Jordan Whittington almost quit football. Luckily for Texas, Steve Sarkisian wouldn't let him
Jordan Whittington was finally… finally healthy during the 2021 season. After a number of injuries across his time with Cuero High School and Texas including four different surgeries, Whittington was starting to look like the highly-rated prospect that put on a performance for the ages in the 2018 UIL 4A Div. II state championship game.
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During the opening six games of Steve Sarkisian‘s first season at Texas, Whittington flourished as a slot receiver in a new offensive system. He began the year with a seven-reception, 113-yard outing against a top-25 Louisiana team and scored the first touchdown of his career in the process. He made pivotal plays in wins over Texas Tech and TCU, eclipsing 75 yards in each matchup and finding the end zone in both games.
Then, the Red River Shootout arrived. Whittington had three catches for 35 yards before he broke his collarbone in a contest the Longhorns would lose to Oklahoma in heartbreaking fashion.
Another injury. Another loss. More rehab. More struggles. Another period of time spent on the sidelines unable to perform was on the horizon.
It was enough to where Whittington had enough of football.
But Sarkisian wouldn’t let him go so easily.
“I wouldn’t let him not play football anymore,” Sarkisian said Monday. “I just know you only get this one time. You don’t get to say when I’m 40 or 50, like me, ‘I’m going to go back and play football. That was a pretty good deal. I should have done that more.’ Now’s the time. You need to maximize that.”
Sarkisian joined Whittington’s mother, Mary Hill, in telling J-Whitt the time for hanging up his cleats had not yet arrived.
“Once he told me that, then my mother being in my ear telling me just finish school and try again, the combination of those two people that I’ve got a lot of trust for not letting me quit, I think I just needed somebody else,” Whittington said. “I needed an external source to tell me to keep going when I was at a very low point in my life. Them doing that, I really thank them for that.
“There’s no telling what would have happened if I didn’t have those people.”
Luckily for Whittington, Sarkisian, and the Longhorns, they never had to find out. Not only did Whittington return for the regular season finale in 2021, but also for the 2022 campaign where he caught 50 passes for 652 yards and a score. After that 8-5 year was over, he had a choice: test NFL waters or come back in an effort to win a conference title? When it came time to decide, there was one achievement left on Whittington’s to-do list before he ventured off to professional opportunities.
“I came back to win a Big 12 Championship,” Whittington said.
Thanks in large part to Whittington, Texas is on the cusp of an opportunity to play for the Big 12 Championship. Plus, more could be in store for Whittington and the Longhorns if they win the next two games.
These are opportunities he’s cherishing considering how close he was to giving the game up. Not only are these the situations he came to Texas to play in, these are the games he stayed at Texas to play in. The Longhorns are one win away from making it to Arlington, and Whittington is glad to be not just along for the ride, but a driving force for it.
“I’m enjoying the moment,” Whittington said. “I’m enjoying every day. I’m truly playing every day like it’s my last. I think everybody on the team is. We’re all just playing for each other. The love is there.”
You could make a case Whittington goes into every play like it will decide whether or not the Longhorns make the Big 12 Championship for just the seventh time in program history. That was evident during Texas’ win over TCU, when Whittington gave extraordinary effort to track down a defender after an interception and strip the football from him.
It was also evident during the Longhorns’ most recent game in Ames, Iowa. Whittington’s hustle and effort is often manifested in his blocking ability. Sarkisian played off that prowess against Iowa State for a crucial score in a 26-16 Texas win. It was his first score of the season, part of a 2023 that so far includes 30 catches for 346 yards.
The Whittington of 2021 may not have made those plays. But the Whittington of 2023? That’s who he’s been not just on Saturdays but Sunday through Friday as well, and that’s carried over to other players.
“For the last two years, year-and-a-half, this guy is the first guy in our building,” Sarkisian said. “You talk about culture, now he’s got six or seven other guys that are showing up as early as him or earlier than him. He used to be the earliest guy by far to have maintenance on his body or get his body right. He was always a selfless player because he knew the value of opportunity and reps because he had to change positions; he had injuries.”
Put more succinctly by Sarkisian: “I don’t know if there’s another guy in our locker room who is more respected than Jordan Whittington.”
Whittington went through senior day festivities last season before electing to return. He has the year of eligibility relief due to the COVID-19 pandemic available to him if he wanted to run it back for a sixth collegiate season.
That’s not in the cards, however.
“Yeah, this is my last one at DKR for real this time,” Whittington joked Monday.
His final time playing on Campbell-Williams Field on Saturday will be a first as well. Hill will be able to make the trek to Austin to see him play for the first time in Whittington’s five-year career.
Will playing for Texas in front of his mother be his favorite memory? It’ll be up there, but choosing one from all the accumulated moments won’t be easy.
“Every memory is my favorite one,” Whittington said. “I’ve been through a lot. I don’t take it for granted.”
There’s a lot to choose from after 34 games, 129 catches, 1598 yards, five receiving touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown, plus a massive tackle and forced fumble. There are also off-field accomplishments, whether that’s joining Austin business ventures, assisting the community, or throwing ceremonial strikes at Minute Maid Park.
But Sarkisian will be forever grateful to Whittington for what he has accomplished on and off the field in their three years together.
“Just to see him grow through adversity, how to handle adversity, how now he helps other players on our team with some of their own adversity and what they have going on, the selflessness with which he plays the game, very rare,” Sarkisian said. “Very rare.”
In the same way, Whittington is thankful, too. If it weren’t for Sarkisian, Whittington might not even be playing football right now.
But there’s one thing still left for the Cuero product to accomplish: reaching — and winning — the Big 12 Championship.
“I came back for that,” Whittington said. “It’s the ultimate goal. Having that, it’d be like the cherry on top.”
