An unlucky bounce led to a fumble, a missed tackle led to a touchdown and an unintentional personal foul contributed to an eventual 21-point loss. Each one brought more attention to freshman safety Kielan Whitner for the wrong reasons.

Syracuse had a shot in the fourth quarter against South Florida on Oct. 10 but mistakes piled up and Whitner’s were the most glaring.

After the game, veteran teammates Ron Thompson and Julian Whigham consoled him in the locker room. Whitner tweeted an apology to his team. He was distraught on the plane.

Whitner responded the same way he does after every game. He went to his South Campus apartment, prayed, and only let it sit with him for 24 hours.

“You never want to feel like you were the one that hurt your team or made those mistakes that really hurt your team,” Whitner said. “… I really just focused on getting better every week from there.”

At the start of the season, defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough knew just three returning safeties wouldn’t provide enough depth. A freshman safety would crack the secondary’s rotation and it turned out to be Whitner.

Gathering more playing time due to injuries to other safeties, Whitner has recorded 18 total tackles in the last five games and is coming off his best performance. Against Louisville, he had nine tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. As the freshman continues to adjust to the college game, his progression on the field reflects it.

“They’re going to make those mistakes, but do they learn from them?” defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough said. “Now he’s where he’s supposed to be; if he’s supposed to be in the middle of the field, he’s in the middle of the field.”

The most important aspect Whitner is working on is reading opposing offenses. Depending on the play call, he has different assignments of where to look. Whitner said if his reads aren’t perfect, he might not be able to make the play. At Mountain View (Georgia) High School, he could get away with it. In college, he can’t.

He has to trust his eyes more than ever and Bullough has been impressed with his play just nine games into his career. Whitner’s tackling could improve, he said, but if he’s not in the right position to begin with, that chance doesn’t exist.

 

 

In high school, Whitner played both safety positions, cornerback and even occasionally outside linebacker.

His versatility prepared him for the role he has now. Whether it’s giving breathers to Antwan Cordy at strong safety or Rodney Williams and Chauncey Scissum at free safety, he’s learned to play both spots at the collegiate level.

“I’m just kind of a utility guy,” Whitner said. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to go do it.”

Whitner was told during his recruitment that he’d have a chance to play right away. He thought about it all offseason and has been listed as the second-string strong safety behind Cordy since the beginning of the year. In the first four games, he recorded only three tackles and no other stats. Since, his game has clicked.

“Unfortunately, it’s going to be baptism by fire,” Syracuse head coach Scott Shafer said, “… (but) Whit’s doing a great job. I’m excited about his future.”

His willingness and ability to play strong and free safety has created opportunities. And recently, Whitner’s taken advantage.

Whitner knows there’s still a lot to improve on. He only spent 24 hours after Louisville thinking about the game and he’ll only spend 24 hours after playing Clemson thinking about that.

That mindset is what’s gotten him to this point and, like his improvement, he doesn’t plan on changing.

“You can’t be too high, you can’t be too low,” Whitner said. “You just got to stay steady.”

Published on November 12, 2015 at 9:38 pm

Contact Paul: pmschwed@syr.edu | @pschweds