Texas Football: When Can UT Expect Jordan Whittington Back? And What Position Will He Play?
By all accounts, the hype surrounding five-star athlete Jordan Whittington going into the 2019 season was warranted.
Coveted by every blue blood in the country and fresh off a historic performance in the 2018 3A State Championship Game in which he finished with 334 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards, six touchdowns, 11 total tackles and was named the both the Offensive and Defensive MVP of the game, those who tuned in to the game on national TV (and the people who saw the highlights that were the toast of the social media afterword) all believed there were big plays in store for Whittington during his freshman season at Texas.
Even a position change from receiver to running back didn't slow down Whittington's hype. By all accounts, he was a stud in both spring practice and early fall camp according to both players and coaches.
But Whittington re-aggravated a sports hernia injury he had suffered during his high school career in the first game of the season. The injury ended up requiring another procedure and never quite healed enough for him to get back on the field during 2019.
In fact, he ended up going to New York for another surgery in December to help him recover from the injury. Texas coach Tom Herman was optimistic about his condition during bowl prep.
It’s going great, obviously had to have another procedure with complications from the prior surgery but he’s in great hands with Dr. (William) Meyers, who is the best in the world," Herman said. "And we think we finally, we are on the right track to progress."
Reports from the Forty Acres still place Whittington on the right track to report ready for spring football.
Now the question becomes what position will he play when he does eventually return?
Texas faced a bit of a depth crisis at running back last spring when highly touted recruit Derrian Brown suffered an unexpected stroke and had to leave the game of football for the foreseeable future.
The decision was then made to move Whittington to running back, where he could not only help with depth but provide an explosive presence the Longhorns hadn't seen in the backfield in the Herman era.
Fast forward a year and running back depth isn't nearly as big a concern. Keaontay Ingram got stronger as the season went on, Roschon Johnson (should he stay at the position) was a welcome surprise in the backfield after dire depth circumstances caused him to move over from quarterback and true freshman Bijan Robinson looks to be as close to game-ready as they come.
Meanwhile, the graduation of Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson leaves a dearth of proven experience at the receiver positions, fueling recent speculation that Whittington could move back tho his natural spot and compete for a starting spot rather than share carries with three other capable backs in the backfield.
There's also the possibility that Whittington plays a little of both, rotating from the backfield to the slot to even one of the outside receiver spots. His versatility would certainly put pressure on defenses to account for him no matter where he lined up.
Reports from the Forty Acres say Texas' new staff is considering a move for Whittington, though nothing will truly be known until he is medically cleared and participating in drills. Even then, the true nature of Whittington's role in the Texas offense may very well be kept a secret until Texas kicks off the 2020 season.
The good news for Texas is Whittington was able to redshirt last season (though it may not matter for a guy who has the raw talent to go to the NFL after his third year on campus).
Hopefully, for Texas fans' (and Whittington's) sake, the new Longhorn offensive staff puts their heads together and comes up with the absolute best way to utilize this will-be redshirt freshman's massive talents to the utmost possibility.
