The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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impression flying around the bases. That led to a tryout in track, and then joining the football team in the fall. About 30 years later, Whit- ted's successful journey that included becoming the fastest man ever at NC State, a veteran NFL receiver and now an assistant coach for the Green Bay Packers can be traced back to that decision to get his life on track, pun intended. Whitted's speed was quickly obvious. His senior year in 1993 at Orange High, he won the 4-A state title in the 100-meter dash in 10.67 seconds and the 200-meter in 21.21 seconds, and was named the meet's MVP. By then he had already become a must-get recruit for college track coaches. He grew up dreaming of going to UNC. And if Whitted's decision had been based solely on track and field, he probably would have ended up in Chapel Hill. However, NC State offered him something Carolina did not: an op- portunity to play football. Coupled with a feeling of being at home in Raleigh, Whitted spurned the Heels to join the Wolfpack. "I wanted to at least to have the option," he remembered. "So I didn't go to North Carolina. That's the school I wanted to go to, but when they said no football it changed everything." There was a reason why Whitted was so at- tached to the gridiron. He developed strong bonds that exist to this day with teammates. He can still tell you who the quarterback and run- ning back was on the Orange offense. "The one thing I do love about playing foot- ball is the camaraderie and the team aspect of the game," he noted. "I really got close with a lot of the guys I played with at Orange. Being around those guys made me realize how impor- tant team and family was. "I just wanted to play football more than anything." Nothing was given to Whitted when he ar- rived at NC State, but that was okay with him. He embraced the chip-on-the-shoulder mental- ity. "The biggest thing I wanted to do was earn it," Whitted said. It was not going to be easy — juggling two sports year-round while also completing his studies. "It's a mindset," Whitted explained. "You have to have that mindset. Looking at where I came from — single-parent home, not much stability — I didn't want to go back to what I'd seen growing up. "I wanted to be better, and the only way to do that is you are going to have to make some sacrifices." Former NC State running backs coach Dick Portee became an early Whitted supporter and played a significant role in convincing then- head coach Mike O'Cain to give the speedster a shot. Once given an opportunity, Whitted liter- ally ran with it because he simply had one thing you cannot teach. "I was confident, and I knew that I had some- thing that a lot of other guys didn't have," Whit- ted said. "In this game, if you can run you're good. Speed kills. That was half the battle for me. "The other part was the learning — the route running, the blocking, just understanding de- fenses. That was something I had to really work at, to learn and master to have a chance." Track came more natural, and soon Whit- ted developed into a world-class sprinter. In 1996, he set a school record that still holds with a 10.02-second sprint in the 100-meter dash. He also ran the 200-meter dash in 20.03 seconds, and was the ACC champion and an All-American in both races that year. Whitted is NCSU's last All-American in the 200, and he helped lead NC State to its last ACC outdoor track title in 1996. He competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials that year, finishing sixth in the 200-meter finals and earning a claim to fame of beating nine-time Olympic gold medal winner Carl Lewis in the race. The only problem is he happened to do so the same year American Michael Johnson was Running To Success Alvis Whitted Used His Speed To Achieve A Career In Football Alvis Whitted Football/Track & Field (1994-97) Age: 45 Living: Green Bay, Wis. Occupation: Green Bay Packers assistant coach Did You Know? In addition to holding the fastest 100-meter dash time at NC State, Whitted's 20.03 seconds is the quickest electronically timed 200-meter dash. Former NC State runner Kevin Braunskill's 19.90-second school record in 1990 was hand-timed. JANUARY 2020 ■ 37 After setting sprinting records at NC State, Whitted was drafted in the seventh round and carved out a nine-year NFL career, where he caught 74 passes for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns. He also scored on a 98-yard kickoff return in 1999. PHOTO COURTESY OAKLAND RAIDERS