Jordan Whittington reveals why he returned to Texas

Texas got its second-leading receiver back when Jordan Whittington returned for his senior season after a strong 2022 campaign.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound target from Cuero, Texas, revealed why he made the decision to spend an extra year in school, rather than enter the NFL Draft or seek a transfer to play one final season elsewhere.

“For a multitude of reasons. I’m actually writing a paper on it and I’m trying to get it in the Players’ Tribune, so I ain’t going to say too much,” Whittington said. “But obviously, one, come back and get that Big 12 championship and just improve myself, honestly, and try to improve this team as much as I can and make as much of a big impact as I can before I’m gone.”

Whittington had an excellent 2022 season as a junior, by all accounts.

He finished the season with 50 catches for 652 yards and one touchdown, trailing only Xavier Worthy in yardage and finishing behind Worthy and tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders in receptions.

On top of the production that Texas will rely on him for, the Longhorns will also be counting on some leadership now that Jordan Whittington has returned.

“It means a lot. It feels like high school all over again, where you go from being somebody down here to just being put in a role where you’ve got to actually be vocal,” he said. “Now I’m back at that part, so it’s something I’ve been taking seriously.”

Whittington has been a model student since enrolling at Texas. He’s a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, most recently making the list in spring of 2022.

He was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league’s coaches this season.

And Whittington’s journey to being one of the best pass-catchers on the team has certainly taken some twists and turns. He originally started out as a running back but converted to receiver after the 2019 season, when he redshirted after re-aggravating a groin injury from high school.

Since then, Whittington has started 15 games at receiver.

And now that Jordan Whittington has returned, he’ll get a chance to play a newer, less familiar role: team leader. Not that he hasn’t led before, but perhaps not to this extent.

“It’s tough being somebody who doesn’t talk that much, just having to be really vocal, but I think I’m getting better at it and we’ve got a lot of guys that are too,” Whittington said.