Husky Roster Review: Whitney Hopes to Run in Fast Company with Bryant

Spring football practice is a lot like U.S. Army boot camp — it's where newly signed-up freshmen players and enlisted men similarly go to disappear if not suffer before they figure everything out, accept promotions and assume leadership roles.

Linebacker Jordan Whitney was one of nine University of Washington recruits who enrolled early in school and left behind his mom's home cooking, the senior prom and graduation ceremonies in order to get his Husky athletic career started in March and April.

Whitney hails from Pacifica High School in Oxnard, California, a few blocks from the Pacific Ocean and the inviting beach. While he could have been hanging out with friends and enjoying the comforting weather, he turned to an often chilly Montlake and 15 UW spring practices.

Going down the roster from No. 0 to 99, Whitney, who wears No. 33 all to his own, is next up in a series of profiles about each of the Huskies' scholarship players and assorted walk-ons, summing up their spring football performances and surmising what might come next for them.

For most freshmen, such as Jordan Whitney (33), UW spring football was a big learning experience and a football adjustment period.

Jordan Whitney wears No. 33, which is a retired Husky number previously worn by All-America running George Wilson in the 1920s and since returned to service.

Jordan Whitney moves through a spring drill with fellow UW linebackers Ralen Goforth (10), Griffin Miller (49) and Drew Fowler (54).

Jordan Whitney (33) waits his turn as fellow freshman linebacker Deven Bryant (17) gets ready to move through a spring practice drill.

Jordan Whitney simulates a ball carrier, something he did for real in high school, during this UW spring practice drill.

Co-defensive linebacker William Inge welcomes a serious looking Jordan Whitney to Washington on his recruiting visit in June 2022.

Whitney might not know it, but he's already been connected to Husky greatness simply by pulling on the number he wears. That 33 on his back once belonged to legendary running back George Wilson, a consensus All-America player who led the UW to its first two Rose Bowls and became the Huskies' first NFL player.

The number had been retired for decades but the football program sought and received permission for its players to wear No. 2, 33 and 44 again.

While he's dressed for the part, the 6-foot-2, 212-pound Whitney is part of a long-range plan in which he teams with fellow freshman linebacker Deven Bryant from Carson, California, and presents the Huskies with a pair of swift defensive starters on the second row capable of running sideline to sideline and creating havoc. One of the attractions to Whitney was him being a sprinter on his high school track team.

"Jordan Whitney, that's my guy," Bryant said. "He's coming along well. He's working his tail off and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him."

The Huskies haven't had a pair of tue speedsters starting at linebacker together since 2016, when it used the turnover-causing combo of other SoCal products in Azeem Victor from Compton and Kieshawn Bierria likewise from Carson, to reach the College Football Playoff against Alabama for the one and only time in program history.

Bierrria currently plays in the CFL for the Montreal Alouettes, while Victor, whose football career suffered a jolt from a serious knee injury suffered in his junior year at UW, is a free agent after a brief stint with the USFL's Houston Gamblers.

Bryant appeared to be a step ahead of Whitney in their introduction to Husky football this spring, often running with the No. 2 defense while his classmate settled more for third-team snaps. Yet it's early yet and the hope is those two will become inseparable on the football field in due time.

JORDAN WHITNEY FILE

Service: At Pacifica, Whitney played 30 games over parts of four seasons, even getting in time with a 15-1 team as a high school freshman.

Stats: Whitney logged 241 career tackles at Pacific High, or 8 an outing, with 20 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. Using that speed of his, he also ran the ball 109 times, churning out 942 career yards and 11 touchdowns.

Role: Whitney should aim to be a special-teamer in his first season and learn the LB ropes from guys such as starters Edefuan Ulofoshio and Alphonzo Tuputala. In time the shingle on the office will read Whitney and Bryant.

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