Great News for Jordan Whittington fans. Without question Whittington is one of the key players on the Texas offense. Time and time again, Whittington can be seen putting a key block on a defender that allows his teammate to catch the ball, gain extra yards, and score touchdowns.
If this was a movie, Whittington would be the clear winner of the “Best Supporting Actor” role.
We have so many field level photos showing Whittington right-there at the key moment with the perfect block.
Whittington is a wide receiver and instinctively most people think wide receivers catch passes and get lots of yards, including touchdowns. Whittington does not have a ton of receptions, yardage and touchdowns.
Naturally, you would have to wonder if there is a path to the NFL for someone who is so good, unselfish, and impactful to the team and in the game.
Whittington is in his sixth season with the Longhorns and currently has 105 receptions for 1,348 yards in his career. This past Red River Rivalry Whittington had his best game of his career going 10-10 and 115 yards receiving.
We started to wonder if NFL teams would recognize Whittington’s contribution and not just look at receptions and yardage. In the preseason Whittington was named to the Reese’s Senior Bowl watch list, which means they are watching him, but does he have a body of work to get their attention?
Before the Kansas State game we were given the honor of asking the final question of Steve Sarkisian’s at his Thursday press conference.
We asked Steve Sarkisian specifically about Jordan Whittington. Here is what coach Sarkisian said,
“Jordan Whittington is going to play in the NFL and he’s going to play for a while. You know, I think a lot of times because he’s such a complete football player, he can, he can run routes. He’s excellent in the slot. He’s very good on third down. He’s a tremendous blocker, as you referenced. What a lot of times goes unnoticed is how good he is on special teams.”
Sarkisian explains more about how the Texas offense moves the ball around and finished his comments by saying of Whittington,
“…but I think one thing about Jordan that, that I will, I will always be forever grateful for him. He’s the ultimate team player. He will do whatever we ask of him to do to help this team win, and I think that, that’s why he has so much respect from his teammates.”
The Kansas State game will be Whittington’s 32 game of his collegiate career. This season Whittington has 24 catches for 267 yards, with one kick return, and one punt return.
Listen to Sarkisian talk about Whittington.
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Why not use the horns down that all Texas hatters love to use to Texas advantage. Remember BEVO an the Georgia bull dog at the Orange Bowl. I remember BEVO getting after there mascot an watched as he ran for his life
Most epic of introductions…https://youtu.be/6jyFNKxH3xg?si=0rk9kC8xNZRsshCt
Terry,
We beat BYU 35-6. Jordan received not a single reception. Are you really satisfied with his explanation? I’m not.
Well, so there is something interesting about Sarkisian that nobody talks about or maybe do not catch. First, there is no doubt that Sarkisian ultimate goal is to put his team and players in the best possible situation to succeed. Jordan not getting a pass (I will admit it surprised me also) may be for several reasons.
1.) The defense presented a look that did not show a high probability for a pass to Jordan, even though several times in the red zone we did see him wide open. The staff of coaches looking at everything is incredible so while their play call might not seem like the best call, it is basic on a collective of many experienced coaches.
2.) Sarkisian is a chess player and plays the game as such. I’m convinced that he treats his press conferences as part of his chess match. If you listen carefully to them, he will reveal things about an upcoming game or about a player that seems to be just a passing thought, but is really a reveal.
So many times throughout the season I have caught myself thinking, “wait a minute, Sarkisian said this was going to happen early in the season.”
Take Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning. The drama that swirls around that conversation is incredible. Some on the national scene are starting to talk about a Manning transfer. There is NO WAY, Manning is going to transfer. Sarkisian has a plan for all his QB that put them in the best situation.
So, to answer your question directly, yes, ultimately I do trust what he said. He would have not said what he did with his high praise of Whittington if he did not feel and think that to his core.
All that being said, I would love for Whittington to have another 100-yard game.
With all do respect, this is all true, but the real question is…”Why are you not throwing the ball to your most versatile and reliable 5th year senior?”
With all do respect, this is all true, but the real question needs to be, “Why are you not throwing the ball to your most versatile and reliable 5th senior?”
Sean, you bring up an excellent question. Sarkisian does address this in a way that makes sense giving the pool of players Texas has on offense.
Listen to the audo we put at the end of the article. We thought the same as you, but Sarkisian makes a valid point.
I appreciate you guys asking him this question, however, I’m not satisfied at all with his answer, and I doubt I’m alone. It makes no sense. Jordan would be a leading receiver with over 1000 yards bare minimum at any other program, including top tier teams with just as much talent. I have NEVER seen a player with this much talent be this underutilized EVER. If UT can win without drastically increasing his receptions then I stand corrected, but I have a feeling they won’t be able to finish this season in a CFP without him.