Dynamic WR Jordan Whittington aiming to compete for early playing time at Texas

The Texas Longhorns may have hit the jackpot this cycle in landing a talent like Cuero wide-receiver Jordan Whittington. After being sidelined by a groin injury earlier this season, he’s been on a tear and forcing opposing coaches to build their game plan around him. But even then, the likelihood of teams slowing Whittington down this year were very slim.

The four-star prospect, who’s well deserving of a fifth star, has done any and everything for his team throughout his senior campaign. From receiver, to playing quarterback, to being a headhunter on defense, Whittington has been relentless in his efforts in wheeling his team to the promised land. Whittington continued his remarkable play on Friday in a semifinal win over Silsbee with over 180 yards of total offense, two touchdowns, one interception, and a 103-yard interception return on a two-point conversion attempt that resulted in two points.

Whittington and his teammates have stamped their ticket to the 4A Division II state championship game, and he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

“This game was by far the most intense game I’ve ever played in during my high school career,” Whittington told BON. “I’m just excited for the future. We’ve got the state game and can’t get big-headed. Just got to be ready for it and go get that W.”

After Friday’s game at AT&T Stadium — no matter the outcome — Whittington will begin to shift his focus onto the next chapter in his life, which is the University of Texas. Whittington is an early enrollee, so getting to campus quickly and making an immediate impact is something he’ll be poised to do.

“I’m just ready to get into the program,” Whittington said. “My first goal is to start as a freshman and get that starting position. From there, just keep it and continue doing what I’ve been doing and take my game to the next level.”

There are a ton of aspects about Whittington’s game you can fall in love with, so, it’s really hard to knock him on anything he doesn’t do well, being the dynamic player that he is. However, Whittington believes there is a part of his game he needs to improve upon.

“For me it’s my leadership,” Whittington said. “I haven’t been as vocal as I wanted to be. These last couple of years I haven’t really been talking. I’ve just been playing my part and not really leading everybody else, but that’s something I’ve been working on, and I’m glad I was able to do it tonight.”

With the first part of this year’s recruiting class coming to an end, Whittington likes how the #fUTure19 class has shaped up thus far. He and a few of his future teammates are still working on several key targets that every UT fan would love to see in Burnt Orange.

“We’ve got some guys right now that’s going to come in and change the program,” Whittington said. “It’s a lot of people I want to come join, Trey Sanders and Bru McCoy are the main ones right now. I feel like if we get them we’ll be straight.”

The Longhorns on-field success this season caught some spectators and prospects by surprise, but Whittington knew what Tom Herman and company had in store. A lot of what Whittington knew Texas had brewing is a big reason why he decided to side with UT in the first place.

“I saw that way back before everybody saw what they were doing” Whittington said. “You know I noticed it early, that’s why I picked them. It’s something about my heart that’s for UT, and I’m going to do whatever I can to get them that national championship.”

Whittington will be a part of a talented incoming wide receiver group featuring guys like Gatorade National Player of the Year recipient Jake Smith and Saint Louis (Mo.) Trinity Catholic standout Marcus Washington. Whittington, however, is the headliner of the bunch.

At 6’1, 198 pounds, Whittington is ranked as the nation’s No. 53 player, the No. 9 wide receiver in the country and the No. 7 player in Texas, per the 247Sports Composite.