What Jordan Whittington's return means for 2023 Texas
Today it finally came out that senior wide receiver Jordan Whittington would return for one final year. This news will resonate with those who appreciate his multifaceted impact, even if that impact didn’t always resonate in the box score.
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Wide receiver is the de facto diva position of the sport, but Whittington’s selfless and physical blocking style couldn’t differ more from that reputation. His perimeter blocking this season was nothing short of stellar. It was physical, intentional, and, most importantly, legal.
After losing Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson to the draft, Texas was going to have an even bigger leadership void if Whittington departed with them. In the past I’ve likened Whittington’s style of play to Johnson’s, calling Whittington the receiver version of the cult hero Johnson.
Whittington is now on the cult hero track if he wasn’t already.
As important as his impact is to year-round program culture, the real exciting thing is we may not have seen the best of him on the field yet. Whittington is a pure slot, but Steve Sarkisian often did not deploy someone at that position this season, preferring to run two tight end sets. Whittington was somewhat miscast as a receiver due to scheme but if the Alamo Bowl is any indication, we’re going to see more three-wide looks next season.
Above was his lone touchdown of the 2022 campaign. It was the result of a RPO they probably should have ran more frequently.
Along with his 365 day influence on the program, Whittington has more raw ability to reveal as a tackle breaker, and as a short and intermediate receiving threat. Texas has a lot of upside at the position, but it lacks reliability, experience, and chain-movers.
Thanks to Whittington’s return, the position has considerably more stability and leadership than it would otherwise, and Whittington has one additional season to showcase more of the glimpses of big-play upside we saw this year.
