on me and helped shape me into the man I am today.”
As a sophomore and junior at Milton, Waitman played both soccer and football. Jeff Klug coached him in soccer for a season and, as a football assistant, worked with him on kicking throughout high school. A former kicker who briefly played for LSU, Klug recognized that the raw punter – Waitman’s warmup kicks were often shanked into the stands – had rare ability.
Advertisement
“It just sounded different when it came off his foot,” Klug said. “Explosive. You’re like, ‘OK, yeah, that’s not normal.'”
The problem was that Waitman’s inconsistency was just as remarkable.
“He’d punt the ball 40 yards, and then shank one to the side for 10 yards,” Marsh said. “Then he’d hit the next two for 45. You’re like, ‘Oh, my god.’ Then the next three might end up in the bleachers.”
Looking back, Waitman says he struggled to process his emotions that followed his father’s death. At 17, however, it did provide the first sense that time was fleeting and his chances to realize his athletic potential weren’t limitless. Without his dad, he also felt a responsibility to finish the work that they’d started together. And then there was his fury at life’s unfairness.
Advertisement
“It kind of made me angry and I used some of that to just start working harder in sports, which is not necessarily a healthy thing to do,” Waitman said. “But it did make me a better punter.”
After Jose’s death, Waitman lived with his uncle, Gaylord. He stopped playing soccer as a senior to focus on football and began working with private kicking coach Mike McCabe. That gave him the chance to train with one of McCabe’s NFL clients, then-Rams punter Johnny Hekker, in nearby Pensacola and Gulf Breeze.
McCabe heard the same unusual sound. Waitman’s technique needed work, but his leg had NFL potential.
“I’ve been doing this for 31 years,” McCabe said. “And so, yeah, you can tell.”
The 49ers’ Corliss Waitman punts against the Washington Commanders on Oct. 19 at Levi’s Stadium. (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
At South Alabama, Waitman felt connected to his father. There were photos of Jose in the gym, and he met people who knew his dad. But Waitman’s first two seasons were a nightmare. In 2014, days before his freshman season opener, he was ruled academically ineligible because some credits from the Netherlands didn’t transfer. In 2015 he tore his ACL in the third game of the season.
Advertisement
Two years later, Waitman ranked eighth in the nation in gross punting average, at 45.2 yards, and was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference. The determination his dad helped instill has come in handy in the NFL. Since entering the league as an undrafted free agent, Waitman has been waived nine times and made stops with six teams.
“No matter what the situation, Corliss always had a positive attitude,” said former South Alabama head coach Joey Jones. “One of the reasons he’s made it as far as he has is his mindset, mental toughness and wanting to be the best at what he does.”
Said Klug: “How many times has he been told, ‘No, you can’t do it. No, you can’t do it’? And he just keeps going.”
What Waitman’s coaches praised even more was his integrity. McCabe called him an “amazing young man of character.” Said Klug: “I have an extreme love for the kid. How can you not?” Jones, South Alabama’s coach for the program’s first 10 seasons, said, “I’m not saying this because you’re making the phone call, he’s one of my favorite players I ever coached.” Marsh pointed to Waitman’s frequent trips back to Milton and his work in the community.
Advertisement
“His reputation preceded him,” 49ers long snapper Jon Weeks said. “From everyone I talk to after we signed him, I mean, everyone absolutely loves him.”
Waitman, a regular in the 49ers’ postgame prayer huddles, credits his faith for his outlook. But he hasn’t found answers to the questions that followed his father’s death. Does everything happen for a reason? He’s not sure why he lost his dad at 17.
“I feel that everything that’s happened helped get me to here,” Waitman said. “I wish some things were different, but I don’t feel like every single thing that happened has to be explained. I just have to deal with it, keep pushing and trying to inspire people.”
Thirteen years ago, Waitman found inspiration in the midst of his grief. He set out to honor his father, who would now be so proud, looking at the man his son has become.
Advertisement
Subscribe
There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at After his father’s death, 49ers’ Corliss Waitman found purpose amid his pain.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: Sports.yahoo.com
