The Wolfpacker

Jan.-Feb. 2020

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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38 ■ THE WOLFPACKER obliterating the world record in the 200. In 1997, Whitted would repeat as ACC champion in the 100-meter dash, and his speed by that point had more than carried over to the football field. On the gridiron, Whitted carved out a role as an electric kickoff re- turner after redshirting. He had a 96-yard kickoff return against Florida State in 1997, then a national powerhouse noted for its fast players. But he might be more proud of the 97-yarder he ran back against Maryland in his rookie season. It proved to be the difference in a 47-45 win that helped secure a trip to the Peach Bowl. "That was a defining moment for me," Whitted said. "Most track guys have that stigma of not being tough. … I helped us get to a posi- tion where we won that game to actually get to the Peach Bowl." Whitted is still fourth all time at NC State in kickoff return yardage (1,929), and in his last two seasons he progressed enough to contribute at receiver — catching 27 passes for 448 yards during his junior and senior years combined. That coupled with his speed allowed him to be drafted in the seventh round by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 1998, and there was no hesitation what career path he was taking. "I loved track and field," Whitted said. "Track and field taught me so many lessons from an individual standpoint — how you have to prepare, how you have to mentally be on point because it's really about you. You control that race, how you train. There are so many aspects about track and field that I loved and appreciate. "But there is nothing like the game of football as far as going back to the team aspect, the camaraderie of the teammates." Whitted used that same chip-on-the-shoulder mentality that turned him from a track star and aspiring walk-on in football to an NFL Draft pick to make a nine-year career in the NFL, the first four with the Jaguars and the last five with the Oakland Raiders. In 2003, he helped the Raiders reach Super Bowl XXXVII, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After the game, former Raiders owner Al Davis provided Whitted with his most memorable moment in the pros. "I introduced him to my mom, and he didn't know my mom, but he said, 'I see where your son gets his work ethic from,'" Whitted remembered. "I was just blown away. That actually made me feel so appreciative of who my mom was and how she raised me. "I'm pretty sure that made her feel like a million bucks, too. That's how I wanted to be remembered: a guy that was a hard worker." Making a career in the NFL is not easy, hence the acronym "Not For Long," but Whitted pulled it off. "It was a burning desire for me to prove it every year," he recalled. "This is a high-performance league. It's ultra-competitive. You have to be your best every day. "I think I did a real good job of creating value for myself, creat- ing a niche. I wasn't a marquee player, but I was a guy that could be depended on." Whitted's career ended after the 2006 season in which he caught 27 passes for 299 yards. He tried finding a career in finance, but he knew that was not for him. So he used connections he made along the way to work up the coaching ladder in football. He started back where his playing career began, at Orange High, and then went to a Division III school called Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss. His break came when his former Raiders teammate Marques Tavita Tuiasosopo took a job as a graduate assistant at UCLA and helped get Whitted a gig as a quality control assistant. His former teammate at Orange High, Scott Satterfield — who is now the head coach at Louisville — helped Whitted land a job with Appalachian State, but that did not last long. Jim McElwain, a former assistant with the Raiders, was hired to become the head coach at Colorado State. It was tough for Whitted to leave Satterfield so quickly after taking the job, but Whitted could not pass up the opportunity. From 2012-18, Whitted coached receivers for the Rams. He helped mold a pair of Biletnikoff Award finalists in Rashard Higgins and Michael Gallup, both of whom are in the NFL today. Then this past January, Whitted was hired as the receivers coach for the storied Green Bay Packers. Coaching, Whitted said, feels natural for him. "There's nothing like it," he explained. "It's awesome. If you look at it, you were that guy 20-some odd years ago. You were that person. You ask yourself, 'How do I go about instilling or teaching this person? How did I want to be taught or spoken to?' "Sports is about people. I knew that I had to coach them really hard, but I also knew that I wanted to be a teacher first more than anything." He also keeps tabs on NC State. This past spring he went back and spoke at a banquet for the Wolfpack track team, spending some time with sprinter Cravont Charleston, a senior who is a serious threat to break Whitted's 100-meter record. The former Pack player also loy- ally follows the football team and noted its many injuries this season. Looking back, Whitted can only see one way to describe his life. "It's amazing the journey that I've been on from running track and walking on at NC State and actually earning a scholarship to playing nine years in the NFL and now coaching in the National Football League," he said. "It's truly amazing." ■ Whitted has quickly risen through the coaching ranks since he started in 2010 and is currently the Green Bay Packers' wide receivers coach. PHOTO BY EVAN SIEGLE/COURTESY GREEN BAY PACKERS "It's a mindset. You have to have that mind- set. 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." ■ Whitted on his blue-collar mentality

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